Sydney trains to shut down from Thursday to Saturday in ongoing ...
The NSW government has warned commuters the passenger rail network will shut down for three days from Thursday in a major escalation of a pay dispute with its workforce.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said there would be “major disruptions” for millions of commuters, urging them to avoid peak travel times during the shutdown period after eleventh hour meetings between Sydney Trains and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) were unsuccessful.
NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen addresses media on Tuesday.Credit: Nine News
“Unfortunately, at this stage, the information before us indicates that those services will not be operating between Thursday and Sunday this week,” Haylen said.
“We need to be very clear here: this will cause major disruption to the millions of people that rely on these services.”
The RTBU has threatened a work ban unless the government runs 24-hour rail metropolitan and intercity services from Thursday through Sunday. The slowly intensifying industrial impasse has been seen off by the government recently after they temporarily ceded to union demands.
While the dispute will throw Sydney into commuter chaos if a resolution can’t be reached before the bans kick in, travel will be even more difficult on Saturday as the M1 metro line between Chatswood and Sydenham is closed for planned major maintenance this weekend.
Metro services will run as scheduled on Thursday and Friday.
A 12.30pm Microsoft Teams meeting between Sydney Trains representatives and the union on Tuesday failed to break the deadlock. During the negotiations, the union was presented with a plan which included partially meeting their demands for 24-hour services, in exchange for dropping the ban.
The union’s state secretary, Toby Warnes, accused Haylen and Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland of “being disingenuous with their comments”.
“If the NSW government chooses to shut down the rail system at any stage this week, it will be entirely their decision,” he said.
“The RTBU NSW has been asking the government and Sydney Trains to negotiate since last Wednesday. However, they’ve refused to commit to further meetings for the rest of the week”
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Transport for NSW is considering what alternative services can be provided over the three days, with secretary Josh Murray saying his department was looking at collaboration with Uber and taxis, along with bus and ferry capability. The latter, he warned, would already be running at their usual capacity.
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said, if it proceeded, the shutdown would be the worst on Sydney’s rail network in living memory.
Industrial action was avoided at the weekend after NSW Labor agreed to the RTBU’s demands to run 24-hour train services under work bans that came into effect on Thursday and another that reduces staff availability amid escalating industrial disputes over pay and conditions.
However, while Haylen stressed there was still an opportunity for the union to come to the table before Thursday, the impasse continues. Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Haylen told commuters to brace for widespread delays this week.
“We have respectfully asked the unions to withdraw these bans,” Haylen said. “Unfortunately, they are yet to do so. These bans make it harder and harder for us to operate our train network, and it does mean that passengers should expect disruption later this week.
“That could involve a complete stoppage of operations across the rail network.”
“We put a proposal to the union last night so that we would be able to operate on one line. We would operate 24-hour services from Strathfield through the city to Hornsby over the weekend period, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night,” Longland said.
Haylen said it was “unsustainable” for the network to operate around-the-clock services.
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NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman said: “The Minns Labor government’s failure to control their union mates will leave commuters stranded and the city in chaos yet again.”
The government has urged commuters to make alternative transport arrangements, with information provided by Transport for NSW through warning signs across the train network, transport apps and information pages.
The deadlock is the latest in a series of disputes over a pay deal for which the RTBU has negotiated with the government for the past six months. Labor has offered the 14,000 rail workers across NSW wage increases of 3.5 per cent in the first year, 3 per cent in the second and 3 per cent in the third, lower than the union’s demand for a 32 per cent pay rise over four years.
Both sides have expressed interest in settling the issue before Christmas.
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