Union leader demands Laidlaw resign
By Erica Haines
ADELAIDE — Chris White, the secretary of South Australia's peak union body, the United Trades and Labor Council (UTLC), has called for the resignation of state transport minister Diana Laidlaw over her handling of the outsourcing of services provided by the public bus company, TransAdelaide.
After spending many days in negotiations with Laidlaw and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), White told Green Left Weekly, "Minister Laidlaw could have prevented this dispute by guaranteeing TransAdelaide workers' jobs and entitlements. She should resign over her handling of the issue. Laidlaw is still blaming the union and the workers for [TransAdelaide] losing the bus contracts, which is outrageous."
The workers are fighting for their current entitlements and conditions to be transferred to the private bus firms which won the government's tenders. This has occurred in other government services that have been outsourced, such as electricity, water and the Ports Authority.
At a mass meeting on February 7, RTBU members voted to walk off the job in support of 113 trainees who received hand-delivered instant dismissal letters the previous weekend. A temporary resolution was reached late on February 8 after discussions in the Industrial Relations Commission. A number of trainees were reinstated and the workers agreed to return to work on February 9.
In a week of lightning strikes and in the middle of a heat wave, the South Australian public has expressed overwhelming support for the workers and the RTBU. Bus services were affected for two days, leaving an estimated 72,000 commuters a day looking for alternative transport. But many people have attended the picket lines at various bus depots, commuters have continually told bus drivers how much they support them and passengers have collectively applauded their drivers.
One local radio station which initiated a phone poll in which leading questions were asked, such as about "drivers refusing to drive school buses and leaving children and old ladies stranded in the heat", had to change tack the next day when it found that more than 60% of respondents supported the workers.
It appears that many people are sick and tired of John Olsen's Liberal government selling state assets, cutting public sector jobs and attacking workers' rights.
The state government has claimed it will save $70 million over 10 years through the privatisation deal, yet the cost of redundancies may amount to $65 million. Laidlaw hasn't disclosed if that sum has been included in the government's calculations or how the $70 million saving will be achieved.
Negotiations between the union and the government are continuing.