The New Zealand Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employees Union Wellington Branch Inc. Ubi concordia, Ibi vietoria email: tramwaysunion@tradeshall.ora.nz ‘Trades Hall, 126 Vivian Street Wellington New Zealand ‘Statement to Tramways Union Stop Work Meeting on 25" November 2020 | am sorry | am not able to be there this morning in person, but | will be meeting some of your representatives later today so they can pass on any feedback or suggestions you may have Firstly, | want to acknowledge the critical role bus drivers play. Without you, our cities, would grind to a halt and thousands of people would lose the mobility they need to get around our communities, and given | regularly use the bus, that includes myself and my kids | know that it’s a job that has been underpaid for too long The previous Transport Minister announced in August that Waka Kotahi the N.Z. Transport Agency, will work with the Councils and bus operators to progressively roll out a wage floor based on the Living Wage as a minimum base rate ‘A working group including leaders from the Bus & Coach Association, Unions, Local and Central Government has recently been set up to implement the Living Wage for ‘existing contracts as a first step in improving driver's terms and conditions. This is just the start and we have a wide range of reforms to make work fairer, such as extending sick leave entitlement to 10 days and implementing Fair Pay Agreements to raise wages and conditions across all sectors. |'m looking forward to cracking on with this in the coming months So thank you again for keeping our cities moving and | hope to meet you all soon. Hon Micheal Woods Minister of Transport & Workplace Relations