The Otago Regional Council recently announced Go Bus would be lead contractor of its Dunedin Orbus services. Ritchies lost over half of its routes.
A Ritchies bus driver, who declined to be named, said it had been an incredibly stressful time as drivers waited on whether they would still have a job.
The driver understood the contract changes could affect at least 40 drivers in Dunedin alone.
While some of those would be able to pick up work at Go Bus, others were less certain.
The driver said many at Ritchies were long-term contract-holders and were drawing on their sick leave as a protest.
The situation was compounded for many drivers who were made to take overtime at late notice.
In New Zealand, employees are entitled to 10 days of paid sick leave per year after six months of continuous employment.
Unused sick leave cannot be cashed in or paid out.
When Ritchies were approached about the situation, they said: ‘‘given this relates to a commercial arrangement with ORC it is not appropriate for us to comment’’.
