BY DAKOTA TAIT
Newcastle bus drivers are set to escalate their industrial action from next Monday, as talks with operator Keolis Downer over pay and conditions continue.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union says the operator is failing to meet their demands for a seven percent wage increase over two years.
Drivers were set to go ahead with action this week, turning off the Opal card readers, but retracted the decision.
They'll instead move forward with a 24-hour strike from 2:01am next Monday morning, meaning no buses will run across the Newcastle Transport network.
At the end of the strike, they'll begin an indefinite ban on logging into and using the Bus Driver Console, which means Opal card readers aren't likely to operate.
The union is apologising to commuters, but claims the blame is on Keolis Downer for failing to meet them at the table.
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| Image credit: transportnsw.info |
