As the General Workers’ Union and Arriva prepare to hold urgent talks today, the GWU has warned “there is a limit” to its patience and that it is ready to declare an industrial dispute.

The talks will cover driver rosters, restroom facilities and salary structures.

A GWU spokesman said a long-standing dispute over drivers being assigned more than one split shift remains unresolved, adding some drivers are on more than three split shifts.

Discussions over a collective agreement are at a standstill, with Arriva yet to respond to the GWU’s request last August for a timeframe to be set on negotiations, he added.

Other pending issues concern what the union says is the lack of adequate restroom facilities for drivers as well as a disagreement over existing salary structures.

“We don’t expect drivers to fall within the top tier of earners but traditionally they fall within the intermediate pay bracket. At the moment, employee salaries are close to minimum wage levels,” the spokesman said.

This is the latest in a number of clashes between the GWU and Arriva since the latter first started operating last July. The two locked horns in August over drivers’ split shifts, with the GWU subsequently telling drivers not to operate services to the air show in September.

Arriva had reacted by saying it had offered workers a more comprehensive package including a pay rise and that it was “disappointed” by the GWU’s action.

Asked to comment on the GWU’s latest statement, Arriva struck a conciliatory tone. “Arriva is not in dispute with GWU in connection with any matter and will continue to work with the union such that the two organisations together can manage situations that might arise,” a spokesman said.

The GWU was blunter, saying that drivers’ rosters had shown no sign of improvement over the past four months and that unless today’s meeting brought changes, it would take action to protect its Arriva employees.

“We gave Arriva the time to do it their way,” a GWU spokesman said, “now we’ll have to do it ours.”