Auckland bus drivers are set to strike every Monday for nine weeks after failing to reach an agreement in a pay dispute.



Mediation between about 900 bus drivers and their employer, NZ Bus, has ended without a resolution.



Bus drivers will now strike every Monday, starting on September 17, for nine weeks in an effort to convince NZ Bus to take their wage claim seriously.



The drivers lobbied for a pay rate of $20 an hour to come in earlier than the company was prepared to offer, Gary Froggatt, Tramways Union President said.



"Drivers have submitted during bargaining that this should be in place by July next year, whereas the company wants to delay it until April 2014," he said.



"Bus drivers are routinely away from home for 14 hour days to earn an 8 hour wage, due to their split shifts for peak services."



"It is not at all easy to support themselves and their families in Auckland on the wages that NZ Bus pay. This is a very profitable company, who can comfortably afford a better deal for Auckland's bus drivers."



Froggatt added that NZ Bus' owner, Infratil, posted a six per cent profit increase in August and that company directors were recently awarded a 3.7 per cent increase.

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