Planned four-hour strike on Sunday cancelled due to severe heat while free fares continue Day two of industrial action on our buses, SA's hot spell begins and Hollywood star Sam Worthington in Adelaide THE BUS drivers strike planned for Sunday has been called off because of the weekend heatwave. The drivers and their families were to gather at Elder Park and for a barbecue with bouncy castles for the kids between 10am and 2pm but the Transport Workers Union cancelled the event due to the "extreme heat" of the forecast 43C. It comes as drivers from Southlink and Transfield again waived fares today in their fight for better pay and conditions. A statement by the union said the strike had been called off "in the interest of our safety, the safety of our families and the travelling public." However, the union hasn't ruled out future strikes, telling members it "will be in touch soon about any new plans for strike action." The State Government announced last night that no bus passengers would be fined for travelling without a validated ticket as long as the union's action continued. The decision followed many mixed messages, confusing commuters. In a surprising development, bus ticket validations were up despite union member drivers not issuing tickets or enforcing validation as part of industrial action in support of wage claims and safer working conditions. Industrial Relations Minister John Rau said he wasn't sure why validations were up but admitted it could be due to earlier warnings by the Transport Department that fare evaders would face "hefty" fines and the increased number of bus company security staff at bus interchanges yesterday. "The increase in validation could be because people who were doing the wrong thing instead did the right thing," he said. The union is meeting with Transfield and SouthLink today and tomorrow. On Tuesday, the Transport Department said passengers would face "hefty fines" if they didn't have a valid ticket. On Wednesday morning, Mr Rau said no Transfield or SouthLink passengers would be fined, before Transport Services Minister Chloe Fox said all bus passengers would be exempt from fines due to the "general confusion." Mr Rau encouraged passengers using Transfield and SouthLink services to pay their way from today. But he said "if people chose to not to validate their ticket, there will be no penalty imposed during the period of this dispute." Mr Rau said it was "business as usual" for customers of Torrens Transit, which is not in a pay dispute and services mostly western suburbs. The Opposition has called for Ms Fox to be sacked, claiming "the Premier Jay Weatherill does not trust Minister Fox to do her job" after she was pulled from a media interview with ABC radio. The Premier denied Ms Fox had been "gagged." Opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans said there is a "rift between Minister Fox and her senior bureaucrats which is causing commuter chaos." "When you get mixed messages from two ministers and the department, no-one could be blamed for not knowing what's going on," he said.