Sydney commuters face another week of travel disruption after the New South Wales government and the rail union failed to reach an agreement on Friday. The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union (RTBU) has announced strike action for Wednesday and Friday next week, following a previous walkout that crippled the network.
On Friday, union members refused to operate overseas-built trains, taking 70% of Sydney's rail network offline. Services ran to a weekend timetable, with only 30% of trains operating. The dispute centres on safety concerns over the new Korean-made Intercity fleet, which the union claims has unresolved issues.
RTBU secretary Alex Claasens said the union is seeking a signed deed guaranteeing fixes to safety problems. 'What was missing was a specific document, which is a deed, which is what we were looking for,' he said. He added that union action would 'continue to escalate until such time as we have got a signed deed in our hand'.
NSW transport minister David Elliott had expressed optimism that a deal would be reached on Friday, but the agreement remained unsigned. Elliott has vowed to resign if he fails to deliver on promises to the union, while insisting the fleet is safe. The government has offered $3,000 bonuses to workers, which the union described as 'bribes'.
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 government has signalled it is prepared to spend $264 million to modify the fleet, but the union claims previous offers were withdrawn due to internal politics.
