An open-ended strike by public transport workers in Vilnius started on December 5.
According to Vilnius Public Transport (VVT), only about half of the buses serviced by VVT were operating on December 5 morning, while most of the trolleybus services are running.
On the eve of the event, city authorities warned that up to a quarter of all public transport vehicles might be out of service because of the strike.
The company and the municipal authorities have been informed that around 520, or almost half, of the company’s drivers, mostly bus drivers, are planning to strike. The latest lists reported 489 workers on strike.
The company said it would publish updated public transport timetables on stops.lt and the m.Ticket app. Timetables are also available in real time on Google Maps and Trafi.
The strike comes amid disagreements between the VVT administration and the trade union over the pay system. The strike action was planned a year ago, initially postponed due to court disputes, and then postponed due to a temporary agreement reached at the end of September. It was finally terminated by VVT after negotiations with the union failed.
The workers’ representatives are demanding that the wage system be included in the collective agreement, that a 10% wage increase be included in the collective agreement and that the agreements reached in the 2018 collective agreement not be substantially weakened.
However, in a disagreement on the details, the VVT administration unilaterally approved the new salary payment, promising to raise workers’ salaries by 10-20%. In the collective agreement, VVT also sought less coordination with the trade union. The latter does not accept the terms.
The main point of disagreement is the revised procedure for performance bonuses. Until now, the company has applied a so-called deduction system, where the bonus was reduced for tardiness, passenger complaints and other breaches of labour discipline.
According to VVT, bonuses for exemplary workers can reach 250 euros per month. Meanwhile, the union said criteria are arbitrary and management’s decisions are often based on sympathies and antipathies.
“No worker knows what salary they will receive tomorrow, because it is regulated by the director’s day-to-day orders,” said Algirdas Markevicius, president of the VVT trade union.
VVT operates 76 of the 105 public transport routes in Vilnius: five express bus services, 17 trolleybus services and 54 bus services.
In total, VVT employs 1,830 people, over 1,100 of whom are drivers. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
