The NSW government has made an offer “once and for all” to end a years-long struggle with the railway union that has sparked industrial action that has caused chaos among travelers.
Key points:
- David Elliott wants the union to withdraw industrial action scheduled for Friday
- Secretary Alex Claassens says the union is waiting for the physical offer
- Drivers plan to operate only 30 percent of the existing fleet on Friday
Transport Minister David Elliott made a $ 264 million bid to fix a train fleet that has been at the center of the dispute with the Union of Railways, Trams and Buses (RTBU).
The New Inter-City Fleet (NIF), intended to travel from Sydney to Lithgow, Kiama and the central coast, arrived in Sydney in 2020, but has since been saved.
RTBU members have refused to operate the trains, alleging that, in their current form, guards cannot adequately control the platforms and check that there are clear gaps in the new trains to ensure the safety of passengers.
The government has maintained that they are safe, and the fleet has received accreditation from the Office of the National Railway Safety Regulator.
But after a long stalemate and long industrial action, the government has said it will make the changes, starting in August, for $ 264 million.
Transport Minister David Elliott says he expects the union to act “in good faith”. (AAP: James Gourley)
Elliott said he wanted the union to withdraw its industrial action from Friday.
“The NSW government will expect the union to act in good faith,” he said today.
“We will provide you with the terms of the negotiations that have been resolved this afternoon … my expectation is that our public transport system will work as usual as of Friday.
“Am I happy to spend millions of dollars to modify what the safety regulator has said are perfectly good trains? Absolutely not.
“But the cost of this industrial action, the cost to the NSW economy, the inconvenience to travelers has to be taken into account when it comes to running public transport in this state.”
The government has also accepted the original negotiations on wages and subsidies.
More recently, an interruption in talks on the security issue prompted RTBU to take industrial action this week, with trains running at less than 60 kilometers per hour on Tuesday.
On Friday, drivers plan to operate only about 30% of the existing fleet, meaning it will only operate about 25% of rail services.
RTBU secretary Alex Claassens said the union was awaiting the physical offer and will meet with transport officials and delegates before making a decision on Friday’s industrial action.
“Once or twice in the past we’ve had these offers and then they’ve moved away from it [them]”He said.
“At this stage, a verbal commitment from our minister right now is fantastic, but we have to do a lot more work to make sure everyone is comfortable.”
Posted 5 hours 5 hours agoDmec. June 29, 2022 at 4:16 am, updated 4 hours ago 4 hours agoWednesday, June 29, 2022 at 5:16 AM