Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Transport Workers Union NT Branch Secretary Ian Smith explains why there have been so many bus cancellations in Darwin

Transcript

Transport Workers Union NT Branch Secretary Ian Smith explains why there have been so many bus cancellations in Darwin · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know that there have been hundreds of bus services
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: canceled in and over the last couple of days, wreaking
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: havoc for a lot of people if you do catch
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the bus to get to work, to get to appointments,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: for children trying to get to school. Now joining me
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  Speaker 1: on the line to talk a little bit more about
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  Speaker 1: the situation, it's the Transport Workers Union NT branch Secretary
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  Speaker 1: Ian Smith. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Ian, Good morning Katie. How are you going?
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  Speaker 1: Not too bad? Ian? What is the reason from your
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  Speaker 1: perspective for all of these cancelations.
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  Speaker 2: Well, let's speak. We've we've come out and come out
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  Speaker 2: of the panic, and I know we shouldn't probably be
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  Speaker 2: behinding behind that now that it's the fact of life
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  Speaker 2: that all industries are struggling for the employees because of
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: a bus driving one of them. But you know, we've
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: got the anti social behavior that's occurring on a network.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: So that doesn't make the job to trap you and
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  Speaker 2: then we get the time conditions, that doesn't make the
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: job of cactive. Now, governments are contacted bus contacts out
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  Speaker 2: and they've consistently done there and it's probably the lay
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  Speaker 2: of the world now, but they don't go in doing so. Technically,
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  Speaker 2: the contractors make their money. They have a bucket of money.
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  Speaker 2: Is that there less money they send, the more money
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  Speaker 2: they make for their shareholders. And we've seen probably over
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  Speaker 2: time some of the conditions of bus thriving.
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  Speaker 1: So no doubt the privatization, no doubt, that's you know,
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  Speaker 1: I had an impact from your perspective. But I mean
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  Speaker 1: talking about the safety on the network. Is that making
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  Speaker 1: it more difficult for our networks to be able to
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  Speaker 1: recruit and retain drivers?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? I think so. I think you know, why would
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  Speaker 2: you what would you take up a position when you're
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: concerned about your safety about coming home? It's not unscathed.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what's happening. And we are working extremely hard
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  Speaker 2: with the companies and the govern them, and we've had
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  Speaker 2: many conversations with you and your listeners on the same subject.
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  Speaker 2: And look how things may even quick enough. Never they
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  Speaker 2: never are. Thanks, yes I are. But you know what
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  Speaker 2: we really need to see, especially in the Daala network,
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  Speaker 2: is the driver the driver protection screen. It's not the cage.
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  Speaker 2: What you know, the current cage systems aren't satisfactory. It
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  Speaker 2: doesn't protect the driver. We need a screen, a proper
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  Speaker 2: divider where the driver can first off, do his job
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  Speaker 2: safely and get from point over point B. They've got
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  Speaker 2: enough decisions to make.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I one hundred percent agree with you. I
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  Speaker 1: think like our drivers need to be safe and it's
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  Speaker 1: and it's appalling that they feel as though they're not.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it's appalling that the passengers feel that way
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  Speaker 1: as well. You know, I was watching some vision that
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  Speaker 1: had been shared on social media earlier in the week.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if you'd seen it, but it was terrible.
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  Speaker 1: It was two women fighting viciously on a bus in
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  Speaker 1: Darwin's northern suburbs. I don't know if you've seen that vision.
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  Speaker 2: Ian, Yeah, I did say it, and it's very disturbing
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  Speaker 2: that that's what occurs in the network, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: that's what that's what we need to get on top of.
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  Speaker 2: But what I know, what we have been sayings along
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  Speaker 2: on time gets protect the driver first, then what happens
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  Speaker 2: behind the driver then we can deal with that. And
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  Speaker 2: it's encouraging with the trials and everything we've had about
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  Speaker 2: seeing people on buses, security guards on buses and extra
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  Speaker 2: police and extra tsos, but it's not having the real
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  Speaker 2: impact as of yet you know it has to eventually,
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  Speaker 2: it has to. Certainly people have to understand if they're
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  Speaker 2: gonna misbehave on public transport, they're either not going to
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  Speaker 2: be able to get on that because they're going to
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  Speaker 2: be bad and that's one thing, or it's going to
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  Speaker 2: be further actually taking it because it's such a song
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  Speaker 2: cool nut, you know, as I've said, to your goal
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  Speaker 2: and you'll listen. So often garlands are sophisticated city. It
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  Speaker 2: needs a good topic transport system to ease or the congestion,
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  Speaker 2: the cost of living pressures that everybody's facing so that
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  Speaker 2: people can do their business. They're getting out vulnerable to
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  Speaker 2: school and back again, the elderly to all their appointments,
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  Speaker 2: the elderly to all the shopping and people to and
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  Speaker 2: from work, and you know, with the number of threats
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  Speaker 2: that are being missed at the moment, but that's obviously
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  Speaker 2: not happening and that's unsatisfactory. And yes, the quick fix
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  Speaker 2: is not going to be quick in my view, other
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  Speaker 2: than let's get these trains in place. I know this
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  Speaker 2: protody is being developed, but we're not seeing e quickness.
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  Speaker 1: Make when do you think we're going to see any
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  Speaker 1: kind of improvement in terms of you know, those cancelations
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  Speaker 1: and in terms of things improving and buses being able
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  Speaker 1: to actually you know, to turn up and be able
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  Speaker 1: to bus drivers being able to do their jobs.
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  Speaker 2: Ah, look, how long is a piece of strong? I
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  Speaker 2: haven't got anything answer, and I don't think anyone has.
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  Speaker 2: But we've got to continue to keep working to make
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  Speaker 2: bus driving once again an attractive position as it was
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  Speaker 2: from many years ago. Most of these bus drivers are
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  Speaker 2: do drive buses are people of service. They love servicing
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  Speaker 2: the community and they love the customers. What they don't
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  Speaker 2: like is the anti social stuff. What they can't handle
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  Speaker 2: is that fact. So we need to address that and
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  Speaker 2: we've got to keep pushing. So it becomes impertinent that
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  Speaker 2: that the streams need to be put in right that
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  Speaker 2: is so important from our view, that keeps the drivers
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  Speaker 2: completely safe. Then we've got to work on which we
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  Speaker 2: are with the government, extra security, extra toss, thet's get
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  Speaker 2: greater interventions so that these antisocial deliverance whoever they are,
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  Speaker 2: have to act in a proper way so that if
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  Speaker 2: they want to use the bus system, yeah I want
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  Speaker 2: to do it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yep, fair enough. And as always, I really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time. We are going to have to leave it there.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so very much for having a chat with
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  Speaker 1: me this morning. Thank you