Rail union’s industrial bastardry must stop. Take the pay offer and get back to work

Sydney is being slowly strangled by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union’s long campaign of industrial bastardry, and commuters have had a gutful of being the collateral damage.

The implications of the dispute between the Minns government and combined rail unions are wide-ranging and serious. The chaos is damaging to the state’s economy and is causing considerable anxiety for people who rely on rail services not just to get to work but to keep appointments for medical treatment. Leaving passengers on crowded platforms or in packed carriages for hours on end in the middle of summer is also highly dangerous.

RTBU president Craig Turner and RTBU secretary Toby Warnes.Credit:

The public’s angry response to Wednesday’s network meltdown – triggered by the reintroduction of Electrical Trades Union and Rail, Tram and Bus Union work bans – should serve as a warning to union leaders that any lingering sympathy for their cause has evaporated. However, the RTBU has shown callous disregard for commuters for many months now, and the Herald has zero confidence in the union’s capacity to read the room.

For commuters, this means there is no end in sight to the long-running dispute. The brawl, which nearly resulted in the cancellation of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display, rages on despite an updated pay offer being tabled this week.

The Labor government’s latest offer would give RTBU members a pay rise of 13 per cent over four years, as well as a 1 per cent increase from savings from the merger of Sydney Trains and regional operator NSW Trains and 1 per cent from legislated super increases. It is a significant improvement on an offer made last year for wage rises of 9.5 per cent over three years, as well as a further 0.5 per cent in the first year if a deal was reached in a “timely manner”.

For its part, the union entered the negotiations demanding a 32 per cent increase over four years, and a 35-hour working week. It is a laughable claim and the Minns government is right to reject anything close to it.

The government claims the compounding cost of meeting union demands for a 32 per cent pay rise would leave it facing an annual wages bill $720 million higher by the fourth year. If the government capitulates on this one, Premier Chris Minns may as well do away with Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and hand control of the NSW budget to the unions.

The Herald agrees with Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s contention that this week’s improved offer was “fair and reasonable”. The union’s militant leaders must immediately drop the gun they have been holding to the head of our city’s 5.3 million residents for many months now.

That’s not to say the Minns government is without fault. Communications from Sydney Trains was deficient on Wednesday morning, cabinet ministers did not address the wider media until 1.30pm, and the government continues to threaten legal action despite earlier forays into this space yielding little success.

There is another factor which NSW Labor doesn’t like to talk about. While rail workers largely come under the Commonwealth industrial relations system, the government’s decision to drop the Coalition-era state wages cap has emboldened some unions to push for claims that have spiralled into protracted and disruptive negotiations.

There are two parties at the negotiating table, but responsibility for resolving this dispute now rests with the RTBU, which has been presented with a fair offer yet continues its dangerous campaign of chaos. This is not just the Herald’s view; the white-hot rage on Wednesday shows the public is squarely of the same belief.

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