The Tramways Union - There is no strength without unity!
The New Zealand Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employees Union was founded in 1903 to represent local authority tramway employees. The Tramways Union also represented local authority bus drivers in the areas where these services ran in conjunction with tram services. During the 1950s and 60s trams were replaced by both trolley and diesel buses and today the New Zealand Tramways Union continues to represent these workers.
Initially there were Tramways Union branches in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui & Wellington but when New Zealand's urban passenger transport was deregulated in the early 1990s, all council operated bus companies were either sold into private hands or lost significant amounts of the newly tendered contracts to private operators offering lower wages and inferior terms and conditions. Deregulation coincided with the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act which included voluntary union membership and workplace bargaining rather than the previous industry based bargaining that saw national awards. The resultant loss of members saw the demise of all Tramways Union branches except Auckland, Wellington & Dunedin. Despite the pressures that were brought to bear upon the trade union movement as a whole in this period, the Wellington Branch of the Tramways Union has significantly grown its membership base by increasing its coverage to include not only Go Wellington bus drivers but also Valley Flyer, Runciman Motors and Mana Coach Service employees. The Wellington Branch of the Tramways Union enjoys membership of 100% of Go Wellington drivers, 90% of Valley Flyer and Runcimans drivers and a significant number of Mana Coach Service drivers. The Tramways Union today has incorporated branches in Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin, all of which are affiliated to the Council of Trade Unions (CTU). The Wellington branch has an additional affiliation with the Manufacturing and Construction Workers Union - the union that represents Go Wellington's workshop staff and garage service workers. Both Unions' members are party to and covered by a single Collective Employment Agreement. The Tramways Union's ability to protect and enhance members' terms and conditions of employment is dependent on maintaining and increasing our membership. If you'd like to join the Tramways Union, please contact us through the 'CONTACT US' page of this website. Click here to CONTACT US now. |