Rail union threatens go-slow unless Sydney commuters refunded for meltdown

NSW’s main rail union is threatening a go-slow by train drivers on parts of the network unless the Minns government refunds commuters for fares during major disruptions last month, just as Jo Haylen’s sudden exit as transport minister forces a reshuffle of the key portfolio.

The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), which refuses to accept responsibility for the disruptions over two days in January, warns that drivers will reduce speeds by 23km/h on sections of track where the limit is 80 km/h or higher from next Wednesday unless commuters are refunded for fares for five days. The go-slow will mostly affect intercity and regional lines.

Commuters endured thousands of cancellations and delays over two days last month due to industrial action.Credit: Wolter Peeters

The union has also notified rail authorities that limitations on duties related to non-safety critical incident reports and the service of alcohol on regional trains will begin on February 12.

With the pay dispute entering its ninth month, the ramping up of pressure on the government by rail workers comes as Haylen quit as transport minister on Tuesday after a scandal over her use of taxpayer-funded ministerial cars.

RTBU secretary Toby Warnes said the incoming transport minister would have a significant challenge. “I would imagine there would be a motivation to clear the decks,” he said, referring to a desire for the next minister to resolve the industrial dispute.

“What we have been missing since early December is a will to resolve this.”

Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Toby Warnes.Credit: Louie Douvis

Commuters endured thousands of cancelled and delayed services over a two-day period last month before the Fair Work Commission ordered rail unions to halt industrial action.

Warnes denied the RTBU’s work bans at the time were responsible for the chaos, reiterating that it was partly due to some work bans by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) but mostly because Sydney Trains failed to carry out maintenance work on infrastructure in a “timely fashion”.

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Damien Tudehope said the RTBU was taking the public for a ride by threatening a go-slow if the government did not refund fares paid when the trains were thrown into chaos by industrial action by “greedy unions”.

“However, the premier and Jo Haylen both promised the public refunds as soon as practicable. The first thing the new transport minister should do is deliver on this commitment,” he said.

ETU members at Sydney Trains will also take rolling one-hour stoppages between 8am and 4pm on February 12.

The latest planned actions come two weeks after unions dropped more than 350 work bans that threatened to disrupt the rail network, resulting in the government withdrawing a case seeking the termination of industrial action on economic harm grounds.

A government spokesperson said the RTBU gave undertakings to Fair Work that included a commitment not to renotify hundreds of bans or undertake similar bans that had an intolerable impact on the network.

“While the proposed bans would have a minimal impact on the rail network, transport officials are closely monitoring the impacts, and we will not hesitate in taking action to protect the public,” he said.

The premier said last month that the government would consider refunding passengers disrupted by rail chaos on January 15 and 16. Quizzed last week about refunds, Haylen said it was “still working through the detail”.

Roads Minister John Graham will act as interim transport minister until a replacement is sworn in, most likely to be after budget estimates conclude in mid-March.

Minns said on Wednesday that Graham would take on the primary responsibility for the rail negotiations, though he conceded the portfolio was “a lot for him to juggle”.

“I’m hopeful that [the negotiations] will be done soon, but they’ve got to be done on good terms. We’ve obviously been through the ringer with the union, and we want to get a good outcome after all of that,” he said.

Warnes said the two sides were “excruciatingly close” on pay, and the main stumbling block was a risk-assessment clause the government wanted to be removed from a new agreement.

The government has offered rail workers a 14 per cent pay rise over four years, which includes a 1 per cent rise from savings from merging the state’s two passenger rail operators. The six unions involved in the dispute made a counter-offer last month that entailed a 4 per cent pay increase in the first year and 3.5 per cent in each of the following two years. In addition, they sought back pay to May last year, which would result in a 4 per cent pay rise for that period.

The two sides will return to Fair Work on Thursday for a conciliation hearing.

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