Sydney Trains and NSW Trains have upgraded their offer to workers to a 3% per annum pay rise, and a one-off $1,000 payment to each employee, as part of ongoing negotiations with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union over a new enterprise agreement.
RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the union would take the latest “and final” offer from management to workers in depot meetings in “coming weeks”.
Two weeks ago, workers rejected an offer which included annual pay increases of just 2.75%.
The latest offer is for a 3% rise for workers when the enterprise agreement is approved, a 3% rise 12 months later, and another 3% rise 12 months after that. It also includes a one-off, $1,000 payment to each employee when the deal is approved, and travel passes extended for existing employees.
“Management presented the union representatives with an amended offer,” Claassens said on Thursday morning.
“Workers will now be given the opportunity to hear the details of the new offer at depot meetings over the coming weeks, before determining whether the offer provides them with the better conditions and a fair wage offer that they deserve.”
Claassens said workers continue to seek “better conditions and a fair wage offer”.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to try and resolve this issue for many months now and we will continue to work to ensure the dedicated and hard-working employees at Sydney and NSW Trains get an outcome that they deserve,” he said.
“We’re talking about people’s livelihoods and working conditions here. It is important workers are given every opportunity to discuss the offer on the table and decide for themselves whether this latest offer is good enough.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that the transport minister, who is ultimately responsible for this mess, has continually dragged his feet on this important issue.”