Victoria again panders to excessive union demands

Extra holidays and free travel on commuters’ train

Here we go again. The unions are set to have their way in Victoria under the Labor government of Daniel Andrews.

The nation’s political and economic history is littered with state Labor governments that bent over backwards to keep unions happy or were treated by the unions as wholly owned subsidiaries. Former Victorian premier John Cain described it in his memoir: “Some of the unions regard a Labor government as there to be milked — they wanted everything they could get from it while it lasted.” Through the years budgets in all states have groaned and cracked under the pressure of expanded public sectors extracting unaffordable wages and conditions and/or government-funded projects targeted for union featherbedding. During construction of Adelaide’s $1 billion Myer-REMM project in the 1980s — a private project but the largest State Bank loss under Labor’s John Bannon — union conditions were so extravagant some workers received a special allowance to refrain from wolf-whistling at passing shoppers.

Now 600 workers on Melbourne’s privatised Metro Trains network have struck an agreement replete with conditions that most workers can only dream of — or scoff at. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union, the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union and Professionals Australia workers have won an extra week’s annual leave as a reward for past productivity. On top of that they get fully paid special leave to participate in unspecified major sporting events. What should we call that, Test match leave? When private sector wages are rising by about 2 per cent annually, these workers will receive a 14 per cent wage increase across the four-year agreement. But wait, there is more. If they agree to proposed roster changes, the workers will pocket an additional 3 per cent increase. Workers are entitled to five days of union training leave plus five days for occupational health and safety training. On top of normal sick and personal leave, there will be up to 20 days of family violence leave, which is double the ACTU’s ask as a new standard. There is also “dad leave” of five days a year. And just in case the workers are at a loss to occupy themselves for their extended periods of leave, they are now entitled to a first-class rail pass within their state — a benefit that extends to their spouse and dependants — while they are on leave.

So, without a day off for sickness, bereavement or family violence, staff could be away from work for nine weeks of the year, allowing for a few footy finals or a cricket match. And we wonder why state transport networks struggle to make budget and run their trains on time. The cost of such deals must impose an indirect burden on taxpayers, not simply because of the stress on any government contracts but because of the way the conditions invariably flow on to other areas — especially in the public sector — reducing productivity, embedding a culture of entitlement and raising recurrent costs. Every extra day of paid leave, every day of union training, every day at a major sporting event comes at a cost — and it is borne by commuters, in the first instance, most of whom work in the private sector, are not in unions and get by on what they see as reasonable conditions such as four weeks’ annual leave, sick leave and other personal leave if required.

Privatised or not, these workers deliver a state government service and it is incumbent on all governments to guard the efficiency of all expenditure. With parking inspectors now agitating and union leaders licking their lips, Mr Andrews would be wise to heed the warning from Mr Cain. “We received a continuing string of claims about wages and conditions of employment in the public sector,” the former Labor premier wrote, “our political affinity was used against us.” The Victorian government sets the tone and needs to lower union expectations lest they eventually translate into problems for its own budget or alienate the majority of voters who are not on the gravy train.

This worrisome pandering to unions is a reminder of the important reforms being considered in Canberra. In the wake of the union corruption exposed in last year’s royal commission, much originating in Victoria, improved accountability is crucial. The registered organisations and Australian Building and Construction Commission bills should help to lower construction and employment costs, and prevent a slide back to the bad old days.