Rail union suddenly drops major work bans ahead of NYE fireworks

The state’s most powerful rail union has suddenly dropped major work bans – including limits on the distance train crews can travel – which would have severely disrupted train services for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

On Monday night, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said six bans would be withdrawn, including those related to train cancellations, while two others would no longer come into effect on December 28 as planned.

The decision comes just hours before a critical hearing on Christmas Eve at the Fair Work Commission into the bitter pay dispute between the Labor government and unions.

The RTBU cast the U-turn as a way to put it in the best position to “see off” the government’s bid to have its industrial action suspended or terminated by Fair Work.

A government spokesperson said it was pleased that the bans had been lifted, and transport officials were assessing the impacts on train services.

“There are still outstanding bans from the [Electrical Trades Union] in place, but lawyers are talking overnight to see if we can resolve this,” she said. “We want to make absolutely sure these changes will have no impact on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.”

Premier Chris Minns and Transport Minister Jo Haylen at a press conference on Monday.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Earlier on Monday, the government rejected an 11th-hour offer from the RTBU and five other unions to temporarily cease major industrial action if it dropped its case in Fair Work against the unions and offered free fares to commuters.

Premier Chris Minns warned that the stakes could not be higher and said the government had options if it was unsuccessful in gaining orders forcing rail unions to abandon or suspend rolling industrial action.

“Nothing is off the table, including, I hate to say this, but including cancelling the fireworks or recommending that people don’t go to the city during New Year’s Eve,” he said on Monday.

“If you listen to the expert advice we’ve got from police and from crowd specialists, [it] is that we could have a situation where there’s panic in the city and there could be massive crowd problems.”

Minns’ remarks followed the government rejecting a late-night offer from the RTBU and five other unions to temporarily cease major industrial action if it dropped its case in Fair Work against the unions and offered free fares to commuters.

The impact of rolling industrial action on New Year’s Eve has become a major flashpoint in the dispute.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Minns said he was “drawing a line in the sand” and warned that, if he relented to the latest demands, the government faced the rail unions pulling similar stunts “over and over again”.

“It’s a trust issue. We don’t think we can trust the [unions] to follow through, to pull all their industrial bans,” he said. “At the end of the day, 8 per cent each year for four years – a 32 per cent increase in salaries – is something that we cannot afford.”

RTBU state secretary Toby Warnes hit back, saying there was a trust deficit due to the premier’s actions.

“Every time we’ve taken him on his word that he will get this deal done, he has backflipped and filed against us in the Federal Court, or filed against us in the Fair Work Commission,” he said.

Warnes said there was “no chance” the fireworks would be cancelled, and suggestions that they could do so were just aimed at scaring people.

The government’s application to Fair Work that the industrial action is causing economic harm or poses a safety risk was to rely on evidence from NSW Treasury, tourism agency Destination NSW, the City of Sydney council and a slew of big businesses including Laundy Hotels, Merivale, Luna Park and casino operator Star.

The City of Sydney estimates New Year’s Eve fireworks result in $280 million in economic benefits to the city. Of that, Destination NSW calculates $32 million in spending by people who visit the city for the celebrations.

In its application to Fair Work, the government claimed that major train delays on New Year’s Eve due to industrial action risked causing deadly crowd crushes and a spike in antisocial behaviour among large numbers of revellers frustrated by disrupted services.

In their offer late on Sunday night, the RTBU and the other unions said they would cease industrial action until January 7 if the government dropped its legal action and provided free fares across the public transport network.

As part of the demands, the unions wanted free fares to remain until a new pay deal for thousands of rail workers was approved by Fair Work. In rejecting those demands, the government estimated free fares would cost taxpayers $127 million a month.

The government also calculated that the compounding cost of meeting union demands for a 32 per cent pay rise over four years for rail workers would leave it facing an annual wages bill $720 million higher by the fourth year.