Update 17, Wednesday November 22

Your combined rail unions (CRU) negotiating team met with management on the 21^st November. Your negotiating team used this meeting to put to management your concerns about their proposed agreement. We told them that you will not accept an Agreement that:

• Cuts your hard won right to free transport to and from work by refusing to guarantee your Opal Card will work on transport services the government privatises;
• Cuts your right to make decisions as a part of your union by giving management the power to force a vote when dealing with issues listed in Clause 12 (the facilitation clause);
• Does not restore the right to 64 weeks redundancy pay at all;
• Does not protect a stable Master Roster and allows management to continually change Master Rosters with no care for you or how you manage your life outside work;
• Does not require contractors to follow the same fatigue management systems as direct hire employees when working on Sydney or NSW Trains sites;
• Does not contain a pay offer of above 2.5%.

We now await management’s response on a number of issues and will meet with them again on the 28^th November to try to reach agreement on the issues you said matter.

Next Steps
After meeting with management today, it is clear – it is time to prepare for a protected action ballot. Your application for the ballot will be heard by the Fair Work Commission on the 23^rd November.

To secure your vote in this ballot and tell management that fair conditions are worth fighting for, update your contact details using the form here. Make sure you give Sydney or NSW Trains management the same details.

Download the PDF here.