COVID-19 infiltrates Bus Depots COVID-19 has spread its tentacles amongst our members at the Leichhardt, Tempe, Waverley, and Ryde Depots. On August 18 staff were required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days which commenced from when they were first exposed. This is the first time we have had a mass group of bus operators required to self-isolate at the same time. The union would like to send our thoughts and wishes for those members and their families who currently are having to deal with the COVID-19 virus, together with those members in self-isolation awaiting test results. Positive Work-Related COVID-19 Payments for Bus Operators RTBU Bus Officials received confirmation that the COVID-19 pandemic had spread to some depots. Understandably this is an uncertain and worrying time for impacted members from both a health and financial perspective. We have been in contact with Transit Systems and State Transit and can confirm that those members who were required to isolate due to a positive COVID-19 within the depot will be paid as below. Close Contact Paid Special Leave which will be
calculated on 8 hours base rate for up to 10 days (as per what those in the public sector receive). Casual Contact Paid as per what your rostered work was until you resume duty. Evidence of a negative test with date and time will need to be provided. Your union has been instrumental in having all private bus operators continue to be paid as per their contractual arrangements with TfNSW during this pandemic. This win means that members
will not have to utilise any of their personal leave (as is the case within other sectors of the transport industry) for the time they are away from work due to a positive COVID-19 case within the workplace. If any member requires assistance during this time, please don’t hesitate to contact your local delegate or the union head office. It is important to know that help is not far away in the face of adversity. You can also access support through Beyond Blue. As the outbreak worsens across NSW and within the other regions, we do not doubt that more incidents will occur across the network. It is in these times we need to be supportive of each other and remember that we are all part of our work families and as families we all stick together. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your delegate or the office.
Senate report blasts ARTC, federal government management of ‘nation building’ Inland Rail project A recent ABC News report has stated that a Senate inquiry has issued a stinging assessment of the management of Australia’s biggest freight rail project, Inland Rail. The 211-page report provides 26 recommendations to fix failures in consultation, technical modelling and route planning of the 1,700 kilometre rail line connecting Brisbane to Melbourne. Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee chair and WA Labor Senator Glenn Sterle described the “nationbuilding” project as rushed and half-baked “The government will tell you about the good bits, but you can’t keep covering up the ineptitude of
the lack of consultation and poor route choice,” he said. The construction of Inland Rail is underway and being delivered through the government-owned Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). The initial 2015 business case estimated a cost of $4.7 billion, which has now ballooned to $14.3b and could exceed $20b, according to the report. The report recommends an independent review and update of the original business case to allow for accurate costing of the project. At the same time, the report also proposes looking at extending the rail to Gladstone, 500 kilometres north of Brisbane, and building a passenger line from Brisbane to
RAIL & ROAD September 2021
Toowoomba. Federal government action In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Inland Rail was vital infrastructure for regional Australia. “The government will consider all recommendations in the Senate inquiry report into the management of inland rail and will respond in due course,” the statement said. Mr Sterle said the Government would likely tuck the committee’s report away on “a dark shelf somewhere”. “I have no doubt this government is going to try to bury it,” he said
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