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Rail unions want compromise on Pacific National agreement

<p>Rail unions are still optimistic they can avoid an industrial showdown by getting Pacific National to compromise on its final enterprise agreement offer.</p> <p>The Rail Tram and Bus Union’s NSW branch secretary, Nick Lewocki, said although the company and the unions agree on a range of minor issues for the agreement they are still divided on a number of key points.</p> <p>These are hours of work, rostering principles and the job classification structure.</p> <p>Union chiefs are involved in a "lock-up" to study the enterprise agreement and respond to Pacific National by the end of next week.</p> <p>"We have been working hard to come to a compromise position," Mr Lewocki said.</p> <p>Pacific National’s final offer smacked of the "master-servant" approach and attempted to incorporate some "fairly draconian work practices", he said.</p> <p>The members had worked out that Pacific National’s offered pay increases only amounted to 1% or 2% once other reductions were taken into account, he said </p> <p>"What I have been saying to the company is ‘tell me how I’m going to convince my members to vote for this’?" Mr Lewocki said.</p> <p>The RTBU is supportive of the rail industry but cannot allow conditions to "go back", he said.</p> <p>With competition and regulations to contend with, the last thing that Pacific National needs is a hostile workforce, he said.</p> <p>Mr Lewocki said the unions intend to go back to Pacific National on July 25 with some alternative documents to put forward.</p> <p>"We still think there is room to get a settlement out of this," he said.</p> <br />