No end to stalemate as Sydney 36 hours from train shutdown

Sydney is less than 36 hours from one of the worst shutdowns of its passenger rail network despite positive eleventh-hour negotiations and an intervention by NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns to avert disruption to millions of commuters.

Senior union leaders emerged from a two-hour meeting with Transport Minister Jo Haylen at state parliament late on Wednesday, during which the premier appeared for a period.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen again called on Wednesday for the union to drop key work bans.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Speaking outside parliament, Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) state secretary Toby Warnes said it was a “good meeting” and involved “some encouraging words” from the premier.

“We’re still at a stalemate, but we did have some good and positive discussions,” he said, without elaborating.

Minns has invited the union leaders back for another meeting on Thursday, and Warnes said he hoped it would result in positive outcomes. “The premier’s intervention is obviously welcome, and he invited us personally to come back tomorrow,” Warnes said.

“He wants the disruptions on the weekend to not occur, and we’re hopeful that discussions tomorrow can achieve that.”

Warnes confirmed that an indefinite ban on any work by the RTBU’s members unless the government runs 24-hour services on Sydney’s rail network from Thursdays to Sundays remains in place.

If the escalating dispute cannot be resolved, a shutdown of the suburban rail network, which carries a million people a day, will begin in the early hours of Friday morning and last until early Sunday morning.

Earlier, Haylen again called on the RTBU to drop critical work bans which will bring the suburban rail network to a halt and cause major disruption to intercity trains.

The government is keeping open the option of taking the dispute to the industrial umpire, although Haylen said she wanted to resolve the stand-off by negotiation with the unions.

Crowds are often hectic after major events at Olympic Park. Pictured: Scenes after the Women’s World Cup semi-final.Credit: Brandon Nguyen

“The former government took that type of action, and it was a failed strategy. I don’t want to be taking action that actually drives the parties apart and prolongs this dispute. We are meeting this afternoon with union leadership to progress just that,” she said.

She has ruled out cancelling the planned closure of much of Sydney’s new driverless metro line for major maintenance this weekend despite the rest of the city’s rail network facing a shutdown due to the protracted industrial dispute.

While keeping the entire M1 metro open this weekend would provide some relief, Haylen said cancelling the essential maintenance planned for the line between Chatswood and Sydenham would come at a “significant cost to taxpayers”.

In a bid to resolve the dispute, the premier also spoke to Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey and the RTBU state secretary early on Wednesday morning.

Earlier, Warnes defended his union’s demands for 24-hour services, claiming that the government seemed intent on pushing ahead with its plans to shut down the network.

At a last-minute meeting between the RTBU and Sydney Trains at 5.30pm on Tuesday, both parties failed to reach an agreement on the union’s demands to run a 24-hour train service and a 32 per cent pay rise over four years. The government has offered rail workers a wage increase of 9.5 per cent over three years, which the union has rejected.

Train services were originally meant to stop at 10pm on Thursday but will cease about 4.15am on Friday if the main work ban is enacted. A negotiated outcome means the concert by rock band Pearl Jam at Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday night will be serviced by 86 special event trains.

The network shutdown – if it goes ahead – means soccer fans will have to make their own way to Moore Park on Friday and Saturday for four A-League games.

On Friday, Allianz Stadium will host the clash between Perth Glory and Western United before Newcastle Jets take on the Central Coast Mariners. On Saturday, the same venue hosts Brisbane Roar v Adelaide United before a derby between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman accused the premier of failing to condemn the “industrial chaos” caused by the rail union which could last for weeks.

“This is a government that is captive to the unions, and that’s why the premier won’t condemn the rail unions. This is industrial chaos that Chris Minns has created because the unions know he’s weak,” he said.

The RTBU has also enforced a restriction on the distance each driver or guard can travel each day, severely limiting the range that services can operate, especially intercity trains which run on lines such as from Sydney to Newcastle or Wollongong.

Sydney Trains said more than 100 services were delayed or cancelled on Tuesday.

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