Train drivers vote in favour of industrial action

TRAIN drivers have officially voted in favour of industrial action if they do not get the pay deal they want. This comes after a horror week of train delays.

SYDNEY Trains boss Howard Collins who this week boasted he was proud to get a 2.5 per cent pay rise “just like every one else” actually scored an $88,000 bonus last year.

The revelation of the payment — more than a train driver’s base salary — came as the Rail and Bus Union ­officially voted in favour of ­industrial action in pursuing a 6 per cent a year pay rise, threatening more travel chaos for hard-pressed commuters.

Sydney trains boss Howard Collins

Mr Collins earns $695,000 a year, 30 per cent more than the $530,000 he was on when he was first poached from the London Underground in 2013.

A Sydney Trains spokesman last night claimed Mr Collins was being paid an extra $88,447 allowance because he had also been acting as chief executive of NSW TrainLink since March 2017.

“This has seen a significant saving for the NSW taxpayer due to the combination of two roles,” he said.

Yesterday, The Daily Telegraph revealed the top four Sydney Trains executives had received an average pay increase of more than $40,000 each in the past year, prompting anger from the rail union.

A ballot of members decided to take industrial action if they are not able to reach a pay deal they are happy with.

Wynyard railway Station during the peak hour on January 10. Picture: Christian Gilles

Of the Sydney Trains workers who voted, 84 per cent backed a one-week or indefinite strike. Seventy-three per cent of NSW Trains workers were in favour of a strike.

Delegates will meet in coming days to determine what their members will do next. If a strike is called, the Fair Work Commission has to be given several days notice.

The union’s NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the results didn’t guarantee they would go on strike, but added members were “angry” at their treatment by the government.

“What this means is that the option to take various forms of protected industrial action is now live, but we are still very hopeful we won’t have to go down that path,” Mr Claassens said. “Industrial action is always a last resort.”

Sydney Trains said it was disappointed in the vote.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said he would negotiate in good faith despite union demands “for a 24 per cent pay rise”. He urged them to put customer needs first.

“The government will agree to a pay rise for NSW Train drivers in accordance with the wages policy — a policy that applies to teachers, nurses, police and all public sector ­employees,” he said.

The government’s wage policy caps pay increases at 2.5 per cent per year.