By Amanda Lawrence

CANBERRA -- The ACT Carnell Liberal government has announced plans to privatise Canberra's ACTION buses, the only public transport in the city. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) has vowed to take industrial action to prevent the move.

This comes at a time when ACTION drivers and other workers employed by ACT government departments and agencies are attempting to negotiate a new round of enterprise agreements.

TWU ACT branch secretary Trevor Santi told Green Left Weekly there has been “massive” budget cuts by the Liberal government. “Under Carnell, the ACT government has viewed its public services as business operations. The government doesn't care about community service obligations, all it cares about is the bottom line”, he said.

Santi takes Carnell's threat to put ACTION out to tender very seriously. “It is something previous governments, both Labor and Liberal, have tried to do since 1990. We have managed to stave it off by agreeing to `reforms' as part of enterprise agreements”, he explained.

The TWU will not allow ACTION to be privatised, Santi said. He promised “a massive dispute -- all buses will be off the road”. “It seems that the government is prepared to do whatever it takes to push their ideology through”, he added.

“Everywhere -- and there are no exceptions -- buses have been privatised, they become much more expensive to the consumer and provide a far more inferior service. It will disadvantage the poor, the elderly and the unemployed”, Santi explained.

Santi estimates that if ACTION is privatised, the number of drivers will be reduced from 450 to 250, and those who are left would be employed on a casual basis and have to work split shifts.

Santi said that the TWU had begun meetings with a range of community, environment and political groups to organise a campaign to defend ACTION. The union will attempt to coordinate a campaign with other public sector unions. “Ultimately, the membership dictate what we have to do”, he said.

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