Newcastle’s bus drivers have been repeatedly underpaid since the city’s public transport system was privatised on July 1.
About 70 workers have been underpaid between $200 and $600 since then.
The NSW government awarded Keolis Downer a 10-year contract to operate Newcastle’s public transport system of buses, ferries and the new light rail last year.
It was the first time in Australia that one company was awarded a contract to operate a city’s entire transport system.
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington said: “The NSW government and its obsession with privatisation is hurting the people who can afford it the least.”
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