NSW train dispute heats up ahead of Fair Work Commission hearing

The NSW government says it will not seek to terminate an enterprise agreement until the dispute is heard before the industrial relations watchdog.

Commuters at the start of the rush hour at Town Hall Station in Sydney during another train strike. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The NSW government says it will not seek to terminate an enterprise agreement that could impact thousands of transport workers until the dispute is heard before the industrial relations watchdog later this week.

On Tuesday, the Rail Tram and Bus Union vowed it would force the Perrottet government back to the negotiating table, after tensions between the two parties threatened to boil over following an intervention by federal Employment Minister Tony Burke last week.

It comes as the NSW government threatened to tear up its enterprise agreement with the unions unless the RTBU stopped industrial action and accepted the government’s offer.

In documents lodged to the Fair Work Commission, the RTBU claimed the Perrottet government had told union leaders last week it would no longer negotiate and terminate the enterprise agreement if they did not agree within 48 hours.

The government later retract­ed the threat, saying it would revisit the agreement after the FWC hearing.

The government’s legal team was granted an adjournment before the commission on Tuesday, with the high-stakes dispute set to return to the watchdog on Friday.

It follows Mr Burke’s comments last week on behalf of the federal government, in which he informed the FWC he planned to change laws relating to termination of enterprise agreements.

In response, senior ministers in the Perrottet government labelled his comments as “a brazen interference” and a “disgrace”.

“Tony Burke’s wink and a nod letter to the Fair Work Commission president is all about pressuring the commission to kick the rail dispute as far down the road as possible,“ NSW Employment Minister Damien Tudehope said last week.

On Tuesday, The Daily Telegraph reported an internal RTBU communique that said the Perrottet government did not deserve “a moment of peace between now and the next election” in March.

The email, authorised by RTBU secretary Alex Claassens, said the government had “lost the plot” when it threatened to rip up its wages agreement if industrial action continued.

“We are resolved to fight this government with everything we’ve got,” the email read.