Union announces more NSW train strikes as government dispute continues
One state is set for even more commuter pain with further train strikes and industrial action planned from next week.
NSW commuters are set for more travel pain after the rail union announced a fresh wave of industrial action from next week as their dispute continues with the state government.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) said on Monday that transport officers will refuse to issue fines, will leave gates at train stations and perform rail strikes as part of a three-week campaign throughout August.
The union and NSW government are at loggerheads over a $2.88bn state-of-the-art intercity fleet, which the former argues is unsafe.
The unused Korean-made fleet has been left to collect dust in maintenance sheds, with the RTBU arguing the safety issues include children not being visible to guards during crucial moments and low-quality cameras.
The union is taking further industrial action in the hope the government will sign a document committing to making the safety changes, which will allow negotiations for a new enterprise agreement to continue.
From August 7, workers will no longer issue fines, which will be followed by a strike in area 1 (where South Sydney, Bondi Junction and Wollongong services run through) from 10am to 4pm on August 10.
Two days later, cleaners will stop using vacuum cleaners or scrubbing machines, followed by all gates at train stations being left open on August 13.
This will be followed by three separate strikes from 10am to 4pm in various areas across the state.
A strike on August 17 will impact Sydney’s inner west and regional areas. Newcastle, Penrith and western NSW will be hit with a strike on August 23, and areas across Sydney’s CBD will be affected on August 25.
To round out the month on August 31, there will be a ban on operating foreign-made trains.
RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the union has been left with no choice but to take further industrial action.
“We’ve done everything by the book in order to get these vital safety changes, but the government is refusing to listen,” he said
“This is our only way of making sure that the safety changes that need to be made will actually be made.
“We don’t want to have to continue to take action, but at the same time we won’t be bullied into accepting an inferior enterprise agreement in order to get safe trains on our network.”
The strikes are only happening in one area at a time so that trains can continue to run in most areas of the state.
“We’ve done a lot of work to ensure that our actions will impact management and the government and not the travelling public,” Mr Claassens said.
“There’s no reason why, with some planning and common sense, trains cannot continue to run relatively smoothly while our actions are happening.
“Our fight isn’t with the travelling public, it’s with the NSW Government and the management who are putting politics ahead of common sense and safety. We’re doing this for the commuters.
“We understand that commuters will be frustrated because we’re frustrated, too.”
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