Our Rights Our Fight It was a less-than-merry Christmas for the NSW Government with the RTBU forced to roll out a Protected Action Advent Calendar after long-running enterprise bargaining talks with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) stalled. NSW Branch Secretary Alex Claassens said members were left with no choice but to take further protected industrial action, with the Government playing Uncle Scrooge and negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement seemingly going nowhere.
• A work-to-rule;
“It’s unfortunate that workers were forced into this position by TfNSW management and the NSW Government,” Alex said.
• Train drivers blowing whistles at stations (during daylight hours);
“Workers didn’t want to take action, but were not left with any other options, with management and the Government refusing to commit to basic safety, hygiene and privatisation provisions as part of the EA negotiations.” The advent calendar highlighted a number of RTBU bans and actions, including:
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• Station staff and shunters wearing union gear and shorts; • Bans on cleaning up hazardous waste and graffti; • Network-wide overnight stoppages;
• A ban on performing work when contractors were present; • Station staff sitting down on duty; and • Day-long bans on operating overseas-built rolling stock. The calendar also recommended RTBU members make a concerted effort to communicate the union’s position by speaking to the public, making announcements wherever possible, and attaching union
material to railway assets and outgoing correspondence. But it was the ban on overseasbuilt rolling stock that had perhaps the most impact, with rail workers refusing to operate those trains on two Tuesdays, December 7 and 14. The action meant about 75 per cent of Sydney suburban and NSW intercity trains were out of action, with services running to a reduced frequency on most lines, with additional station stops and longer journey times. “We know actions like this are an inconvenience to commuters, but the ball was in the court of management and the Government,” Alex said. “They could have stopped the action by simply agreeing to workers’ basic asks around safety, hygiene and privatisation.
RAIL & ROAD March 2022
