Queensland Rail fail: Union controls on recruiting train drivers set to be scrapped
UPDATE: Acting Transport Minister Jackie Trad says she believes trade unions will be willing to give a little in order to address closed shop conditions identified by the Strachan Inquiry.
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ACTING Transport Minister Jackie Trad says she believes trade unions will be willing to give a little in order to address closed shop conditions identified by the Strachan inquiry as contributing to the southeast Queensland rail fail.
Ms Trad, Commissioner Phillip Strachan and Premier Annastacia Palasczcuk have met with union officials to discuss the report which raised concerns about impediments to external recruitment of drivers, among other issues, as contributing to the critical driver shortage.
“There are provisions within the EBA currently around recruiting externally so what we need is we need management, unions, government all focused on how we can recruit not only new drivers but how we can expand the pool of trainers so that we are training the drivers we are recruiting as fast as possible,” Ms Trad said.
“Some of the current arrangements that have been reached, while there is an EBA in place, have been reached in good faith, through negotiations with the trade unions to date.
“There is capacity and there is a willingness for us to reach agreement around elements of implementing these recommendations, of accelerating training and recruiting new drivers.”
Queensland Rail’s board will officially meet for the first time on Friday with new chair Phillip Strachan seeking an assurance from acting QR CEO Neil Scales that the current timetable is sustainable.
Mr Strachan, who took over as chair yesterday after handing down his report into the southeast Queensland train driver crisis, said he wanted to ensure it was sustainable.
“One of the recommendations is to look at the January 23 timetable and to really make sure that is a robust timetable,” Mr Strachan said.
“That is a job for Neil (Scales) and his team to come back to the board and demonstrate with good data that this current timetable is robust and actually providing services to the public as they should expect.
“I’m not at all flagging more delays or cancellations.”
He said he wanted to be able to give an assurance the timetable was sustainable.
Mr Strachan said it was too early to make any calls on the composition of the QR board going forward.
OVERNIGHT: A union stranglehold on recruiting new drivers that contributed to chronic staffing shortages at Queensland Rail has been recommended for the scrap heap.
The Strachan Commission of Inquiry into the Citytrain timetable meltdown yesterday recommended the government dump union rules forcing QR to offer the jobs internally before being able to recruit outsiders.
It also found that while QR had initially secured union support to hire out-of-work or retired train drivers to help overcome the shortage last month, it was yet to place a single advertisement.
As previously revealed by The Courier-Mail, the rule required QR to advertise across its 6000 staff to fill more than 100 empty driver spots because of a union deal.
The commission report found that QR could speed up recruitment and training by advertising to the general public, similar to other network operators, such as Deutsche Bahn and Sydney Trains.
“Accessing a more diverse and competitive pool of applicants could result in candidates completing training programs at an accelerated pace, thereby increasing the pace of the recovery effort,” the report said.
The recommendation to dump the rule has put the Palaszczuk Government on a collision course with the Rail Tram and Bus Union, which yesterday continued to defend the hiring restriction.
RTBU state secretary Owen Doogan yesterday said he did not believe a push to move to external recruitment would speed up training times.
He said hiring from the train guard pool first sped up the process as they were aware of train engineering and routes.
“It means it slows down the amount of drivers we get through training,” Mr Doogan said.
“They have already got three-quarters of the competencies of the drivers.”
Mr Doogan blamed training delays on a shortage of driver trainers.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk met with the RTBU to talk about ways to speed up hiring and training drivers, including opening QR driver positions to external applicants.
She said she would work with the union because she believed it “wants the best for the travelling public as well”.
The Strachan findings exposed a “preference to operate with an ongoing train crew shortfall” linked to increasing overtime levels and plummeting productivity.
“The persistent shortfall of train crew was well known within Queensland Rail and not considered an issue,” the inquiry found.
“In addition, extending recruitment to external applicants will avoid depleting internal talent pools and preserve guard numbers to prevent similar shortages.”
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