Rail workers have won an important ruling as the bitter disagreement between the union and the state government is set to continue into its third week.
After two weeks of disrupted train services in NSW, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in favour of protesting rail workers.
The decision comes after the NSW government escalated the dispute in a bid to stop the protected industrial action by the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union (RTBU) which took place this week.
On Saturday, Fair Work Deputy President Bryce Cross ruled to allow the strikes to continue, noting the union had taken “substantial steps to addressing any perceived risks” that might arise from the action.
RTBU NSW Secretary, Alex Claassens, hailed the ruling as a victory for the rail workers but said it was meaningless if it didn’t convince the state government to act on the union’s safety concerns.
“We’ve won in the Commission, but we still don’t have a commitment from the NSW government that it will make the safety changes required to the New Intercity Fleet, and confirmation that any changes made won’t come at the expense of workers’ take-home pay and conditions,” he said.
Acting NSW Transport Minister Natalie Ward argued that the government’s application to the commission had resulted in the welcome cancellation of “a significant number of bans” enacted by the RTBU, including a ban on cleaning trains and station facilities.
“By the union’s own admission, taking action in the Fair Work Commission was the only way the Government could force the unions to listen and keep our rail network operating with 60 per cent of the bans imposed by the unions now withdrawn,” Ms Ward said.
“We have a world-class train network, and the only reason it isn’t providing world-class services is because the unions are playing politics.”
She called for rail unions to cease all industrial action during ongoing negotiations to ensure the community is not adversely affected by further interruptions.
The protracted feud centres on the RBTU’s refusal to operate the Intercity Fleet of foreign-built trains, which it claims poses a serious threat to the safety of workers and commuters.
The union has said the guards on the train won’t be able to prevent accidents if the trains aren’t modified so that new CCTV screens, communication buttons, and door controls are added.
The government recently agreed to spend $264m on safety improvements to the Korean-built New Intercity Fleet following discussions with the union.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet gave his word the improvements would be made, but the union sought an agreement in writing to cement the changes before it moved to cease industrial action.
Ms Ward said the transport unions have now received a signed letter of commitment from the NSW government to reconfigure the fleet of Intercity trains, and urged unions to continue negotiations.
“I want to thank the community and public transport customers for their patience – we know that more disruption is the last thing anyone needs,” the acting Transport Minister said.
“It is incumbent upon the unions (to) come to the table and come to a reasonable compromise.”
The ruling from the Fair Work Commission comes after the union and the nation’s busiest rail network clashed over who was to blame for interrupted rail services this week.
The RBTU took industrial action on Wednesday and Friday, which it claimed would not have impacted passengers.
Ms Claassens said the train delays endured by commuters were the fault of the NSW government, which he accused of “deliberately withholding services again this past week, all to make an ideological political point.”
“We’re calling on the NSW government to be honest about the reasons for any service delays today. To blame rail workers’ action is completely false,” he said on Friday.
On Saturday, the state’s acting Transport Minister slammed the RBTU’s “desperate” and “misleading” claims.
“The union even admitted today that if it wasn’t for the government taking them to the Fair Work Commission, there would have been even more disruption on the network,” Natalie Ward said.
“You would think in a week where the state was gripped by floods and severe weather events they would stop playing politics and finally put the people first.”
While the Fair Work Commission ruling granted rail workers the right to continue to strike, Mr Claassens said the RBTU had not planned any further strikes.
“This has been a remarkable waste of taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“The NSW government ran, and lost, a case aimed at stopping protected industrial action that doesn’t even currently exist.”
Mr Claassens said he hoped the commission’s decision would signal a return to proper negotiations.
“We don’t want this circus of the government’s making to continue,” he said.
“We just want to know that when we go to work, we’ll be operating trains that don’t risk the lives of commuters.”
Saturday’s decision from the Fair Work Commission was handed down only days after the commission rejected an urgent request by the NSW government to put an end to the rolling strikes that have affected the state’s rail network over recent weeks.
After rejecting the bid on Tuesday, the commission heard arguments on Thursday and Friday that formed the basis for Deputy President Cross’ finding on Saturday.
Originally published as Victory for union as train feud continues between rail workers and government
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