Transport Minister David Elliott’s vow to union amid train strike action
With transport industrial action to continue this month, Minister David Elliott has issued a warning to the union which threatens to delay Sydney’s post-Covid recovery.
NSW
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The state’s new transport top dog has vowed he “won’t bow to any unreasonable demands” amid a bitter dispute with the union which threatens to put the brakes on Sydney’s post-Covid recovery.
Members of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) will continue industrial action until at least February 21, citing recent disputes with the NSW Government over health and safety conditions and overtime requirements.
The union met with Transport Minister David Elliott on Monday morning, in a meeting the senior cabinet member said was “productive”.
“They raised some good points but I won’t bow to any unreasonable demands and they know that,” he said.
Mr Elliott said the actions were an “extra hassle” as workers lurch towards normality following the January peak of the Omicron wave.
“I stressed their planned industrial action is unhelpful for their members and rail commuters, who don’t need extra hassle at this time. I have encouraged all parties involved to keep working constructively towards a resolution.”
RTBU secretary Alex Claassens claimed on Monday that “workers’ basic asks around hygiene and safety are being knocked back at every opportunity”.
Their action for the next fortnight will include a ban on working overtime shifts, as well as a ban on working with contractors – which the union says is to ensure that management cannot replace action-taking members’ with contractor labour.
It’s the latest squabble in the long-running dispute, as the government negotiates a new enterprise agreement with Sydney and NSW Trains employees after the previous agreement expired in May last year.
A spokeswoman for Sydney Trains said more than 30 bargaining meetings have been held between the government and rail unions since June, including six this year, in a bid to hammer out a new agreement.
“We are again disappointed that unions have chosen to take further industrial action today, causing such significant disruption for our customers,” she said.
The union said key sticking points in current negotiations included requests for Transport to maintain heightened Covid-19 cleaning routines by directly employing cleaners.
“We’d hoped that after the industrial actions taken last year, the government and transport bureaucrats had finally agreed to listen and negotiate. But time and again they’ve refused to put basic safety provisions in place to ensure that commuters and workers are kept safe on our railways,” Mr Claassens said.
“We’re hopeful the Minister will do the right thing and put a concrete offer on the table to resolve them.”
The average base pay for a Sydney Trains guard, according to employment website Glassdoor.com.au, is $79,500, scraping in above their contemporaries at Queensland Rail who have an average base pay between $71,225 and $78,581.
Design student Serene Lobo, 17, from The Hills said she was impacted by the strikes during her two hour commute to university on Monday.
“It was definitely inconvenient this morning with less trains running,” Miss Lobo told The Daily Telegraph.
“I use about three apps to make sure everything is running on time and I’m not going to miss anything.”
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