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Visit the Our Union is under attack by a hostile NSW Government
Dear Members,
As we advised in prior newsletters, we always anticipated that the NSW Government would take us to the Federal Court in an attempt to stop us turning off the Opal Gates. We know some members were upset by the limited action we notified on Sunday night, but now we can reveal the reasoning behind it.
Given the constant threats about the legality of taking this action, it was vital to the welfare of our Station Staff that we knew what the government’s plan of retaliation was. We therefore notified the limited action we sent out on Sunday to the red emergency buttons and only at limited times. We took expert legal advice, and this was the option most likely to be successful in Court and ensure we could take this action now and into the future.
We were, and still are, committed to providing the commuters of NSW with free train travel, and to give our Station Staff the opportunity to shine and really ramp up the pressure on the government to deliver a fair enterprise agreement.
However, last night, the government got desperate and aggressive. In what is probably a first in the history of Australia, the NSW Government decided to actively sue its own workforce. The government lodged an application with the Federal Court that seeks the following:
1. To effectively stop us from ever taking the action that turns off opal machines, on gates or poles.
2. The recovery of damages (what they say is lost revenue) from the months of August and September arising from leaving the station gates open action.
3. An order that we all took adverse action against Sydney Trains and NSW Trains management by taking our industrial action of leaving gates open in an attempt to convince them to enter into an enterprise agreement.
As silly as some of the above sounds, the government has invested serious time and (taxpayer funded) resources into preparing this application, and it potentially has very serious consequences for our Union. It is something that needs to be taken very seriously.
If you’re interested in viewing the Court documents, you can find them here. This is the kind of low acts your EA delegates have been subjected to from the start of this bargaining campaign. We thought it was important that every member could view these documents and see the utter contempt that Management and the leaders of our State have for us. Let it fuel the fire so we can finish this EA fight.
Of course, we are going to fight this with all that we have got, both in the Courts and on the ground. Members have attempted to pressure the government without inconveniencing commuters, but the government has thrown the kitchen sink at stopping that from occurring. Therefore, it is likely that we will have to escalate our previously taken types of disruptive industrial action to drive us closer to an enterprise agreement.
We are hopeful that the Court will determine whether our opal machines action can proceed before Thursday, but unfortunately that may not occur. So members should prepare for the action not to proceed on Thursday. However, keep an eye on your inboxes for other actions that will be notified to continue our push for an agreement.
We are currently busily preparing our own court claim to have the opal machine industrial action issue dealt with by the Federal Court as soon as possible so that we can get back to taking the action that was approved by members in the protected action ballot last week.
Given this recent move by the government, our resolve must remain.
It is times like this, in moments when we are under vicious attack by those who wish to see us crushed, that we must pull together and demonstrate that we won’t be bullied, and we won’t be silenced. We’ve come too far and achieved too much to let them get on top of us now.
United we win.
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
19 October 2022