Sydneysiders have been warned about delays and cancellations across the city’s rail network as the Rail, Tram and Bus Union gears up for a fresh round of negotiations with government officials.
Sydney’s rail network has been thrown into chaos for weeks, suffering from storm damage as well as industrial disputes.
Transport Minister David Elliott has cut short a visit to homeless veterans in Lismore to attend a meeting with union organisers on Thursday afternoon.
The union is pushing for better pay and work conditions.
The RTBU has more than 70 clauses it wants added to its enterprise bargaining agreement, including annual 3.5 per cent pay increases.
It is also pushing for annual bonuses for work performed during “public crisis” such as natural disasters or pandemics.
If its needs are not met, the union is threatening further industrial action.
Commuters are fed up over the commotion and are pushing for the chaos to stop, with the delays and cancellations costing them money and time.
“This is a system that we, taxpayers, are paying for and that it’s just been subjected skulduggery,” one commuter told the Today Show.
Cancellations and delays are still occurring across the network as a result of last week’s storm damage, with Transport for NSW assuring crews are working “around the clock” to assess issues and carry out repairs.
Commuters are being told to expect more delays and “gaps in service and cancellations” this week as a result of the damage.
Space is running out to keep the state’s new intercity trains in storage and is costing $500,000 a month, according to The Daily Telegraph.
From Sunday, train staff will only work to a “master roster” while the union puts a ban on working with contractors.
The union has long refused to operate the new intercity trains, based on concerns for the safety of drivers and staff as it uses CCTV instead of humans toxjmtzyw check for obstacles on the platform.
The union is also pressuring NSW authorities to offer free fares every Friday until June to make up for shutting down the entire network for a day last month.
RTBU secretary Alex Claassens said on Tuesday he would push for “free fare Fridays”.
Mr Claassens urged Premier Dominic Perrottet and his government to “own up” for disrespecting thousands of workers and commuters.
“We’re now calling on the government to give everybody a fare-free day, every Friday, until June,” he said.
“If they don’t do that, we’re going to take industrial action that will force them to.
“We’re going to put on a range of measures, and as soon as the government announces a fare-free day on Friday, we’re going to withdraw that.”
Mr Elliott responded by saying he would “up the ante” and promise free rides on Fridays for a whole year if the union committed to holding off on strike action during that time.
The transport minister, who has been criticised for being asleep while bureaucrats made the decision to shut down the network on February 21, said the Premier and Treasurer would back the move.
“The Premier had a discussion today, a discussion I’ve also had with the Treasurer; we can’t stop the economy and the cost to the economy of the behaviour that we’re seeing from the union movement today will be a lot more than just 52 fare-free Fridays,” he said.
