New Year’s Eve fireworks saved after industrial ceasefire as unions withdraw bans
Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations have been given the green light as rail unions dropped work bans set to impact services and gave a ‘formal undertaking’ that December 31 would not be disrupted.
Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations have been given the green light as rail unions dropped work bans set to impact services and the NSW government withdrew its legal bid against it after the unions’ “formal undertaking” that December 31 would not be disrupted.
The long-running pay dispute between the state government and the combined rail unions, including the powerful Rail, Tram and Bus Union, appeared set to throw the city’s December 31 celebrations into disarray – or cancelled altogether, given potential mass service disruptions.
But at a Fair Work Commission hearing on Tuesday, the rail unions withdrew on an unconditional basis work bans that would have impacted services and gave an undertaking that no existing or new action would be taken that posed a threat to New Year’s Eve.
The government withdrew its Fair Work action given that “undertaking” and although Transport Minister Jo Haylen said that while she was “not celebrating”, the unions’ undertakings had given the government “confidence” it could safely run services.
“We’re grateful for this breakthrough… families can have confidence that they can get in and out (of the city) on New Year’s Eve,” she said on Tuesday, adding that Christmas Day, December 31 and the Sydney cricket Test were now “safe” from industrial action.
“(The union) provided formal assurances at the commission and we now have confidence that (critical) industrial action has been withdrawn and services will run as planned on New Year’s Eve.”
The unions have withdrawn almost 100 work bans and have to give the government a seven-day notice if it wish to restart those now-scrubbed bans.
The Fair Work Commission on Tuesday heard how multiple Section 424 applications, which had sought to block industrial action citing safety and economic harm, had been withdrawn following “undertakings” by the union after “encouraging discussions”.
“The combined rail unions as a whole commit to the following: no new industrial action that poses a threat to events on New Year’s Eve and all industrial action will be conducted in a way that ensures the safety of workers and passengers,” solicitor Leo Saunders said, representing the unions.
NSW Transport Secretary Josh Murray said that it was an “important result” and that an “enormous amount of evidence” provided to Fair Work that conveyed the “need for operational certainty” had forced the union’s hand.
“It’s an enormous undertaking on New Year’s Eve and Sydney Trains are the backbone of that,” he said.
On New Year’s Eve, an extra 1000 train services will be running, 1500 additional bus services introduced, and the light rail and Sydney Metro operating hours extended, with the frequency of the city’s new driverless line increased.
An extra 3600 staff will also be put on to deal with the uptick in demand.
Speaking outside the commission, RTBU state secretary Toby Warnes confirmed that some bans, including the reduction on the number of kilometres a driver could travel, would be withdrawn, and no new industrial action would be planned for New Year’s Eve.
“I understand that people are uncertain of that because of the government’s rhetoric over the past three weeks,” he said.
“So, we call on the Minns government to stop now. Stop talking to their lawyers and start talking to their workers.”
Mr Warnes said the action planned by the union for New Year’s Eve would have “caused some minimal level of disruption”, but blamed Sydney Trains for showing “incompetence … when it needs to run services in a flat out manner”.
The government had filed an application at Fair Work, but so too had influential Sydney business people, including pub baron Craig Laundy, who urged anyone who may have cancelled bookings because of the uncertainty surrounding the strikes to “please feel free to get in touch”.
“I don’t know who was sitting around the table in either union when they decided that this (disruption on New Year’s Eve) would be a good idea,” he said outside the commission.
NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman said that while New Year’s Eve was “safe”, the government had only succeeded in delaying further disruptions and industrial action.
“... School holidays, Australia Day, return to work and even Easter will all be all under threat with the Minns Labor Government anchored to the unions,” he said.
“This is just another rinse-and-repeat mess from Chris Minns – chaos kicked down the road.”
Ms Haylen conceded she had “no crystal ball” on when a long-term resolution with the RTBU would be reached, adding that the immediate priority had been to ensure New Year’s Eve could go ahead safely.
On Monday, the RTBU dropped key demands and restrictions set to plague New Year’s Eve in the face of heavy criticism, like 24-hour services and distance restrictions on staff.
It came after the union on Sunday offered to end strikes in exchange for the government withdrawing legal action against them, and giving commuters free public transport until a pay deal was settled.
The government refused that offer, arguing it could not afford the estimated $127 million monthly loss under the demands.
The union is seeking a 32 per cent pay rise over four years. The government has offered wage rises of 9.5 per cent over three years, as well as a further 0.5 per cent in the first if a deal was reached in a “timely manner”.
The RTBU’s demands of a 32 per cent increase over four years would see an average total package for Sydney Train drivers increase to $198,764 in the fourth year of the deal, should the Minns government give in to the wage demands. The projected figure includes loadings, allowances and superannuation.
Additional reporting by NCA NewsWire.
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