Union Condemns Government Attempt to Recoup Strike Costs

Union condemns “unprecedented” Government case to recoup rail strike cost by suing its workforce

The RTBU says an “unprecedented” NSW Government court case claiming that deactivating Opal card readers at Sydney train stations is not protected action and seeking to recoup lost revenue will force it to revert to disruptive strikes, as the union files its own court action in response.

The RTBU filed a Federal Court application urgently seeking clarification on the legality of its action targeting Opal card readers on the Sydney Trains network and has called off a planned shutdown of the system, until such time as the legal position is clarified. The move follows a NSW Government Federal Court case launched in late October that seeks compensation, damages and penalties against the union, along with declarations that Opal disruptions totalling about six weeks between August and October do not qualify as “protected industrial action” within the meaning of s408 of the Fair Work Act. The Perrottet Coalition Government argues that leaving Opal gates open initially was not authorised by an earlier FWC protected action ballot order as it did not involve a ban on performing work or performing it differently within the meaning of s19(1)(b) and (1)(a). Although a new Protected Action Ballot Order in late September specified that proposed industrial action might include deactivating Opal readers and gates, the Government claims the union also continued to breach s343 and s362 by organising and arranging such action with an intent to coerce employers to accept its agreement terms. The statement of claim refers to delegates who voted at bargaining meetings and names RTBU NSW Branch Secretary Alex Claassens and Director of Organising Toby Warnes as having knowledge that the earlier action “was intended to hurt financially” to “force” the employers to accede to its claims. Unions NSW says it “appears the NSW Govt is setting conditions to seek personal penalties against individuals fighting for safety and fair pay during a cost of living crisis”. Branch Secretary, Alex Claassens says the court action is an “unprecedented attack” and told members that “in what is probably a first in the history of Australia, the NSW Government decided to actively sue its own workforce”. After calling off the planned shutdown of Opal gates on the rail network in response to the court action, Mr Claassens says that as “silly” as some of the legal claims sound, the NSW Government has “invested serious time and (taxpayer funded) resources into preparing this application, and it potentially has very serious consequences for our Union”. He says it is therefore “likely that we will have to escalate our previously taken types of disruptive industrial action to drive us closer to an enterprise agreement”. In an RTBU Facebook post, the union said it had “tried to minimise harm to the public and give everyone free fares”. “We really did. Sorry, more strikes coming,” it said, adding that they are the “only tool we have left to achieve safety on the railways and a fair enterprise agreement”. Delegates then went about preparing and distributing a new “November calendar of actions” to members. Transport for NSW Secretary Rob Sharp and NSW Trainlink Chief Executive Peter Allaway accused the rail unions of failing to genuinely try to reach agreement with government entities on the terms of a new agreement and a deed outlining safetyrelated modifications to the new intercity train fleet. Unions NSW Assistant Secretary Thomas Costa meanwhile at the time said Transport for NSW had shifted the goalposts by issuing a “new deed” along with a threat to move to terminate the current deals if it was rejected.