Rail unions drop eight major actions from proposed strike ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations

One of NSW’s most powerful unions has issued a major update ahead of a huge proposed rail strike that would threaten New Year’s Eve celebrations. 

The rail union has dropped eight of its planned industrial actions from a proposed strike that could have derailed New Year’s Eve in Sydney.

The 11th-hour backdown from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RBTU) NSW follows the state government rejecting an offer to pause the planned strike in exchange for free transport for commuters.

Both parties will still face off before the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday.

On Monday night, the union said eight planned actions had been cancelled from 11pm tonight - saying they wanted members to be had “in the best possible position” for tomorrow’s hearing.

It follows the Combined Rail Unions on Sunday offering to withdraw all current industrial action and not engage in further strikes until January 7, 2025 if their demands were met.

“We’ve always been committed to finding a way forward, which would see minimal disruption on New Year’s Eve and throughout the remainder of the festive season,” Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW Secretary Toby Warnes said.

“We’re hopeful common sense will prevail and the NSW Government will agree to providing free public transport and sitting back down at the table so we can finally reach a sensible resolution.”

Industrial action by rail unions threatens Sydney’s iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

However, the NSW Government rejected the offer on Monday and said the unions “just need to drop their action”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the unions’ requests for free transport and an 8 per cent annual wage increase for rail workers “don’t align”.

“I think that this is a bit of a game. Unfortunately, it is at the expense of the people of Sydney,” he said.

Providing free transport across the entire public transport network would cost the government an estimated $127m a month.

It’s understood fare revenue would need to increase by 76 per cent to cover the cost of the unions’ demand for a 32 per cent pay rise over four years.

“As we’ve said before, this would cost millions of dollars that we don’t have,” a NSW Government spokesperson said.

“If we did do it, the people of NSW know that it has to be paid for by them in another way.”

Mr Minns said he had “stupidly agreed” to provide free travel twice in the last six months during negotiations with the rail unions in the hopes it would resolve disputes, but “the strikes kept happening and the industrial dispute went on longer.”

NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen and NSW Premier Chris Minns called on the unions to end the industrial action. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

“At the end of the day, this is a trust issue. We don’t think we can trust the union to follow through,” he said.

“The government has to draw a line in the sand.”

The NSW Government and the rail unions will come face-to-face before the Fair Work Commission on Christmas Eve when the government will push for the strikes to be suspended or terminated.

A spokesperson said the government was keeping “all legal options on the table” to ensure the industrial action didn’t disrupt the holiday period.

If unsuccessful, Mr Minns said there were “other options available” and “nothing’s off the table” including cancelling the Sydney Harbour fireworks display.

“That’s an extreme position. That’s not a recommendation I want to make,” he said while stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of attendees.

More than one million flock to Sydney Harbour each year to watch the New Year’s Eve firework bonanza, which attracts a global audience of more than 425 million.

RTBU NSW branch president Craig Turner slammed the threat to the New Year’s Eve event.

“There is no way in the world this government is going to cancel New Year’s Eve,” he told NewsWire on Monday afternoon.

“New Year’s Eve was run when the massive bushfires were on and also in the heart of Covid.”

Mr Turner said the government’s rhetoric was a power-play against the union.

“The government is running rhetoric to take us to every court in the land,” he said.

“The solution to fix the problem is the government needs to sit in a room with us and finish off the bargaining.”

Mr Turner also disputed reports the network was short of the guards and drivers it needed to operate on New Year’s Eve.

“It will be the same crew we run every New Year’s Eve,” he said.

“100 per cent capacity plus 40 per cent on top.

“I’ve worked 11 New Year’s Eves and it’s chaos every time, but we always run it safely and this is going to be no different at all.”

The unions are demanding free public transport in exchange for a suspension of strikes. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

To meet the demand of the state’s busiest public transport period, an additional 1000 train services have been scheduled to operate on New Year’s Eve.

However, authorities have warned the industrial action could impact approximately 50 per cent of train services across Sydney.

The NSW Premier said cancelling the fireworks could result in “massive reputational damage” for the city and “the stakes couldn’t be higher” in the fight with the rail unions.

“I just want to reiterate that the only way through this is for the rail unions to pull their industrial action in the run up to Christmas and New Year’s. It’s just too important for Sydney. It’s just too important for our economy,” he said.

“Having this kind of chaos on our transport network as a result of this industrial action is the opposite of what an international city wants and needs now.”

However, Mr Warnes said the rail unions had made the offer in an attempt to get the NSW Government back to the negotiating table.

Rail, Tram, and Bus Union NSW Secretary Toby Warnes. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

“Rail workers never want to have to take protected industrial action, but we also can’t just sit back and allow the government to run down our transport system and rob workers of the fair pay and conditions they deserve,” he said.

“Our fight has never been with commuters, but with the government and management who are overseeing this disgraceful attack on rail workers and have been responsible for the systemic attack on our public transport system for many years.”

The unions’ offer comes after multiple hospitality and entertainment companies made submissions to the Fair Work Commission about the harm the strikes would cause to their businesses.

Hospitality heavyweights Laundy Hotels, Merivale, Ryan’s Hotel Group and Luna Park pushed for the industrial action to be suspended so major New Year’s Eve events can run unimpeded.

Their grievances will be aired during the Fair Work Commission hearing on Tuesday.

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen called on the unions to withdraw their action because “families and businesses cannot afford this uncertainty” at this time of year.

“Unfortunately, it’s passengers and businesses that are the victims here in the unions’ childish games,” she said.

Originally published as Rail unions drop eight major actions from proposed strike ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations