The rail strike planned for the Sydney and NSW train networks next Monday is still set to go ahead, after union members rejected the latest enterprise agreement offer from the NSW Government.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union yesterday took an updated offer from Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink bosses to its members, after lengthy meetings between the sides on Monday and Tuesday this week.
But members “overwhelmingly rejected” the offer, the union’s NSW secretary Alex Claassens said on Wednesday.
“Members have made it clear that the offer put forward yesterday is not good enough, and that negotiations will need to continue before there is an offer that is up to scratch,” Claassens said.
“The onus is now on [transport minister Andrew Constance] to bring the dispute to an end tomorrow by meeting the legitimate concerns of the workforce which is straining daily to keep the system operating under enormous pressure.”
Claassens said strike action “has always been a last resort,” and said he remains hopeful progress can be made before the end of the week.
“It’s disappointing that we’re in this position,” he said.
“The transport minister has unfortunately let it get to this. He could have averted this issue a long time ago, simply by putting forward a fair and reasonable offer for the workers back then.”
An indefinite ban on overtime will kick in on Thursday, January 25, with Sydney Train saying train services “will be significantly reduced” on Thursday as a result.
The operator said all stations will be closed and no trains will run on Monday, January 29, while strike action takes place.
Claassens said it wasn’t a surprise that the overtime ban would cause disruptions, “and that’s because the transport minister has allowed our services to get to the point where they’re reliant on people working their rostered days off in order to keep our trains running,” he said.
“While these disruptions are regrettable, they are merely a sign of things to come if the minister continues to run down the public transport system.”