The Rail, Tram and Bus Union Turns 30

A majority of current rail, tram and bus workers have only known the RTBU as their union, however , previously members belonged to one of the unions which formed the foundation of the current RTBU.

The current Rail, Tram & Bus Union was formed on 1 March 1993 when the Australian Railways Union (ARU) merged with the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen (AFULE); the Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees’ Association ATMOEA), and the National Union of Rail Workers of Australia (NURWA), to form the Australian Rail Tram & Bus Industry Union. While this was and remains the formal name of the amalgamated union, it operated for its first few years as the Public Transport Union (PTU), before changing to the RTBU. The current union continues a long and proud history of railway unionism spanning most of the history of the life of the NSW railways.

Since people have been employed on the railways there have been attempts at unions and associations to protect collective interests. Rail unions in one form or another came into existence in the 1860s and 1870s.

During the first decade of the NSW railways there were a number of small sectional and craft unions in existence, variously covering guards, drivers, perway and workshops. For example, there were unsuccessful attempts to form train drivers unions in Sydney and Goulburn as early as 1871; eventually establishing the Locomotive Enginedrivers, Firemen & Cleaners Association. Traffic Branch employees were organised from the early 1880s, with the NSW Guards and Shunters Association being formed in 1883, and the NSW Signalmen’s Union in 1885., Others included the Railway Workers & General Labourers Association, formed in 1908.

Many of the smaller unions were brought together under the umbrella of the Amalgamated Railways and Tramways Service Association (ARTSA) that was formed in 1886, de-registered after the 1917 strike, and re-registered in the 1920s as the Australian Railways Union.

State Tramways Employees Associations formed the Australian Tramway Employees Association in 1914, later changing to the Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees Association.

All of the major rail and tram unions were deregistered for their involvement in the 1917 general strike, and were not re-registered until the 1920s. In this time, the government assisted the establishment of a number of ‘loyalist’ unions to replace the more militant unions.

Divisions in the Ranks

Those who remained aloof from ASRTSA were some of the trades, such as fitters, turners and patternmakers, as well as the enginemen. They did not see throwing their lot in with the general grades as the best way of pursuing their interests or maintaining their relativities. Similarly, the salaried staff remained separate, forming their own Salaried Officer Association in 1890, which only lasted a few years. The relations between the different associations were at times quite hostile, and at best tense.

As mentioned earlier, these hostilities emanating from the strike of 1917 have never fully faded. The animosity between the ARU, the AFULE and the NUR survived through the century, and flared up regularly around industrial differences and disputes. The debates leading to the amalgamation of key rail and tram unions to form the Rail Tram and Bus Union in 1993 reflect how raw some of these feelings were some 75 years later.

The following edited extract from Peter O’Connor, On Wooden Rails : Celebrating 150 years of Work on the NSW Railways, provides a summary of the union amalgamation. The NSW Branch in collaboration with the RTBU National Office , are compiling a more detailed booklet to commemorate the RTBU amalgamation, which will be available later in the year.