Sydney train drivers have hit back at the Prime Minister, accusing him of being a “liar from the shire” after he incorrectly blasted them for calling a strike.
As Australian welcomes international tourists for the first time in almost two years, arrivals in Sydney have been left stranded at the train station alongside commuters and students after all city trains were cancelled just hours before the morning peak hour.
The Prime Minister’s first response was to chastise the train drivers’ union, saying this is “just not how you behave”.
But the Rail Tram and Bus Union were quick to correct the record.
Union secretary Alex Claasens said rail staff turned up to work, only to be told the NSW government had cancelled the trains due to safety concerns after the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the weekend.
“We are not on strike,” Mr Claasens said.
Earlier, Mr Morrisxjmtzywon told commercial radio: “This is not how you treat your fellow citizens.”
The union invoked an infamous moment in which the Prime Minister was accused of lying by French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We don’t think Scott Morrison is lying about the Sydney train cancellations. We know,” the union wrote.”
“#LiarFromTheShire #ThereIsNoStrike.”
Mr Morrison had said he “felt sorry” for Sydney residents impacted by the “strike”.
“We’ve had nurses, we’ve had teachers, we’ve had police officers and everyone working hard through the pandemic, and we’ve got international arrivals opening up today and the union’s welcome to them will be a train strike,” Mr Morrison said.
“I mean, this is just not how this should be done. And I feel for all those Sydneysiders today who are affected by the strike.
“It’s great news (that international arrivals are returning), but the union movement has decided to really pull the rug out from under that on our first day back.”
Mr Morrison said there was “no doubt” unions across the country were ramping up action and offered a warning ahead of the election.
“It’s a foretaste of what to expect with licence from Labor.”
His comments come a week after the government “stared down” the Australian Maritime Workers Union, which planned to strike in the face of the AUKUS agreement.
“They backed off. That’s what our government will do when it’s falling into our areas of responsibility, and I’ve no doubt the NSW government will take a strong stand as well,” Mr Morrison said.
“But when they (unions) think they’ve got the power, well, you know what they do? We’ve seen it before from our waterfront to now our trains.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the union was being “deliberately provocative and belligerent”.
“It will exacerbate the problem full stop. When you call a strike at 2am you are picking a fight, not calling a strike, and being a bully,” he told Channel 7.
Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon responded by saying despite the disruption, a “lot of Sydneysiders will be sympathetic to their cause”.
“When strikes are called, it is usually for complex reasons. Surely Barnaby is not suggesting that workers be denied the right to withdraw their labour,” he said.
“They have been on this campaign for a long time and the NSW government has mismanaged it.”
