Fears of commuter chaos in the capital during the 24-hour train strike have proved unfounded as Wellington's workforce heeded warnings to avoid the traffic.
Photo: RNZ / Paloma Migone
But the industrial dispute between the Rail and Maritime Transport Union and the company running the trains seems to be hardening, with each side accusing the other of lying and bullying.
Transdev managing director Alan Bannister said the changes included flexible working hours and Sunday work for some train engineers.
"They're not about eroding the rights of the workers, they're all about increasing the offer to the workers, which is broadly 2 percent across the board.
"The changes in the terms and conditions are all about productivity. It makes no financial difference to the company but it does make a productive difference, which our customers will benefit from."
Mr Bannister said he had been told of some instances in which workers had been bullied into going on strike and blamed the union for refusing to negotiate.
However, the union categorically denied there had been any coercion.
Union organiser Howard Phillips said it was Transdev - which took over the contract from KiwiRail in July last year - that was refusing to negotiate in good faith.
The company was trying to claw back long-established terms and conditions, he said.
These included double-time pay on Sundays and the ability to decline to work on a statutory holiday.
The union was also worried about a proposal to cut staff numbers on some trains to what they called "unsafe" levels.
Mr Phillips said the only way for French-owned Transdev and South Korean maintenance company Hyundai Rotem to make more money from the fixed price contract was to lower the cost of labour.
"None of that saving goes back into the infrastructure in New Zealand, none of that goes to the ratepayer - it comes out of the pockets of the rail workers of Wellington and goes directly overseas."
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is taking a hands-off approach to the dispute - at least for now.
Regional transport committee chair Councillor Barbara Donaldson said the council's contract with Transdev included penalty clauses - but the situation did not yet warrant them.
"If this happens again, or there are threats of more strikes, then maybe we will need to intervene or try to get the parties together ourselves - but at the moment it's up to the parties to sort this out."
Resilience planning at most governments is well advanced, with the threat of a big quake always looming over the capital.
A spokesman for the State Services Commission said the strike was well publicised and people were able to plan. This allowed many public servants to car-pool, travel early or, technology permitting, to work from home.
Ministry for Social Development deputy chief executive Merv Dacre said staff were encouraged to carpool or consider other options.
"Depending on the nature of their work, we gave staff the option of working from home, or from another service centre," he said.
"We're a resilient organisation - and we know this from the way we keep operating in emergencies."
The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment said it also supported "flexible working where appropriate".
Deputy chief executive Adrienne Meiklem said many staff were therefore equipped for mobile working, "which means working from home in this kind of scenario is a practical option".
Wellington Chamber of Commerce head John Milford said last year's earthquake spurred many companies to rejig their IT systems to allow more people to work from home and keep their businesses operating.
Wellingtonians were resilient, he said.
"I'm standing in my office here and looking at Victoria carpark and there are empty car parks.
"You would have expected that carpark to be absolutely chocka full so people have obviously made alternative arrangements."
But Wellingtonians' resilience and patience may be tested, with the union warning there will be further strike action if the company did not back down on the proposed changes.
