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Commuter rage is at an all-time high as the stagnant pay negotiations between the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union (RTBU) and the NSW government continue to drag on.
“Unfortunately, facts don’t seem to matter to many in the media,” said RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes in a video message to members of the union via its Facebook page. Warnes, along with divisional secretary Farren Campbell, labelled the recent media coverage of the industrial action committed by the union as “misleading”.
“Now, contrary to much of the media reporting, [the Sydney trains disruptions] weren’t caused by our go-slow action, which started on [Wednesday,15 January] and are finishing on Friday,” said Warnes.
“The disruptions [on Wednesday] were caused by deliberate acts over the past two weeks by the engineering and maintenance branch of Sydney Trains, who failed in their duty to maintain the network.”
Despite Warnes’ attempt to clear the air, commuter rage has reached a boiling point as only 16 per cent of morning peak-hour services departed on time or within five minutes of their scheduled departure on Wednesday, leading to more than 80 per cent of services being late or cancelled altogether.
This frustration is being directed primarily towards the union – which has attempted to minimise the scapegoating by appearing on various news channels.
As reported by News.com.au, Warnes sat down with television presenter Karl Stefanovic to discuss the ongoing negotiations. During the discussion, Stefanovic argued that the union has “lost the people” and “stuffed it up”.
“Whether or not you messed up the communications, the messaging was wrong,” said Stefanovic.
“At the end of the day, people just want to go to work. They want to be able to go about their lives.”
Warnes agreed that the situation had gotten ugly but refused to align with the idea that it was the union that was at fault.
“It is easy to use the union as a scapegoat. I understand that people are angry. We hope we can get things back on track,” said Warnes.
Pay negotiations continue to stall
In terms of the status of the pay negotiations, the RTBU originally requested a pay increase of 32 per cent over four years – or 8 per cent per year – a request the NSW government slammed as “impossible”. Now, the government has replied with a 15 per cent rise over four years – however, this increase is based on a merger that could result in job losses.
Warnes wasn’t incredibly stoked with the offer, saying: “We’re a little bit perturbed by the fact that the government only managed to find 1 per cent in savings from it, and that those 1 per cent only came from job losses.”
“So that’s obviously something we’re not extremely happy about. I don’t think 13 per cent over four years is going to cut it.”
As part of the negotiations, the NSW government has also requested for the removal of clause 35A, a key inclusion in the previous enterprise agreement between the two parties. This request has been labelled as an “absolute outrage” by union officials.
“Front and centre of the discontent with the offer that’s been put forward is the removal of clause 35A,” said Warnes.
“35A is a very important claim and a very important clause for our members. It is something that enshrines the right of workers to be involved in risk assessments – [ensuring] that bureaucrats, managers and governments who have no idea about how a railway really operates have to listen to the workers, [who are the] experts in the field.”
With the criticisms towards the union increasing, in his messaging on the union’s Facebook page, Warnes encouraged members to “stay strong” as they’re going to get a “good deal”, showing that the actions are far from over – along with the disruptions for commuters.
“You would have seen our industrial action calendar go out. Everybody should be aware of what actions are coming up. So, make sure, everyone, you stay strong. Don’t listen to everything you hear in the media,” said Warnes.
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Industrial relations is the management and evaluation of the interactions between employers, workers, and representative organisations like unions.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
