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Dear Members,
Media Nonsense
We woke up this morning to an article in the Daily Telegraph that was ill conceived and just plain wrong. Pretending like they’d uncovered a “secret” email that proved the government’s conspiracy theories, the Telegraph proclaimed “RTBU EXPOSED”!
We’ve fielded some enquiries about what the email the Telegraph referred to is. Well… it’s the email that we sent all members at Sydney Trains and NSW Trains last Thursday, 1 September.
Remember, it was straight after the government had threatened the livelihoods of more than 14,000 rail workers by terminating their enterprise agreement and potentially reducing their pay and conditions of employment.
At the time it was reported as Premier Perrottet declaring war against railway workers. Our email was simply responding to that saying that we are up for the fight and will take it to them for as long as it takes to win a fair agreement and a safe railway.
The email is certainly no secret. If you haven’t seen it, its publicly available (always has been, that’s how they found it) on our website here: https://www.ourrightsourfight.com.au/government-escalates-its-rhetoric-threatens-to-terminate-enterprise-agreement/.
Fair Work Commission case
This morning, we were in the Fair Work Commission applying for orders that the government had been bargaining in bad faith. We worked tirelessly over the weekend to get our evidence ready in accordance with the directions of the Commission. Our evidence went in on Sunday evening.
The government’s evidence was due yesterday at 5pm. At around 9.30pm we received a request from them to adjourn today. Naturally we said no.
This morning, the government asked the Commission in person. The CRU opposed the delay in the case citing the government’s threatening rhetoric as the need for urgency. However, the government undertook to the Commission that it would make no moves to apply to terminate the agreement or to put the incomplete agreement to a vote until the case is heard.
The Fair Work Commission approved the adjournment request, and the case will now proceed on Friday morning at 10am.
It’s nothing short of embarrassing that a government, with unlimited resources behind it, could present to the Commission not ready like they were today. However, it accords with how this entire bargaining process has been, and that is shambolic.
It’s time that somebody stepped up to show some leadership and resolved this dispute once and for all. The Transport bureaucrats are powerless to make decisions. Tudehope, Elliott, and Kean, are running their mouths in the media and just making things worse. The only person who can fix this is Dominic Perrottet, but he just doesn’t seem to care.
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
6 September 2022