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Almost 1,000 Adelaide metro bus drivers could walk off the job on Monday for 24 hours, causing commuter chaos for people returning to work.
- The TWU and Torrens Transit have been at loggerheads since October
- According to the union, drivers deserve a pay rise and safer working conditions
- It rejects suggestions the timing of the planned strike is intended to coincide with workers returning to the city
Bus drivers are planning to strike from 3am on Monday, January 9, for 24 hours, a step the Transport Workers Union (TWU) said would have a "big impact" on bus services available that day.
The TWU said it had been negotiating with Torrens Transit — the company that operates 80 per cent of Adelaide's bus network — since October over workers' pay and conditions, after the previous agreement had expired.
However, South Australian branch secretary Ian Smith said negotiations had reached a standstill and workers needed to take greater action.
"Bus driving is no longer safe and it's not well paid. Bus drivers are leaving the industry in droves," Mr Smith said.
"We've just hit a brick wall. We've got to the stage where there's nothing on the table."
Mr Smith said the choice of the strike day had "nothing" to do with Monday being the return to work for many city workers.
"Some of these drivers have not had a pay rise in three years and … they've been abused, spat on, kicked and punched," he said.
"This is a last resort, we don't do this lightly."
Mr Smith said the union would consider calling off the strike action if workers were offered $32 an hour.
He said that Torrens Transit bus drivers currently earned about $25.70 an hour.
Mr Smith also said workers needed greater safety measures in place, including secure cabins for drivers, more security guards on buses and in transport hot spots and tougher penalties for people who assault drivers.
ABC News has contacted Torrens Transit for a response.
The TWU is not ruling out further strike action.