Commuters are bracing for a week of transport chaos after the rail workers’ union won its latest case against the NSW government.
Sydney‘s train timetable could bear little resemblance to reality, with cancellations and delays expected after the Rail, Tram and Bus Union’s victory at the Fair Work Commission.
On Friday, commuters faced a horror journey home after 95.3 per cent of train services were either cancelled or delayed following half the rostered train drivers and guards not showing up for work.
More than 570 drivers did not turn up for work that day, leading to mass cancellations and hour after hour of delays.
The state government, led by Premier Chris Minns, was trying to block further industrial action after the havoc caused by trains not running or being severely delayed on Friday.
The NSW government argued that the mass absences had been coordinated by the union, pointing to messages sent by some RBTU delegates including one which told train drivers to ‘f*** the network up’.
But the FWC found that union officials had ‘left the decision about whether to attend, to attend … or to not attend at all, to the employees themselves’.
The ruling came as the union continued its long-running battle with the state government over a 32 per cent pay increase demand.
Commuters are bracing for a week of transport chaos after the rail workers’ union won its latest case against the NSW government
A text message sent to some RBTU members told train drivers to ‘f*** the network up’ (the message is pictured)
Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland said more delays are expected on Monday and commuters have been warned to factor that into their travel plans.
‘We will continue to see unpredictable delays and cancellations day by day, depending on the amount of train crew absent,’ he said.
‘Plan ahead, think about other modes of transport if you do need to travel throughout Sydney on Monday.’
Mr Longland said around 500 services were delayed or cancelled on Saturday, which was an improvement on Friday’s mass cancellations.
Around 260 train crew members who were scheduled on were reportedly off duty on Sunday.
Acting NSW Transport Minister John Graham said the government will again file an application with the FWC on Wednesday.
Negotiations between the union and the state government broke down over a demand for a $4,500 sign-on bonus for every rail worker.
‘We can’t sign a blank cheque to settle this dispute,’ Mr Graham said. ‘We need to settle this fairly.
‘The government will work to protect consumers, we are prepared to go back to the commission do that.’
Mr Graham, who took over the position less than two weeks ago after his predecessor Jo Haylen resigned over an expenses scandal, said the government hoped to halt the industrial action within days.
The state government (acting Transport Minister John Graham is pictured), was trying to block further industrial action after the havoc caused by trains not running or being severely delayed
On Friday, commuters faced a horror journey home after 90 per cent of train services were cancelled
He said negotiations had ‘been going on for 10 months. The government view is it’s time to stop that industrial action (because of) the impact it’s having on commuters and businesses’.
‘This dispute over time has been about a range of things – at one point it was about running trains 24 hours a day, at another point it was about free fares, now it is about a $4,500 sign on bonus.
‘We can’t afford bells and whistles here … There’s no blank cheque. We can’t sign a blank cheque to settle this dispute.
‘If we did, there’d be another demand and in six months time, we’d be back here again.’
NSW Secretary of Transport Josh Murray said there are no guarantees the rail network won’t grind to a halt again on Monday.
‘We’d like to apologise to commuters across Sydney,’ he said.
‘Sunday nights can be tough enough, without thinking about the uncertainty about how you’re going to get to work and how long it’s going to take.’
RBTU state secretary Toby Warnes offered no comfort to those wondering how they’re going to get to work on Monday, saying the train network could be a ‘similar situation to Friday’, which the union blamed on ‘lockout notices’.
‘We don’t know if these 5,000 lockout notices will stay in place,’ he said.
‘The nature of these lockout notices say that if you do come to work and you are found to be going slow, which is our original ban, you will lose an entire day’s pay.
‘So our members are in a really hard position at the moment, choosing between potentially working for free for a day or not coming to work at all … we saw on Friday 600 people made the latter choice.’
Mr Warnes said the outlook for the coming week is ‘unpredictable’.
