New Metro Trains contract causes conflict with RTBU

A CLAUSE in the latest Metro Trains contract has triggered a new battle between the rail operator and the Rail Tram and Bus Union, which is warning the conflict could spill over into marginal seats.

A CLAUSE in the latest Metro Trains contract has triggered a new battle between the rail operator and the Rail Tram and Bus Union, which is warning the conflict could spill over into marginal seats.

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Metro is planning to centralise operations in the CBD, as outlined in new franchise agreements signed last year, and is in the early stages of ­developing a proposal to cut control desks at Clifton Hill, Reservoir, Heidelberg and ­Eltham stations.

Yesterday, the RTBU passed a motion to fight the changes, arguing they could cost more than 40 jobs.

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Secretary of the Rail Tram and Bus Union Luba Grigorovitch. Picture: Ian Currie

Metro’s Marcus Williams said it had advised the union in writing that there would be no redundancies. “This project is currently at the proposal stage. We will undertake formal consultation with our staff and the union before a final decision is made,” he said.

“Our objective for this project is to provide a better and safer service for our passengers and a better working environment for our staff.”

A state election is due in November, and the RTBU ­motion warned its campaign against the changes would spill into Labor-held seats near the affected stations.

“We’ve given a commitment to our members at a mass meeting that we will run a community campaign against Metro, PTV and the government to ensure that these threats don't come to fruition,” state secretary Luba Grigorovitch said.

Metro is planning to centralise operations in the CBD. Picture: Eugene Hyland

“We see it as a serious attack … and therefore we won’t hold back at all.

“We will put the whole weight of the union behind this campaign ... Today, it is the Clifton Hill group, but we run the risk of tomorrow it being the entire network.”

A government spokeswoman said the proposal was in its early stages and that no jobs would be lost.

“The new agreement for running Melbourne’s trains and trams secures a better deal for passengers and for Victorian workers,” she said.

“The new contracts will create more than 700 jobs across the public transport sector — many of them in customer service and operations.”

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