Sydney travelers are facing another day of major disruptions after peace talks between the railway union and the state government stalled.
Key points:
- Train services operate at around 30% of their capacity
- Transport for NSW warned travelers to avoid non-essential travel
- Transport Minister David Elliott hoped the union would cease industrial action today
There are significant delays on the rail network with trains running on a weekend schedule and passengers being forced to crowd into fewer wagons during the morning rush hour.
Train services run at about 30% of their capacity after drivers instigated a ban on operating the state’s Waratah, Millennium and OSCAR trains.
Transport for NSW said it was doing everything possible to maintain the frequency of services, but warned people to avoid non-essential travel or allow additional travel time.
Some travelers complained about arriving late for work during the early hours of the morning. (AAP: Nikki Short)
A traveler told ABC News that he had little sympathy for train drivers and did not know why they were doing industrial action.
“I don’t think anyone is especially on the side of the train engines this time around, unfortunately,” he said.
“A lot of my teammates are struggling and it’s just affecting people’s ability to come in and make money.”
But other travelers were more understanding.
“Trains are very busy, they arrive very late, but if it’s a safety issue, I’m in full support of the drivers,” a woman told ABC.
Travelers have faced delays with services running on a weekend schedule. (AAP: Nikki Short)
“If they have to strike, they have to strike, but that affects everyone every day; it’s a bit of shit,” another man said.
Many travelers have had an awkward commute to work this morning after being forced to wait longer than usual for their trains to arrive.
“You just coughed and everyone was crowding in and there are so many people coughing right now,” one man said.
“I was busy, the train stopped constantly, I went back to work late,” another woman said.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. “Political Motivation”: NSW Transport Minister criticizes rail union
Members of the Railway, Bus and Tram union [RTBU] has re-scaled its industrial action today, citing current safety issues with the state’s long-distance fleet trains.
The union says the trains do not allow guards to properly visualize the platform before leaving and want them to be modified before allowing them to enter operation.
Unions have called for a signed deed describing safety modifications to the new fleet. (Provided by: NSW government)
The state government said it cost $ 30 million a month to store the trains and this week pledged to spend $ 264 million to modify them according to union demands.
But Alex Classens, of the RBTU, said the union needed a signed deed outlining the terms of the government before its members would renounce industrial action.
“We’ve been here before, we’ve had these genuine offers before,” he said.
“Most people would know that. You have to have a document in front of you. You have to see what it says before you can make a decision.”
The union has warned of further action if no agreement can be reached. (AAP: Nikki Short)
This has infuriated Transport Minister David Elliott, who said he hoped the union would cease industrial action planned for today and negotiate in good faith.
“I told him‘ he will come ’and offered him my resignation if he didn’t come,” Elliott said.
“This is the most politically motivated industrial action since Gough Whitlam’s dismissal, make no mistake.
“They have everything the union asked for.”
The RBTU said there is likely to be more industrial action if it cannot reach an agreement with the state government.
NSW opposition leader Chris Minns has called for the resumption of normal train services, increasing pressure on the RTBU to reach an agreement.
“You have to say that the government has shown some goodwill and there has been progress in terms of negotiations and I hope that next week rail services can return to normal,” he told Sky News.
“I would love to see goodwill engender goodwill.”
Posted 4 hours, 4 hours ago, Friday, July 1, 2022 at 1:06 AM, updated 2 hours ago, 2 hours ago, Friday, July 1, 2022 at 2:32 AM