06 - May Day, May Day...

Training starts on May 1.

It’s a complete coincidence that I’m starting my new role on 1 May, but it’s also significant. That’s May Day, otherwise known as International Workers’ Day…a time to commemorate the struggles and gains made by the labour movement.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we don’t observe May Day but instead, celebrate Labour Day each year on the fourth Monday in October. Sadly, Labour Day has just become another holiday rather than a recognition of the hard-won battles fought for workers’ rights.

I’m sure most of you know the origins of Labour Day in Aotearoa, but in case you don’t here’s a paraphrased account borrowed from various sources, including the very useful and informative NZ History website, and Jobsletter.

In 1840, Samuel Parnell was tired of working more than 40 hours a week. Samuel was a highly skilled carpenter, and there weren’t many people with his skills, so with the threat of losing him, his employers at the time agreed he could reduce his hours.

Samuel Parnell - father of the eight-hour movement in NZ

As immigration increased and the labour market became more competitive, employers began to dictate harsher working conditions. The 40-hour week, which was not written into law, was under threat.

Wellington workers staged their first annual Labour Day celebration on 28th October 1890 and the march to Newtown Park was headed by Samuel Parnell, who was by then a very old man.

At the park, amid prolonged cheers, Parnell was presented with an illuminated address which paid tribute to his “noble efforts” as “the father of the eight hours movement”.

It wasn’t until the 1940s, nearly a hundred years after Samuel Parnell put his foot down, that the Labour Government enshrined the eight-hour work day and the 40-hour working week into law.

All of that is but a diversion from what I wanted to talk about, and that’s pay rates.

Bus drivers are underpaid. I knew this before I applied.

My hourly rate will be $27.80. I’ll have an opportunity to earn more, but only by working weekends and maybe nights. Some of the work I do will be split shifts, that is doing four hours in the early morning, and waiting around (unpaid) before starting a second four-hour shift in the afternoon.

There is some good news on the horizon. An Otago Daily Times article yesterday told us that Otago bus drivers have secured an increase in their hourly pay, to $30 an hour. This is the third increase in seven months and an acknowledgement that better pay is required to attract staff.

But wait, there’s more. Today it was announced that First Union has succeeded in an application to negotiate a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) on behalf of bus drivers and bus cleaners. The application was lodged in December and today MBIE approved it. Watch this space.

I only mention this—not because I’m already complaining about my pay rate for a job I haven’t actually started—but to reflect on the value of being paid for a decent day’s work.

We are renovating our kitchen. I’ve been ruthless, throwing out or donating kitchen appliances that we hadn’t used for years. Tucked in the back of a cupboard I found an ice cream container full of old coins. All legal tender, but these days, more hassle than they were worth.

Except…I counted the coins, arranging them in careful columns and piles. It came to $21.20c. $21.20 is not far off my new hourly rate. This is money worth holding on to.

And a few days later, I spoke to a family member who has just got a new job. This person also starts their new gig on 1 May. The increase in pay they’ve secured is worth more than my new annual salary.

It puts a different perspective on the value of work, and how hard you need to work to realise that value. And it also gives a heightened perspective on the intrinsic value of the work that we do.

I’ll be transporting hundreds of people to and from work each day, and helping them arrive safely.

I’ll be working a variety of shifts, which may be disruptive to my home life.

And I’ll be paid just above the minimum wage of $22.70 an hour (around what I found in my ice cream container) and a bit above the Living Wage of $23.65.

Something needs to change, and thankfully, after the news of the last few days, it looks like it is.

Update on job titles

For those of you who don’t read the comments (it’s OK, I’m not judging you) there were some great suggestions for alternatives to the Bus Driver title.

Stuart had some pearlers:

• Multi-human relocator

• Group spatial translator

• Mass-transit facilitator

• Transport experience provider

The winner (if this was a competition) comes from Andy who suggests:

In answer to "What are you up to for work these days Alan?" Maybe: "I get to do a thing I love, and every day over a hundred people thank me... you tell me what my new role is."

Brilliant!

I’m away for a month, so there may not be anything more from me until training starts in May. In the meantime…

Remember to always thank your driver! 🚌