‘Watch fireworks at home’: Train strike union’s advice to NYE revellers

It wants to halve New Year’s Eve trains with one million people on the move, but the rail union says that won’t ruin Sydney’s big night: there are other options ... like buses and staying home.

The rail union is threatening to cut New Year’s Eve train services by half in a move which could wreak havoc on the network on a night when services would normally surge to move more than a million people through the city.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union is threatening to go ahead with strike action which will slowly cripple the train network, despite warnings that industrial action would leave millions of people will disrupted and damage Sydney’s international reputation.

RTBU NSW Secretary Toby Warnes on Tuesday would not accept that strike action “will ruin New Year’s Eve,” but estimated that the network would be running at 50 per cent.

A train network at half capacity would chaos major disruption on a normal weekday, let alone on New Year’s Eve, where 1000 extra services are put on.

Transport officials are now “concerned” that the actions would make the network “unsafe to run”.

RTBU NSW Secretary Toby Warnes addresses the media in a press conference in Sydney CBD to provide an update on bargaining for rail worker's Enterprise Agreement. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Warnes said people would find another way to come to the city — including a bus, metro, or a taxi – or “watch the fireworks at home”.

It came after Transport Minister Jo Haylen on Tuesday vowed to “pursue all legal options” available to stop “any” industrial action on New Year’s Eve.

“No level of industrial action is tolerable this time of the year, particularly given how tough it’s been for families and businesses,” she said.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the Rail, Tram and Bus union has not moved from its demand for a 32 per cent pay increase, and warned officials that they should not use New Year’s Eve to “play chicken with the NSW economy”.

The combined rail unions are threatening to take a range of strike action from December 28, including driving trains 23 kilometres per hour under the speed limit and reducing the kilometres staff drive each shift.

“The cumulative effect of these bans, and some bans in particular, mean that services are cancelled and delayed,” Ms Haylen said.

‘INTERNATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT’

Business groups said any disruption over New Year’s Eve would be a disaster that could cause international embarrassment.

“There is a real danger that we damage the brand that is Sydney if our public transport system isn’t working the way it should,” Tourism and Transport Forum CEO Margie Osmond said.

Business NSW CEO Dan Hunter said that the “threat of strike action” could be enough to send businesses under.

“If this strike goes ahead, some businesses will experience bankruptcy,” he said.

Mr Warnes claimed that warning was “complete nonsense and hysteria”.

“The fireworks are still going to happen, people will still make their way into the city, regardless of the services that run that night,” he said.

Mr Warnes claimed that the union had not received a wage offer from the government during weeks of extensive negotiations, and said the union had identified $650 million in savings to cover the cost of wage increases.

That was rejected by the Minns government, which said through a spokeswoman that the $650 million in savings did not exist.