Rail union announces 24-hour Sydney train strike
THE rail union has announced its members will go on strike, potentially shutting the network down for 24 hours.
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SYDNEY’S rail commuters, already ropeable due to the network’s recent delays, have another reason to be frustrated with the rail union calling a 24-hour strike.
Rail workers throughout NSW will stop work after negotiations on a new pay deal broke down with the Union and rail management at loggerheads.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) said on Tuesday a 24-hour strike will begin at 12.01am on Monday, January 29.
“We’re disappointed it has to come to this, but management and the NSW government haven’t left us with any other options,” NSW union secretary Alex Claassens said on Tuesday afternoon.
He said the Union had been talking to management for six months but the government and rail bosses had refused to “bargain fairly”.
The RTBU is looking for a 6 per cent rise each year for four years while management has said they won’t go above a 2.5 per cent ceiling.
The strike action follows a ballot of union members last week.
On Friday, Transport Minister Andrew Constance urged rail workers to remain at work. “The government will agree to a pay rise for train drivers in accordance with the wages policy — a policy that applies to teachers, nurses, police and all public sector employees.”
The minister also claimed the ballot result was not the clear-cut majority union bosses were hoping for because about 3000 people voted for strike action out of a workforce of 9550.
Sydney commuters have put up with weeks of rail pain due to a combination of excess leave, staff calling in sick, engineering work and lightning strikes short circuiting signals.
Last week, the RTBU‘s Mr Claassens furiously denied the unprecedented driver sickness was a shot over the bows during pay talks.
It was “completely separate” to the rail troubles, he was reported as saying in the Telegraph.
Originally published as Rail union announces 24-hour Sydney train strike
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