Bus drivers will ramp up their industrial actions on the Metro Tasmania network with a two-hour work stoppage to affect services in Southern Tasmania on Friday (8 November).
Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) Tasmania Secretary Byron Cubit said Southern Tasmanian bus drivers would stop work for two hours between 11.30am and 1.30pm, bringing services to a halt.
"Southern Tasmanian bus drivers will use this work stoppage as an opportunity to get together for a short meeting on the enterprise bargaining negotiations, and to discuss their next steps.
"Services in the northern and north west will not be affected by the work stoppage, but will be continue to be affected by a range of other statewide protected industrial actions."
Mr Cubit called on the Tasmanian Government to intervene before the dispute escalated even further.
"Drivers do not want this dispute to drag into the busy Christmas period, but that seems to be where we're heading.
"While billions are being poured into fixing the State Government's infrastructure bungles and sponsoring political vanity projects, essential services like public transport are suffering.
"New Treasurer Guy Barnett needs to step up and provide Metro with the funding it needs to finalise a new Enterprise Agreement with drivers, stabilise its workforce, and provide Tasmanians with the bus services the desperately need."
"The State Government must ensure that Metro Tasmania is properly resourced, and Metro staff have competitive wages and conditions."
