Dominic Perrottet told to call Gladys Berejiklian as rail feud continues

Dominic Perrottet has been told to call Gladys Berejiklian following a bold move he made that she “would never” have allowed.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has been slyly told that he should seek advice from his predecessor Gladys Berejiklian following the fiery ultimatum he handed down to the rail union.

Sydney ground to a halt on Wednesday after 70 per cent of the city’s train fleet did not run because the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) refused to operate foreign-made trains for 24 hours.

It was the final but most chaotic day in a wave of industrial action from the union, which prompted Mr Perrottet to “draw a line in the sand” over the “disgraceful” scenes.

“This ends today; it will not continue. I will not have our city grind to a halt, our people inconvenienced anymore by the actions of a union movement that belongs back in the 1970s,” he said on Wednesday.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said it was ‘disgusting’ what happened on Sydney trains on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

The NSW government and RTBU have been locked in a long-running feud over a new enterprise agreement and the union’s safety concerns with a $2.8bn InterCity train fleet.

The union wants the government to commit to modifying the trains by signing a written deed.

The government had previously tied these train alterations to a new enterprise agreement being finalised, which created tension between the two parties and drew out negotiations.

The union also demanded an extra pay increase of 0.5 per cent, which is above the public sector wages cap.

The government refused that offer and announced on Wednesday that it would hand a final enterprise agreement to the RTBU.

Mr Perrottet warned that if the union took any further industrial action, he would go to the Fair Work Commission to tear up that enterprise agreement and take back their offer to modify the new InterCity fleet.

People packed on platform 22 at Central Station as they wait for a train on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

But RTBU national secretary Mark Diamond has fired back at the Premier after he “threatened” workers.

He said he would use the jobs and skills summit on Thursday to put an end to employers threatening to terminate industrial agreements.

“Dominic Perrottet is cynically using the industrial dispute in Sydney Trains to distract voters from the constant stream of scandals emanating from his government. Unfortunately, it’s workers and commuters who are being put at risk by his actions,” Mr Diamond said.

“My intention for this summit is to do everything I can to prevent the ability of employers, like the Perrottet government, from terminating enterprise agreements during bargaining.

“No Australian, when asking for a pay rise from their employer, should be threatened or have their pay slashed.”

RTBU national secretary Mark Diamond said Dominic Perrottet should go to Gladys Berejiklian for advice. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

He also added that Mr Perrottet would be well served to contact Ms Berejiklian, who he said would not have allowed this to happen.

“Mr Perrottet should call up his predecessor for guidance. This situation would never have happened under Gladys Berejiklian’s watch,” Mr Diamond said.

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the government’s “empty threats” were part of a political strategy.

“This appears to be a deliberate strategy by the government to get re-elected next March. They’ve been causing the chaos to make a point – they’re the ones who control the trains and timetables, as we saw during the shutdown in February,” he said.

“The Premier and his cronies can make as many empty threats as they like, but they will be prevented by the Fair Work Commission from ripping up any enterprise agreement, simple as that.

“The RTBU will continue to negotiate in good faith and will guarantee the next two weeks free from strikes. After that, we’ll see what happens.”

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens says the union will continue to negotiate in good faith. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

RTBU national secretary Mark Diamond says no Australian should be threatened while asking for a pay rise. Picture: Supplied

Mr Perrottet has denied that Wednesday’s bold move was a strategy for next year’s state election.

“I'm not focused on that … I’m focused on getting the trains on the tracks to help the people of our state get to work,” he told the Today show on Thursday.

He reiterated that the government would end its enterprise agreement with the RTBU if their industrial action continued.

“We have worked very closely with the union, over 58 meetings during this period acting in good faith,” Mr Perrottet said.

“The offer is going to the union for them to take to their members to vote on it.

If that strike action continues, we will not be making any modifications to the InterCity fleet, and we will be applying to the Fair Work Commission for the current agreement to be terminated.”