Road workers, construction crew and transport staff strike in city

A strike by road workers, construction crew and transport staff is causing chaos in Sydney as workers walk off the job.

Road workers, construction crew and transport staff are striking in NSW for the first time this century as the union continues their pay dispute with the state government.

Hundreds of workers from 69 depots have walked off the job for 24 hours as of 6am on Thursday.

They help maintain some of the city’s major highways, roads and bridges, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The frustrated workers have gathered outside the front gates of major depots like the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Civic Park.

Commuters in Sydney were affected by another train strike overnight as road workers, construction crew and transport staff also walk off the job. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

The Australian Workers’ Union said the strikes were over the state government putting cap on their wages while inflation continued to surge.

“These workers don’t take action lightly. They haven’t been on strike in decades. The reason they are persisting this time is that they just can’t cop a pay cut,” Australian Workers’ Union NSW Branch Vice President Cameron Wright said.
“These are the men and women worked who have gone out there during bushfires and freak floods to keep NSW moving.

“During the pandemic they put on their work gear and went out into an uncertain world while the rest of us were locked down.

“They don‘t deserve a pay cut. If Dominic Perrottet and his government don’t sit down and negotiate something more reasonable then we’re going to see a lot more strike action than this.”

Planned strikes were cancelled earlier this month when the NSW Industrial Relations Commission issued orders to halt industrial action for a fortnight because their work was deemed essential.

The unions have told Transport for NSW they will make themselves available to respond to genuine emergency situations during the 24 hour hour walk off to keep the general public safe.

Along with rail workers, hundreds of road workers around NSW have also walked off the job today. The members of the AWU are striking because of the state government’s cap on wages. @7NewsSydneypic.twitter.com/aUDMkn1lwc

— Josh Martin (@JWMartin07) July 27, 2022

It comes after authorities feared that another strike, which stopped train services from midnight on Wednesday until 4am on Thursday, would impact train services during the morning commute.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) boss Alex Claassens said they would get the system back up and running as fast as possible.

“I’m reliably informed that we should be able to get the system up and running reasonably well by about 7.30 – 8 o’clock.”

The union claims the strike is over the safety of internationally manufactured trains, however, NSW Finance Minister Damien Tudehope hit out on Wednesday claiming the strike was over pay. 

The strike, which took place from midnight on Wednesday until 4am on Thursday, is expected to impact train services during the morning commute. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

He said it was part of a “strategy” to achieve a 20 per cent pay increase.

“I can interpret it no other way … it has to be about the dollars,” Mr Tudehope told Sydney radio 2GB.

“He will spin it whatever way he wants to … this is now about pay, but he will dress it up as a safety issue,” he said. “And that’s just plain wrong.”

Mr Tudehope said the government had assured the union that work would be done to modify the upgraded fleet, but Mr Claassens “keeps changing the goalposts”.

“We have conceded to do work to a perfectly safe train that the union has requested, so what else is it?” Mr Tudehope asked.