Rail unions’ log of claims reveals what they are holding Sydney to ‘ransom’ over
Rail unions have argued that foreign railway workers should get to travel for free on Sydney’s trains, as part of a log of claims that kicked off a campaign of industrial chaos. Read their demands.
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Rail unions have argued that foreign railway workers should get to travel for free on Sydney’s trains, as part of a log of claims that kicked off a months-long campaign of industrial chaos that sent the train network into meltdown last week.
Negotiations between the Minns government and the Combined Rail Unions fell apart in a Fair Work Commission hearing on Tuesday, after both sides failed to reach an agreement.
It came after union bosses presented a counteroffer to the government’s “final” offer of a 15 per cent pay rise over four years including a 1 per cent superannuation bump.
Prior to presenting a counter offer, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) had been arguing for a 32 per cent pay rise over four years.
Neither the government nor the union would comment on what the unions’ counteroffer entailed. But, in their most recent log of claims, the Combined Rail Unions (CRU) were demanding a series of perks for drivers which included extra pay for staff who were not allowed to wear shorts when the temperature exceeds 30C.
Unions also want their free travel entitlements extended to “international railway workers”, unlimited paid sick leave, and a 35-hour work week.
Industrial action launched by the unions as part of their pay rise campaign crippled the network last week, after previously threatening to shut down Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The Fair Work Commission last week imposed a temporary ceasefire in hostilities, after the Minns government applied to have the ongoing industrial action thrown out.
A two-day hearing will begin in the Fair Work Commission from Wednesday, where the government will argue that the unions should be banned from imposing its work bans, due to the potential impact on the NSW economy.
Despite having the power to end the industrial action that sent the train network into meltdown, federal Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said he would not intervene.
“There’s no need for a federal government to be intervening … to be duplicating something that the state government is already doing by taking this matter to the commission,” he said last week.
The rail unions are among a growing list of public-sector unions that have imposed or threatened work bans in seeking massive pay rises since the Minns government abolished the wages cap.
Former Liberal NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, who legislated the public sector’s wages cap, last week said its removal by the Minns government had brought back 1970s-style industrial disputes.
“(The Minns government) is just being held ransom,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“I thought the days of people asking for 15 and 20 and 30 per cent pay increases stopped in the ’70s, so I’m feeling very old.”
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