NSW train union won’t strike despite $1b negotiation blow-up

Commuters won’t have to fear further strikes in the coming days, the rail union has promised, as the spat with the NSW government continues over a $1 billion RBTU demand.

Tensions between rail unions and the NSW government have continued to grow after negotiations were blown up yesterday, but the union says commuters won’t be hit with another strike in the coming days.

Rail, Tram, and Bus Union boss Alex Claassens promised train workers won’t consider another strike until after their demands were considered and responded to by the government’s expenditure review committee.

“We could see that we’re being positioned here to be the bad people so we’re not going to play that silly game,” Mr Claassens said.

“We’ll be the adults in the room, we’re going to wait and see what the cabinet decision is and once we know what that decision is, we will take whatever appropriate action we need to make sure that people understand that we’re very passionate about safety, contracting out, and cleanliness.”

Mr Claassens will today write to Premier Dominic Perrottet and ask for an urgent meeting to get negotiations back on track.

Commuters waiting for a train won’t see any strike action yet, the union has promised. Picture: James Gourley

Transport Minister David Elliott and Mr Claassens were having constructive negotiations in previous weeks before employee relations Minister Damien Tudehope shot down union demands for changes to CCTV cameras and allowing guards to lean out of train doors.

The union claims cameras on the new fleet, which are currently sitting in storage in Kangy Angy, are lower quality and are obstructed by opening doors.

The union claims the new trains also don’t allow for guards to stick their head out to visually check the train is safe to depart.

On Friday Mr Elliott said he would “prosecute” the unions demands at the ERC as an act of good faith, and would seek an audit of Transport for NSW’s $1 billion figure.

“In my good faith arrangements with the union I said, ‘I can’t guarantee that ERC will agree to all of your requests’,” he said.

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott. Picture: Christian Gilles

Mr Elliott’s colleagues however said they would not entertain the union’s demands for a refit of security cameras.

“My position when I go to ERC, and as an ESC Minister, would be that I would be saying that this claim — in circumstances where the safety regulator has signed off on these trains — to carry out alterations to the most advanced technology comparable to anything in the world … that I could not support that,” Mr Tudehope said.

It comes as union bosses are demanding Transport for NSW rip out $1 billion worth of safety equipment and build compartments for old-style guards, in a move which could spark more industrial action and chaos on the city’s rail network.

The new intercity fleet train — which are waiting to be rolled out — at Central station. Picture: Damian Shaw

Six weeks of negotiations between the NSW government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RBTU), aimed at quelling further industrial action, blew up on the final day on Thursday over the union’s refusal to operate the $2.88 billion New Intercity Fleet (NIF) ­unless the changes are made.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the cause of the blow-up is the union’s demand that ­security cameras designed for passenger and staff safety be ripped out and safety mechanisms on doors disabled so train guards can lean out of the door.

The cost of the remedial work on the fleet, which has been standing idle since ­October 2021, is estimated at $1 billion

“Vandalism is bad enough on public transport without the unions taking a sledgehammer to a nearly $3 billion train fleet,” Treasurer Matt Kean said.

“This demand to butcher a new modern fleet is beyond ridiculous. The union demand that we rip out the latest technology is unreasonable.

“The unions need to allow passengers to use this modern, advanced and safe fleet, not tear them apart for their ­industrial warfare.”

Interior of the Mariyung train that is part of the new intercity fleet train. Picture: Damian Shaw

Industrial Relations Minister Damien Tudehope, in a snap announcement on Thursday, declared the government would not bow to union ­pressure to make the changes.

That came just hours after a senior Transport for NSW ­bureaucrat wrote to NSW RTBU secretary Alex Claassens proposing changes to the trains could be made “if ­approved by government”.

Mr Claassens said Transport Minister David Elliott had indicated during negotiations that he was open to alterations to the multibillion-dollar fleet.

But in a severe escalation of tensions between the powerful RTBU and the NSW government, Mr Kean and Mr Tudehope said the government wouldn’t bow to the demands.

Then-premier Gladys Berejiklian and then-transport Minister Andrew Constance check out the Mariyung train in April 2021. Picture: Damian Shaw

“We have a ($2.8 billion) train fleet sitting … ready to be rolled out and service the people of this state,” Mr Tudehope said.

Mr Kean said demands to alter the trains, which have been deemed safe by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, were “outrageous” and the government was “drawing a line in the sand”.

The fleet, which is set to travel between Sydney, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and Central Coast, was meant to be on the tracks in October 2021, but unions have refused to ­operate it over safety concerns.

Mr Claassens said the union wanted cameras upgraded, not ripped out. He said the government’s refusal to change could “potentially” send six weeks’ worth of enterprise bargaining back to square one.

He also refused to rule out further industrial action, but said he would advise union members to wait and see what other cabinet members said.

“I’m not going to rule anything in or out. Ultimately those decisions will be made by the members,” he said.

“We’ll wait and see what the rest of the cabinet members decide.

“They’re (Ministers Kean and Tudehope) trying to play games and we’re not going to play.”

Transport Minister David Elliott wasn’t present at the announcement despite playing a leading role in negotiations, but he later told Question Time that he wouldn’t be providing “a running commentary” on the negotiations when questioned over the breakdown.