WA train drivers to pay for own training

<p>In a move to stop Western Australian train drivers leaving the public system, the State Government could force them to pay for their training.</p> <p>WA Infrastructure minister Alannah MacTiernan told the <em> Sunday Times</em> yesterday (Sunday, May 11) that the drain on the public purse was starting to hurt.</p> <p>The exodus of train drivers from the public sector for lucrative mining contracts on the state’s extensive Pilbara iron ore network was costing tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars, she said.</p> <p>So far this year, 21 drivers have left the Public Transport Authority (PTA), the <em> Sunday Times</em> reported.</p> <p>Ms MacTiernan said one option was to make drivers pay if they left for the mines before serving two years with the PTA.</p> <p>&#8220We provide regular training and a lot of people (mining giants) are just piggy backing,&#8221 she told the <em> Sunday Times</em> .</p> <p>"We don’t think it’s right that the taxpayer should be paying the bulk of the funding.”</p> <p>She said that while the PTA could train only 50 drivers a year, the state was not facing a shortage of recruits as yet.</p> <br />