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Industrial action doesn’t magically happen. Unions don’t strike because communist faes sprinkle them in Soviet Union fairy dust. Furthermore, the ongoing fight between the NSW government and some Transport for NSW workers isn’t exempt from these rules. According to the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU), to know the truth about the current stoush, you have to go back a few years.
In 2015, the NSW Government ordered the New Intercity Fleet. They wanted these vehicles to be “Driver Only” trains. This meant they’d be operated by one person and there wouldn’t be a guard. Instead, the CCTV systems would be used to ensure the safety of the vehicle’s passengers. An independent expert, the manufacturer, and the RTBU all believed this was not the best idea.
The RTBU has been fighting for guards to be on these vehicles since then. But the NSW government hasn’t signed off on making such a change happen. This has led to multiple strikes, with one hitting Sydney on August 17.
Additionally, on August 18 , the RTBU met with the state’s Transport Minister, David Elliott, the Regional Transport Minister, Sam Farraway, and the Employee Relations Minister, Damian Tudehope, to try and come to an agreement on this issue. However, the RTBU wasn’t impressed with how these men conducted themselves. They took umbrage with the fact that the NSW Government held a press conference right before their vital meeting started, instead of afterward.
But more importantly, the NSW Government produced a deed at this meeting that bothered the RTBU. This document contained the proposed terms for how the New Intercity Fleet safety issue would be dealt with. According to the RTBU, there were stipulations in this deed that were unacceptable. One of these kickers was, “The Government is the party that must be satisfied that the alterations are suitable, with no view sought from the union.”
Such a term would mean that if the RTBU had safety concerns with the New Intercity Fleet that weren’t addressed, then they could do diddly-squat. So, the RTBU rejected this offer. This means that the industrial action continues. Here’s what has happened so far since August 13, and what might happen next:
On August 13 , the station staff started leaving all of the Opal gates open. This will be happening until September 6. Now, I don’t condone thievery but maybe you do. Are you excited to steal some free train trips, you little crook?
On August 15, the train crews only operated trains that meet Maintenance Centre Minimum Standards. Now, the fact that NSW might otherwise run trains that don’t meet a minimum maintenance standard is a bit concerning, but let’s not get stuck on this fact. This is taking place until September 6.
On August 17 , the second strike of this month happened. According to a NSW train guard, which The Latch will keep anonymous, this strike impacted the Inner and South West of Sydney, the Airport and East Hills railway line, and the line all the way to Melbourne. They also stated that it happened between 10am and 2pm.
Related: Sydney Airport Is a Dumpster Fire That Might Strike
Related: Your Train Trips Are About to Get Less Packed, According to the NSW Government
On August 23, the third strike of this month took place. This strike impacted Northern and Western Sydney, and some services to Brisbane. Like the previous two strikes, this one took place between 10am and 2pm.
On August 25, the fourth of this month happened. This strike impacted Redfern, Central, and the City Circle line. As per usual, it also happened between 10am and 2pm.
As per the T2 Sydney Trains’ Twitter account, the Inner West and Leppington Line was being impacted by industrial action on this date. “Services may be less frequent and trips may take longer than usual due to industrial action,” they wrote. “Please allow extra travel time, listen to announcements, check information screens and transport apps for up-to-date service info.”
This exact same warning was also posted on the T3’s Bankstown Line Twitter page and the T8’s Airport & South Line Twitter page.
But the buck doesn’t stop there. “Trains are not running between Lidcombe and Olympic Park due to industrial action,” tweeted out T7 Sydney Trains . “Please use local bus route 401 to travel between Lidcombe and Olympic Park or route 425 to travel between Strathfield and Olympic Park.”
Despite the fact that no train strikes were planned for this day, 2GB reported that many trips were still canned. “We’re seeing trains not taken into service as a result of this industrial action,” said Sydney Trains’ CEO, Matt Longland told the radio station. “We’re up to 33 trains this morning.”
‘The main impacts have been on the T2, T3, and T8,” explained Longland. He then later stated, “We’ve expected that this will create gaps in frequency during the day today, as it did yesterday and the day before. This is an ongoing pattern.”
On August 31, 4GT trains didn’t operate. This meant that no privately or foreign made trains were running on this date. According to The Guardian , this call would’ve taken 70 percent of Sydney’s trains out of action.
Transport for NSW has outlined that this decision meant that there are no trains on the T3 line between Lidcombe and Bankstown. They also announced that there are no trains on the T7 line between Lidcombe and Olympic Park. It’s worth noting though, that on these two routes, some bus services replaced said train trips.
However, if you were catching the T5 Cumberland line, you were completely out of luck. This is because no train services were operating on this track, and no replacement bus services were coming to pick you up. If you wanted to get to your destination, you had to change at Granville.
What’s more, some bus drivers also decided to strike on August 31. If you want to learn more about this related situation, follow this link: More NSW Transport Chaos Incoming as Busses Join Train Strike
O n August 25, there was some legitimate hope that this situation would resolve soon. This is because the RTBU’s NSW secretary, Alex Claassens, felt like his negations with the NSW Government were heading in the right direction. In a press conference that Nine News recorded, he said, “The good news of course is that we did get another deed… I think it is doable.”
Claassens then went on to explain, “Once I get the deed to a point where the head office is comfortable with it, it’ll go through our democratic processes.”
However, on August 28, everything started to fall apart. As per The Rural, Tudehope sent a letter to the RTBU that day saying the government would begin modifying the New Intercity Fleet if the union stops all future strikes. Tudehope emphasised that if this happened, then these changes wouldn’t be dependent on the union signing any deeds.
This frustrated the RTBU because they couldn’t accept said conditions without going through their democratic process. This process always involves getting approval from its members and delegates. They would have needed a more generous timeframe than the one that was provided by the government.
The next day, Claassens commented on this development by stating, “This latest stunt by the government doesn’t add anything to the progression of the dispute.” He also expressed, “You can’t just send us a letter late on Sunday, especially one as poorly drafted as this, and expect everyone to jump to attention.”
This situation escalated even further on August 31. Claassens was incredibly frustrated with the NSW Government at this time and said in a Channel Seven clip, “We have had enough. We’ve had ten years of people not listening to us. And totally disrespecting the workforce”.
He also exclaimed, “Is it any wonder that today you’ve got bus drivers out there taking action? You’ve got nurses taking action. You’ve got teachers taking action. At which point does the NSW public realise the problem is not with the workers here? The problem is with the politicians.”
And in some other related news, the RTBU wrote to its members on the same date, saying, “Now, the Government is out in the media telling everyone that it has produced a new deed that we will not agree to. This is a lie. There is no new deed that has been provided to us.”
During this same day, Claassens also noted that no further strikes will happen until at least after September 14. As per Nine News, he said, “ We are still trying to reach an agreement.”
On September 1, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, declared that he was willing to make the stakes of this situation even higher. “We’re drawing a line in the sand,” he told Today. He then explained what he meant by this metaphor, saying that he was willing to take the RTBU to court. “If there’s any industrial action out there, on our network, we’ll go to the Fair Work Commission.”
Claassens confirmed that Perrottet wasn’t kidding. In a September 1 letter to his other members, he outlined, “After 3pm this afternoon, we received a letter signed by the Transport Secretary and the Chief Executive of NSW Trains with a threat — withdraw all of our industrial action by 5pm tomorrow (Friday), or we will seek to terminate your enterprise agreement.”
Now, you may be wondering why the NSW Government sent this letter, considering that Claassens stated no more major strikes would be happening for a while. This is because, according to Nine News , the government wants all industrial action to stop. Such action includes wearing union-approved t-shirts and badges.
Claassens has gone on the record as saying that this industrial action would continue. He also expressed in the aforementioned letter, “When you exercise your workplace rights, your employer is not able to do anything against you in reprisal for exercising that right. We have our experienced legal team looking into this and we will take whatever action we have to.”
“We know how to fight these types,” concluded Claassens. “We won’t give them the fight they want, but they can be rest assured that they will get one. We will fight smart, and we will fight long. Every time they take us on, we win. And we will again.”
On September 2 , the RTBU declared that they had beaten the NSW Government to the punch. As previously noted, Perrottet’s government promised that his party would take the RTBU to the FWC if the union’s industrial action continued past 5:00 PM on this date. They would ask said commission to terminate the agreement these two parties have been working on.
However, the RTBU played a UNO reverse card. They did this by approaching the FWC before 5pm rolled around. Furthermore, instead of requesting that this organisation terminate the agreement, they asked for the exact opposite thing.
As RTBU NSW outlined, “We filed an application with FWC for good faith bargaining orders. These orders if successful seek to bring the Government back to the bargaining table, stop it from following through on its attempt to terminate the agreement, and restrain those Ministers out their spreading misinformation.”
Nevertheless, it will still be a while until this situation is resolved. When the FWC sat down with the NSW Government and the RTBU, the government refused to negotiate. RTBU then told the FWC that they wanted “this case heard quickly” and for “the Commission to force the Government back to the table if they would not come voluntarily.”
A hearing for this case is set for September 6 and 7.
In an article by The Guardian , they outlined how long Elliot believes this dispute would continue if negotiations between the NSW government and the RTBU were to break down. “The worst-case scenario in my mind? Six months,” he commented.
Nevertheless, it would be rather surprising if the RTBU backed off once this timeframe passed. After all, they reckon that they are fighting for a safer trip not just for NSW’s train staff, but also for the general public. Once you’ve publicly announced such convictions, is it feasible to walk away from such a fight?
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