Like getting a pedestrian barricade put up on this nightmare roadworks or saving some poor bugger's job at a disciplinary hearing reports our Bus Industrial Organiser Kevin Starr

I was a bit taken aback recently when a bus driver asked me: ‘What has the TWU been doing since the last pay campaign?'
Well of course there's the upgraded security across the network. The installation of the fire suppression systems being installed as we speak and...
Anyway, I got to thinking if nothing is happening that can be readily seen then why the hell am I always so busy?

And it comes down to this. Sometimes it's simply the little things that not everyone knows about that keep things ticking along while we get the Big Ticket Items sorted out.
Checking back through my diary over the past few months I found I'd been doing all sorts of silly stuff like:

• Getting stinking rat infested skip bins removed from Wellington Street Bus Station,
• Kicking backsides at various local Councils over Clearways
• Pushing Main Roads Traf?c Control to get intersections sorted out when road-workers hadn't bothered to tell the PTA or bus companies,
• Holding peoples' hands, so to speak, when they had issues with Equal Opportunities Commission, Fair Work Ombudsman or Fair Work Australia.
• Liaising with members of the Government and the Opposition, trying to get our problems acknowledged by the people who can help us sort them out.
• Listening to peoples' problems at home or at work; it's all part of the service I guess.

Then of course there's the dreaded times when drivers get hauled in for disciplinary hearings and possible employment termination.
While you may have never been involved in one of these YET, trust me when I say there are LOTS of them that I go to each and every day.
We win some, we certainly lose some, but we do our best to keep you employed. Sometimes that's harder than you think. And most people will never hear about it. So if you see us coming into a depot and disappearing for an hour or four or more and then flying out - dont worry.
Chances are I've just been trying to save some poor buggers job and I'm off to the next one. I'm certainly not ignoring you

The Horse Shoe Bridge, William and Wellington Sts Intersection was another issue that we sorted, with the help of a number of people that would wish to remain nameless. No traffic controllers, no barriers, pedestrians everywhere, and vehicles coming the wrong way down a BUS ONLY one way street, and who was sorting it out?
The builder didn't give a stuff, drivers were not happy. Three days of ‘polite negotiations' and then our threat to Black Ban the area finally got the protected barricades up.

Then there's the phone calls - all day and half the night. ‘I'm in trouble, I've been arrested, can you come and help me, etc?'
Or ‘I've had an accident and the police have charged me. What do I do now?' or ‘I'm not coping financially what can I do?'

People being injured at work. Conflicts between co workers, trying to sort out customer complaints that may not be kosher, problems at depots that you don't think are being sorted out properly or quick enough.
A whole lot of things happen depending on what the drama is, referrals to lawyers, getting the Industrial Officers to speak with you about Workers Comp. Maybe we go out to the Police Station or Courthouse and hold your hand if you need it, speaking to Slater and Gordon, seeing if there is anything we can do to help make it a little easier or cheaper.

So when you don't see us for a while, certainly ask what we are doing, but ask around your depots and find out what we have been quietly doing for our members in the background. We may not tell you in as many words because it may be a bit personal for the
people concerned.
As I said, sometimes it's the little things we do that mean a hell of a lot for the people needing helping hand.