Nick Kelly on the Go Wellington Lockout

The Go Wellington Lockout
By Nick Kelly: Wellington Tramways Union President

As most of you know on Monday the Tramways Union (who cover the Wellington Bus drivers) and the Manufactoring and Construction Union (who represent the workshop workers) voted to reject the latest company offer. We began limited industrial action on Wednesday morning with a 1 hour strike. However before this first strike had happened the company issued and indefinate lockout notice starting 5am Thursday September 25th.

For the 1 hour strike we decided to hold a stopwork meeting at the Wellington Railway Station to discuss the lockout. Management tried to claim that the strike action we were taking was illegal. Drivers at Kilbirnie got on a couple of buses and drove to the station. The acting depot manager told me as Union President that I should tell the workers to get back to work, and that we weren't to take a bus to the rail. The workers ignored this threat and now I face some sort of retribution for disobeying "lawful instruction from my employer". The union now as a new claim that on settlement the company will drop all retribution against workers involved in the dispute.

At the meeting the workers voted to accept the lockout and unless the notice was lifted maintain a picket of the Kilbirnie depot until management came out and offered us an offer workers could accept. This meeting was held at rush hour in the middle of Wellington station - and got alot of public support.

By 7pm on Wednesday night secruity guards were all over the depot and a temporary fense was put up along the front of the depot.

Before 5am the locked out workers formed a picketline outside the depot. The half a dozen controllers at Go Wellington who are all RMTU members were told by their union not to cross the picketline. None of them did, and as a result they also were locked out. These workers are also currently in pay talks that are not going well. Controllers are the ones who coordinate the city's bus system. Whilst they don't have the power to hire and fire they do allocate extra work and generally act as middle management at the depot. By locking these workers out management very effectively united the controllers with the drivers and workshops members.

Not a single worker attempted to cross the picket line. To the best of my knowledge not a single driver scabed.

I was a bit worried having only taken over as union President 20 days earlier having to run the picket line - when many of the workers had never taken industrial action before (the last time was 1996). I had no need to worry, I found that the workers very quickly rose to the challenge of running a picketline, devided up the work needed. I was very proud of my fellow union members, many of whom were prepared to stay on the picket line for the duration.
We had begun organising for the longhaul, getting WINZ to come talk to workers about getting the special benefit (which you can get if you are locked out) and getting store credit at the local Pak 'n' Save.

Joel and Heleyni stayed up till 4am the night before making banners and designing the stickers for the picket line. By 7am they were at the picket with the signs and stickers both of which were very popular. Don walked through town with a placard in support of the drivers. WP members have come accross as strong leaders and have earned considerable respect of the picketing drivers.

After a day of no buses the heat went on Go Wellington. The public were blaming the company, and the management lies to the media were too obvious and not working. The city council were getting pissed off, as apparently was Annette King (local MP and Transport minister). By 4pm the Wellington Chamber of Commerce was putting the hard word on the company to lift the lockout and get the buses going - as Wellington business was losing millions.

I announced to the picket line at 5pm that we had won a battle and forced the company to lift the lockout. Whilst drivers were happy, many also were disappointed as they were really getting into the picket and were prepared to go the long haul and teach the bosses a lesson.

Since then we have had a brief mediation, and will have an all day one on Monday. If the company don't come up with the money on Monday it will be back to the picketlines.

Rumour was that some Auckland drivers and controllers had been flown down to scab on us for early next week. The company denied this in front of the mediator on Friday. We have been told that by the Auckland Tramways Union if scabs are flown down from Auckland they will look at walking off the job - and they are having a delegates meeting on Tuesday to discuss this issue.

The fight is still on. But so far the drivers have done themselves proud.