Minns launches legal action as NSW transport chaos worsens
The Minns government is make a Fair Work Commission application to end protected industrial action as heavy rain adds to misery of commuter caught in rail dispute.
The NSW government will take legal action in a bid to end the transport chaos that has caused another frustrating day for Sydney commuters, as transport officials admit severe disruptions will continue.
Chris Minns has announced the government will make a Fair Work Commission application to end protected industrial action and ask the commission to make an expedited arbitrated decision as industrial dispute continues to wreak havoc across the rail network.
The Premier said the decision was not taken lightly but has been taken as unions have continued to put a “noose over the public transport system” despite industrial action significantly impacting the economy and welfare of the Sydney community.
“Scenes last night … of people scrambling to get home from the station in the face of an oncoming storm, give you all the evidence that you need that this industrial dispute has gone on long enough,” Mr Minns said.
More than 1000 services are expected to be cancelled by the end of day, on top of the 402 services already cancelled.
“We don’t mind negotiating with the union if it didn’t mean that literally, nearly every family in Sydney is affected by public transport outage,” Mr Minns said.
“But when the union says negotiations, what they really mean is that they’re going to continue to put a noose around the public transport system while demanding more and more and more money from the New South Wales Government.”
Mr Minns said industrial action has caused an “incalculable” economic loss for NSW, as small businesses are impacted by lack of customers.
“We don’t know how many small businesses have been smashed as a result of 50 per cent of train services not operating in New South Wales. We don’t know how many businesses had employees ring up today and say, I’m not battling the public transport,” Mr Minns stated.
“We know that there are tens of thousands of nurses and police officers and firefighters as well as carers and those who work in different parts of the economy that rely on the public transport system, and 50 per cent of transport services are not getting to their location, then we’ve got a massive economic problem on our hands.”
The government has asked for an expedited hearing in a bid to bring the industrial action to a halt as quickly as possible, amid hopes the cost of train disruptions will persuade the Fair Work Commission to put an end to the union’s work bans under section 424 of the Fair Work Act.
If the union’s protected industrial action is found to be causing significant harm to public welfare or the economy, the provision would push the commission to end the work bans and strikes.
Transport for NSW said on Thursday morning that delays will worsen throughout the day as a cocktail of Wednesday night’s storms, work bans, and this morning's rain create problems throughout the network.
Sydney’s train network buckled on Wednesday, as work bans reinstated by the Rail Tram and Bus Union, as part of their pay dispute with the NSW government, led to almost 2000 cancellations and delays of over six hours in some cases.
Executive Director of Business Sydney Paul Nicolaou said the disruptions were already pushing struggling businesses to the brink.
“Businesses have got rising costs, they’ve got challenges that are really difficult for them, and they were hoping that 2024 was behind them and that 2025 was going to be a brighter year. It seems that that’s not the case,” he told radio 2GB.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen had committed to exploring legal options on Wednesday afternoon.
With the Premier back at work on Thursday morning to deal with the rail crisis, RTBU President Craig Turner called on Chris Minns to return to the bargaining table.
“We’ve been on this (pay dispute) for nine months, we haven’t heard from the premier since December 6 and I’m glad he’s back today,” Mr Turner said.
Mr Turner urged the public to not blame the union, but to remember that the government had not engaged in negotiations for 42 days.
“I know it’s bad for everyone, but to blame the RTBU at every turn is wrong, we always try to do our best for the commuters,” he said.
“There’s two parties in this. If the government had come to the table 42 days ago, with the premier, we could have got this done.
“The premier’s got my number, he needs to give me a call.”
The RTBU has until today to respond to the government’s offer which totals a 15 per cent pay rise over four years.
NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman accused Labor of being the “political arm of the union movement” on Thursday morning and criticised the Minns government’s lack of hardline action against the unions.
“This is union thuggery at its very worst,” Mr Speakman told Sky News.
“It’s the poor old commuter who is caught in the middle of this and why has this come about?
“It’s because you’ve got an extraordinarily greedy set of unions wanting a 32 per cent pay rise on the one hand, and on the other hand you’ve got a weak Minns Labor government.
“The union smells blood, they realise this is a government beholden to unions.”
Mr Speakman said action needed to be taken in the Fair Work Commission to stop the industrial action due to economic concerns, as the CBD suffered from a loss of patronage.
“There is the power there at the moment for the government to make an application to the Fair Work Commission if there is significant damage to a significant part of the Australian economy,” he said.
Federal Liberal Party senator Michaelia Cash said Anthony Albanese needed to intervene under powers granted by the fair work act.
She said the federal Industrial Relations minister had the power to stop strike action “if it causes significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it”.
“It is an absolute joke. It is Australia’s largest city. It is being held to ransom. The public are being held to ransom. They are inconvenient. And Mr Albanese sits back and does nothing,” Ms Cash said on 2GB.
“So the powers are there. But do you really think they’re going to do that?” she asked.
“Because Mr Albanese has given the unions virtually unrestricted power in Australian workplaces, that was always his plan.”
More Coverage
Employment surges by 56k as RBA rates call looms
Employment increased by 56,300 people in December, blistering past expectations as Australia’s still-tight jobs market acts as a potential barrier to interest rate cuts.
Motherhood influencer charged with torture, fraud
The Sunshine Coast woman allegedly poisoned her toddler and posted about her illnesses on social media in an effort to attract donations and followers.