Tony Burke approached to intervene in NSW rail dispute

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke is considering an extraordinary request from his NSW counterpart to intervene and end the state’s protracted dispute with rail unions.

NSW Workplace Relations Minister Damien Tudehope. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke is considering an extraordinary request from his NSW counterpart to intervene and end the state’s protracted dispute with rail unions, saying the government is committed to “stop industrial disputes like this occurring”.

Obtained by The Australian, the letter from NSW Workplace Relations Minister Damien Tudehope calls on Mr Burke to use his ministerial powers to strip the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union of protected industrial action until the dispute can be arbitrated.

The action would prevent planned industrial action by the RTBU across November, culminating in a network-wide stoppage on December 2. This extends a run of rail strikes that have intermittently paralysed the city’s rail network.

After 18 months of negotiations, Mr Tudehope said rail operators and unions were engaged in an “intractable dispute”, saying the federal government needed to intervene until the Fair Work Commission is handed new powers under the yet-to-be legislated Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill.

“There is every indication this industrial action will continue indefinitely, and is likely to further escalate while we wait for the passage of the … bill to provide a pathway to resolution,” Mr Tudehope wrote on Monday.

“This is the worst possible outcome; the workforce does not get a pay rise and the public suffers the economic and social damage of ongoing industrial action.”

Mr Tudehope argued the standoff between NSW rail operators and unions was a “textbook example” of where the Albanese government’s proposed legislation would address the Fair Work Commission’s “limited utility” in resolving protracted industrial disputes.

In response to questions from The Australian, a spokesman for Mr Burke said Mr Tudehope’s request was under consideration.

“We have received Mr Tudehope’s letter and we are considering it. We are committed to passing the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill to stop disputes like this occurring,” he said.

“Under our changes the Fair Work Commission will have the power to step in and prevent these disputes dragging on.”

The letter comes as Mr Burke grapples with the spectre of tug boat operator Svitzer indefinitely locking out its port workers, potentially causing the nation’s ports to grind to a halt.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Burke appeared to link the Danish tug boat operator’s stoush with the ongoing disruption of Sydney’s rail network, saying it was “not the only long-running dispute that has been driving people spare, particularly across NSW”.

Mr Burke’s potential intervention comes just months after he was accused by Mr Tudehope of making a “brazen intervention” in the state’s rail union dispute, after Mr Burke wrote to the FWC saying the government intended to limit employers’ ability to terminate enterprise agreements.

To make the ministerial declaration terminating protected industrial action, Mr Burke needs to be satisfied the action reaches the threshold of causing “significant damage” to the Australian economy or an “important part of it”.