The Rail Tram and Bus Union and several other unions have withdrawn industrial action that threatens to disrupt Sydney’s rail network and given commitments they will not pursue them again.
The unions notified that they had withdrawn actions indefinitely hours before the start of a Fair Work Commission hearing of the NSW government’s bid to terminate industrial action on the basis that it has harmed the NSW economy.
Industrial action by rail workers last week caused thousands of train services to be delayed or cancelled over two days.Credit: Steven Siewert
The actions withdrawn by the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) include crew driving trains 23km/h slower on sections of track where the speed limit is more than 80km/h.
A government spokesperson confirmed the unions had withdrawn all notified industrial action – apart from actions such as wearing union badges – and had it noted by Fair Work that they would not pursue these actions again.
“This is a significant and welcomed development,” the spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson said the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) had only undertaken to not pursue their action until March 31, which meant notified hourly stoppages could still go ahead. “The government will continue with its 424 application to ensure commuters are permanently protected,” the spokesperson said.
Lawyer Siobhan Kelly, who represented the combined rail unions, told the Fair Work hearing that a substantial part of the government’s application had “now fallen away”.
However, lawyer Jamie Darams, who represented Sydney Trains, said the ETU had not withdrawn partial work bans, which had been notified about January 14, and the government was proceeding with the case.
He noted that a locking ban by the ETU had prevented maintenance on critical rail infrastructure last week, which resulted in significant delays across Sydney’s rail network.
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