Sydney commuters face another week of disruption after the New South Wales government and the rail union failed to reach a deal on Friday. The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union (RTBU) has announced further strike action on Wednesday and Friday next week, following Friday's industrial action that took 70% of the network offline.
The dispute centres on safety concerns over the new Korean-made Intercity fleet. Drivers have refused to operate the overseas-built trains, demanding a legally binding deed guaranteeing fixes to safety issues. RTBU secretary Alex Claasens offered to bring his own pen to sign the government's promised deal, but no agreement was reached.
Transport Minister David Elliott had expressed optimism that a deal would be signed on Friday, but the union said the government failed to provide a specific document addressing their demands. “What was missing was a specific document, which is a deed,” Claasens said, adding that the union's version “actually does what we need it to do”.
Opposition leader Chris Minns called for a pause on industrial action, saying: “We can't have a situation where millions of people wanting to get to and from work next week are trying to work through the internecine details of an agreement.” The union warned that action would “continue to escalate until such time as we have got a signed deed in our hand”.
The government has signalled it is prepared to spend $264 million to modify the fleet, but the union claims previous offers were followed by backflips. Elliott has vowed to resign if he fails to deliver on promises, while insisting there are no safety concerns with the trains. Earlier this week, the government offered $3,000 bonuses to workers, which the union dismissed as “bribes”.
