Bus dispute to go to arbitration

Transport Minister Terry Lister and BIU president Chris Furbert said they had agreed to accept the decision of independent judges of the dispute.

Both said the main problem was a loss of weekends off for drivers on Dockyard routes, who may go from 12 to 14 weekends off a year to only two to four.

In addition, drivers will lose income because of cuts in overtime payments to reflect cut budgets and the economic downturn.

But Mr Furbert said: “We could probably sell eight to 10 weekends off – the weekends are the big sticking point.

“But we have agreed to go to arbitration – the management team will present their case and we will present ours.

“The decisions we get are not always something the union always agrees with, but this has to be brought to closure and this is the way to bring that closure.”

And he added that, depending on the make-up of the arbitration panel, a decision could be handed down within three weeks.

The last time scheduling was revamped was in 1998. Changes have been under discussion ever since.

Now government and the union will decide whether they will go before a panel of three independent arbitrators or allow a single arbitrator to decide.

Mr Lister said: “Historically, I think there has been an unwillingness on the union side to take this all the way and complete. That’s the divisional team.

“I can understand their position – we have a ‘grey schedule’ which is a lot of routes driven on a regular basis but which aren’t on the 1998 schedule.

“These routes attract premium pay, but, under the new schedule, that will disappear and that’s how a driver’s income will get smaller.”

Mr Furbert said: “While overtime is an additional benefit, overtime is not a guarantee – it’s always been an extra.

“I do appreciate we going to lose some overtime earnings. But we bargain on the basic wage.

“The challenge we have is to make sure overtime is distributed fairly to everyone and I don’t think we have managed that in the past.”