First Union bus drivers have achieved a 'historic' victory in wage negotiation.

These bus drivers have become the first set of workers in New Zealand to get approval to initiate an industry-wide Fair Pay Agreement.

The bus driver unions will begin negotiations as they attempt to address ongoing issues of investment, overseas recruitment and driver safety.

First Union's Louisa Jones says these negotiations have been a long time coming, as they've been trying to initiate the discussions since December 2022.

"The bus industry is quite an organised group of employers as far as New Zealand industries go, and we have pretty good relationships there, and the unions are committed to working together too for all bus drivers. So yeah, optimistic we can do it."

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