Media Release: Rail talks to continue to avert strike

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has called on the NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance to intervene in rail talks tomorrow and resolve outstanding issues around rostering and job security in a last ditch bid to avoid strike action Monday.

RTBU NSW Secretary, Alex Claassens said members had overwhelmingly rejected the latest government offer in an overnight poll.

“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,” Mr Claassens said.

“The onus is now on the Minister 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.

“Strike action has always been a last resort and I remain hopeful that we can make progress over the next 24 hours.

“It’s disappointing that we’re in this position. 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.

“There’s no doubt that a ban on overtime work will cause disruptions on the network 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.

“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.

“No one wants our transport system to run smoothly more than the workers themselves do. We’ll keep commuters up-to-date with all the information we can.”