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“There are a lot of strange numbers on how much I earn … if these numbers were true, I wouldn’t have been on strike.”
This is what the VY bus driver in Østfold, writes Bjørn Davidsen in a post on Facebook. The post has received a lot of reactions.
On Monday, it was announced that the strike would intensify further. If the parties do not agree before Saturday, a total of 8,500 drivers across the country will be on strike.
– From travelers and the public, we receive a lot of support and they think we do a great job. But that is not what we live by, we must have money to buy food like everyone else.
The blow hits Oslo and Viken hard. All buses in Oslo and the old Akershus county have been canceled. All departures are also canceled at Østfold.
– We hope to achieve what the employer has promised us for eleven years, that we will be on an equal footing with industrial workers, says Davidsen.
NRK
Explain
Why are bus drivers on strike?
for answers
Bus drivers demand higher wages. They want to have the same salary as people who work in the industry.
Are there several reasons for the strike?
Yes. Fellesforbundet believes that bus drivers have an unjustifiable work situation with demanding work hours. Among other things, shared guards.
What are the divided guards?
Shared shifts will mean that you have a stay in the middle of the day where you don’t work. Bus drivers are usually busy in the morning and afternoon when people come and go from work and school. In the middle of the day there may be less traffic.
What do employers think?
NHO Transport represents employers and they say bus drivers get an average of 91 percent of what people in the industry make.
All buses canceled in Oslo and Akershus: the strike intensifies
– He gets up in the middle of the night.
Davidsen describes one day of the week when free time is spent checking that the bus is safe. He says bus drivers can work 12-13 hour shifts and are only paid for 7-8 of the hours.
– A normal working day usually begins with getting up in the middle of the night. And then you meet at work in your spare time to check that the bus is in order and in good condition, because we don’t have time for that. Only five minutes are reserved.
He says you often sit behind the wheel for 4 to 5 hours without being able to go to the bathroom. But Davidsen does very well at his job. It boasts of travelers.
– But we can not always live on praise, we must have some money to live and.
He says he has seen some describe bus drivers as uneducated, which he says is completely wrong.
– I have many different colleagues. Everything from uneducated to highly educated. We have people with bachelor’s degrees and people even with doctorates who drive buses, because it is much more pleasant than sitting in an office.
STRIKE GUARD: At Sarpsborg bus station, several bus drivers are on strike.
Photo: Sebastian Nordli / NRK
Wages are at the center of the conflict
– 12 a.m. to 1 p.m. is extreme, it is very, very unusual, responds NHO Transport director Jon H. Stordrange.
He says the reason bus drivers share guards is that people want to ride at certain times.
– It is the case that passengers want to go to work or school between seven and nine in the morning, and want to return home between three and five. And then we have extra capacity in those hours of the morning and afternoon, and a little less driving in the middle of the day.
The parties to the conflict are NHO Transport on the employer side and Fellesforbundet, Yrkestrafikkforbundet, Jernbaneforbundet and Fagforbundet on the employee side.
LOCALLY DECIDED: NHO Transportation Director Jon H. Stordrange says how much time to spend on bus security checks is locally decided.
Photo: Moment Studio
The leader of the Common Prohibition, Jørn Eggum, says they cannot accept bus drivers losing settlement after settlement.
– In this agreement, we must start working to bridge the gap between bus drivers and industry, says leader Jørn Eggum at Fellesforbundet.
Stordrange disagrees with Eggum. He says that bus drivers today are 91 percent of the industry average.
But in recent years, many of the industry’s low-paying jobs have disappeared. This has contributed to the average being higher than before, because many jobs have been automated or moved abroad, he says.
