Business View Oceania

5 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 T he New Zealand Bus and Coach Association’s chief executive Ben McFadgen welcomed a recent announcement by Transport Minister Michael Wood regarding national bus driver pay and conditions. “Bus driver pay and conditions must be consistent, fair, and sustainable. An agreement is something we have been working on with government, unions, and industry for a long time now. It’s great to see some rubber finally hitting the road.” says Mr McFadgen. “We aren’t breaking out the champagne yet though- there is still a long way to go before we get real, sustainable change in the bus industry. There are a few things that have to be ironed out, such as the ongoing sustainability of the pay and conditions agreement. It needs to have continued baseline funding, and there’s the question of consistency and fairness across both metropolitan/urban and regional New Zealand.” The agreement as it currently stands relies on both councils and operators taking up the funding according to certain conditions. It is also OPENING L INES NEW ZEALAND BUS AND COACH ASSOCIATIONWELCOMES TRANSPORT MIN PAY AND CONDITIONS