Rail workers set to strike as companies brace for meltdown
RAIL chaos is set to send Sydney into meltdown on the Australia Day long weekend and next Monday after talks between the government and union leaders broke down late yesterday.
Inner West
Don't miss out on the headlines from Inner West. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Injuries, people trapped after train derailment at Richmond station
- ‘Passengers were flying through carriage like Superman’
- Duncan Lay: The real disaster on Sydney trains
RAIL chaos is set to send Sydney into meltdown on the Australia Day long weekend and next Monday after talks between the government and union leaders broke down late yesterday.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) refused to sign a deal for a 3 per cent rise and extra benefits after eight hours of negotiations which ran well into the night.
A meeting will be held at lunchtime today to try to avert a 24-hour strike next Monday which could cost Sydney tens of millions of dollars and create commuter chaos as 9000 rail workers walk off the job.
The combined rail unions told its members this morning that “we will push ahead with the industrial action as planned”, starting from Thursday with an “indefinite overtime ban” threatening the cancellation of up to 500 services.
“Unfortunately, we still have not reached an agreement,” the union said. “Management came to the meeting with an offer, but it was not up to scratch.
“There are still a range of conditions that we haven’t got agreement on, including rostering concerns, job security, keeping the value of your Opal card when services are privatised and a fair and timely discipline process.”
RTBU Secretary Alex Claasens blamed Transport Minister Andrew Constance for the breakdown in talks.
“Unfortunately we’ve got a guy (Mr Constance) sitting behind the scenes, pulling the strings, and dictating stuff and it’s just not working,” Mr Claasens told 2GB.
“There will be an overtime ban on Thursday … and a strike on Monday, unless they come to the table today and actually start talking about the conditions that matter for my members.”
Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins said the deal involving a 3 per cent pay increase was a “fair and reasonable offer”.
A Transport for NSW spokesman said: “Sydney Trains and Transport for NSW continue to negotiate with the combined rail unions to find a resolution.
“Customers will be informed of potential alterations to services shortly, with details made available by our Twitter handles, real-time apps and transportnsw.info.
“In the event of industrial action, alternative transport will not be able to match the capacity of the train network and customers should expect delays, travel outside the peak and allow extra travel time.”
Many companies and organisations are scrambling to work out how they will cope with the strike action next Monday.
Two of the big banks, ANZ and Westpac, will encourage employees to work from home, while others at the Sydney Olympic Park Precinct are weighing up what to do. The state’s peak motoring group, NRMA, and Samsung each have hundreds of staff at the site.
Some companies are expected to give taxi vouchers to staff and pay for Uber rides.
The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) is predicting a traffic “mess” on our roads next Monday if train drivers forge ahead with a planned 24-hour strike.
And it has called on the State Government to consider enacting special parking provisions to ease the chaos.
“It (Sydney’s road network) will be a mess on a scale not seen recently,” WSROC president and Blacktown Mayor Stephen Bali said.
“Parking stations will be at a premium as there will be no on-street parking unless the government decides to enact special parking provisions.”
The call came as a planned meeting between Sydney Trains bosses and the combined rail unions was put on hold after a train plowed into barricade at Richmond station in Sydney’s northwest yesterday morning.
Sixteen people were treated for injuries after the train hit buffers at the station at 10am.
Union to meet with Sydney Trains
NRMA data presented to a parliamentary inquiry into commuter parking in NSW shows there are over 30,000 commuter car spaces currently available but Cr Bali fears that will not be nearly enough to meet the demand next Monday.
“There may be parking in Western Sydney but it will be impossible, or at the very least very costly, for a Western Sydney rail user to travel by car to a job in or surrounding the Sydney central business district (on Monday),” Cr Bali said.
Ride-hailing company Uber said rail users may want to think about catching a ride to work with one of their drivers next Monday.
“Ahead of the potential Sydney train strike, features like ‘Driver Destinations’ can provide Sydney residents with an alternative commuting option which is reliable, convenient and affordable,” Uber’s spokeswoman said.
Driver Destinations uses technology to match drivers with riders heading in the same direction.
“For Uber riders, there are also a couple of features in the app which can further help them in getting to work during the strikes,” she said.
They include the “Multiple Stops” feature. Use this to pick-up or drop-off friends or colleagues en route to the office by sharing one Uber. The app also has a “Split Fare” feature.
The NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan forecasts rail patronage could increase by 26 per cent between 2012 and 2031, with Centre for Western Sydney data showing the Sydney local government areas with the highest rate of rail use as Campbelltown (92 per cent), Penrith (87pc), and Camden and Fairfield (86pc each).
Many commuters from the Central Coast make the 50-minute drive to Sydney’s northern outskirts, where they park and catch the train to complete their journey to jobs in the city.
In the WSROC region 101,628 people — or 15.3 per cent of the population — caught a train to work in 2016, latest Census figures showed.
Cr Bali accused the State Government of being “too focused on the quantity of services, rather than the quality of the trips”.
“Since the new timetable was introduced (last November) station platforms seem to be more crowded,” Cr Bali said of the State Government’s $1.5 billion timetable overhaul which put an additional 1500 extra weekly services on the Sydney trains network.
“As an example, for the first time since Federation there is no longer any direct connections between Burwood and Blacktown — both on the same line (and) both regionally significant centres!”
WSROC represents the councils of Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith.
Macarthur Regional Organisation of Councils (MACROC) president and Wollondilly Mayor Judith Hannan lamented that the region didn’t have the best train service “at the best of times”.
“Imagine what the Hume Highway will be like (on Monday),” Cr Hannan said. “I imagine a lot of people will take the day off, especially with it being an Australia Day long weekend.”
Census data shows 15,678 people - or 11.8 per cent of the MACROC population - as catching trains to work in 2016. MACROC members are Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils.