Maintenance workers from ACTION buses in Canberra will continue with industrial action this weekend as management continue to stall over a new workplace agreement.

AMWU Industrial Officer, Jane Timbrell, said it was an unfortunate but inevitable consequence of the protracted handling of the workers' agreement. 

“ACTION have had 15 months to come to the table, discuss new terms and address outstanding worker concerns. They have dragged this out for too long – whilst our members work desperately understaffed.”

Workers have longed maintained staffing levels in the workshop including apprentice numbers should be mandated, something the company has failed to build into their latest offer. 

Delegate and 30-year veteran of the bus workshop, Tony Davey, said workers were already overstretched.

“We’re missing as much as 10% at the shop floor level. We’ve always been very flexible and multi-skilled. But there is a growing expectation from management that they can squeeze more out of the workshop.

“When I started we had 14 apprentices a year, now we only have two. Yet the fleet of vehicles we have is double the size,” he said.

AMWU members have asked ACTION to implement a ratio of one mechanic for every eleven buses, a proposal that has been knocked back.

Mr Davey said the workers felt their concerns were not understood.

“There has been a lot of misinformation. We’ve been ridiculed in the papers as being greedy and lazy. Quite a number of the guys have taken it to heart and morale is really low.

“We’re not asking for much.  We would like the issues around staffing addressed once and for all and a 4% percent pay increase. But some how that seems too hard.”