Visit the 
Visit the NSW Government still playing politics
Dear Members,
The NSW Government has again taken steps to drag out our ongoing EA dispute.
In yet another attempt to reach a resolution to the dispute, the Combined Rail Unions last Friday wrote to the senior management of Sydney Trains and NSW Trains to say that once our final conditions claims were agreed to, the government can put the draft enterprise agreement to members so they can have their say.
On Tuesday night we received a response. Their letter contains a refusal to put the draft Enterprise Agreement to a vote with all agreed conditions. In fact, the letter went backwards on previous government positions.
The government now wants to take conditions away from union members (previous positions had members maintaining all their conditions), including the government wanting to have the Fair Work Commission arbitrate on whether clauses 12, 13 and 14 should exist at all, and what our wage increase and newly won allowances should be.
In short, the offer sent to the unions is even worse than the one previously put forward by the government.
If we needed even more proof that this is nothing more than a political game for the government, this is it. The NSW Government Ministers have been saying they want to put an Enterprise Agreement to the workforce to vote on, but as soon as we put forward a position which would allow them to do that, they change their minds.
This should be about getting safe trains on our tracks and fair wages and conditions for rail workers, but instead it’s becoming a platform for a few Ministers to make a name for themselves ahead of an election.
It’s a farce and the rail workers and commuters of NSW are the ones paying for it.
It’s important to note that the government cannot put an agreement out to the workforce to vote on while the “good faith bargaining” Fair Work Commission case is still underway, and the timeline on that case is still unknown.
A reminder that the current November calendar of action is available at www.ourrightsourfight.com.au.
As always, we will continue to keep members updated as things progress. Stay tuned for more information about upcoming member briefing sessions. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak with your local delegate.
In Unity,
RTBU NSW
Issued & authorised by Alex Claassens, Secretary, Rail, Tram and Bus Union – NSW Branch
Level 4, 321 Pitt Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 92642511
nswho@rtbu-nsw.asn.au
www.rtbu-nsw.asn.au
9 November 2022