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As we head into the late afternoon, Sydney is set for further public transport woes on the commute home, while the Combined Rail Unions and the NSW government face off in the Fair Work Commission.
Here’s everything you need to know:
- More than one thousand train services have been cancelled so far across the network today. Severe disruptions are expected to continue, with the T1, T2, T3 and T8 lines facing the worst delays.
- At 5pm, the Fair Work Commission will hear Sydney Trains’ legal application to put an end to the protected industrial action.
- The government has offered the unions a total 15 per cent pay rise, which includes a 1 per cent super bump. The government says today is the deadline for the unions to respond, but the RTBU is still pushing for a return to the negotiating table.
- Sydney was lashed by a wild storm on Wednesday evening that brought trees and power lines down across the city – including onto rail tracks.
- A man in his 80s died at Cowra after a tree fell on his vehicle. More than 143,000 households and businesses experienced power outages across the state.
- Today, severe thunderstorms will combine with a low-pressure weather system that is expected to bring locally significant rain from Thursday through to Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
We’re still receiving a steady stream of contributions from commuters sharing their experiences on the rail network today.
Alvin, a NSW Health doctor, struggled to get to work this morning:
I’m a doctor trying desperately to get to RPA in the city, stuck between stations with no ability to make alternate transport arrangements. Not a single announcement in the 2 hours I have been on this train has informed me that the delays and cancellation is due to union action.
To think that this all because the already highly remunerated driver of this train is seeking a salary greater than that of the doctors working in the public system is outrageous.
Where is the value proposition? Where is there even a sense of unfairness? I can only interpret this as greed. Why use the public as pawns? Why disguise this as an attempt to improve public safety?
Their actions are putting others in jeopardy. This is immoral. Do not fool the public. I’m a public servant, working for NSW health since 2014.
Generally, I support those that work in the public system, teachers, emergency services, to name a few. I do not support the RTBU. This is wrong. They have crossed the line far too many times now. They have completely lost public support. Government, do not bow to their demands.”
Niranjan Shetty commutes from Parramatta to a bank at Wynyard, and he’s not too worried about being late because his work is flexible.
But he says the rail strikes are still having a massive impact.
Niranjan Shetty shared his views on the ongoing industrial action.Credit: Nicholas Osiowy
“They can’t hold us to ransom,” he said.
“We are the ones who suffer because we lose our time.”
Niranjan said there had to be another way of resolving the pay dispute.
As we head into the late afternoon, Sydney is set for further public transport woes on the commute home, while the Combined Rail Unions and the NSW government face off in the Fair Work Commission.
Here’s everything you need to know:
- More than one thousand train services have been cancelled so far across the network today. Severe disruptions are expected to continue, with the T1, T2, T3 and T8 lines facing the worst delays.
- At 5pm, the Fair Work Commission will hear Sydney Trains’ legal application to put an end to the protected industrial action.
- The government has offered the unions a total 15 per cent pay rise, which includes a 1 per cent super bump. The government says today is the deadline for the unions to respond, but the RTBU is still pushing for a return to the negotiating table.
- Sydney was lashed by a wild storm on Wednesday evening that brought trees and power lines down across the city – including onto rail tracks.
- A man in his 80s died at Cowra after a tree fell on his vehicle. More than 143,000 households and businesses experienced power outages across the state.
- Today, severe thunderstorms will combine with a low-pressure weather system that is expected to bring locally significant rain from Thursday through to Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
We’ve just had word that the legal bid by Sydney Trains to end the Combined Rail Unions’ protected industrial action will be heard by the Fair Work Commission at 5pm today.
In its application, the NSW government claims the industrial action is significantly affecting the economy and the welfare of passengers and the community.
Premier Chris Minns said the economic impact of the disruption was “incalculable”.Credit: Steven Siewert
Premier Chris Minns said the cost of the disruptions to the public was “incalculable”.
“We don’t know how many small businesses have been smashed as a result of 50 per cent of train services not operating in NSW. We don’t know how many businesses had employees ring up today and say, ‘I’m not battling the public transport,’ ” he said in a press conference this morning.
The government requested the hearing be expedited in a bid to end the train disruption as soon as possible.
Sydney Trains and NSW Trains will invoke section 424 of the Fair Work Act, which compels the commission to terminate a union’s protected industrial action if it threatens significant harm to passenger welfare or the economy.
The matter will be heard by the president of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Adam Hatcher.
We’re still hearing stories from morning commuters, including Stacey Morley, who was travelling from Emu Plains to the CBD but got off at Parramatta and decided to return home.
Stacey Morley turned around and went home after seeing the extent of the delays. Credit: Nicholas Osiowy
Her commute to a financial planning firm at Circular Quay normally takes 50 minutes.
“They announced it would be a 70-minute delay to the city,” she said.
“I really needed to be in the office today.”
Many commuters are using intercity trains, which are coming more regularly. But even they aren’t immune to the disruption.
She said that the union was asking for too much.
“All power to them, but I think they are asking for a big increase,” she said.
“They need to be realistic … and come to the table.”
The rail union is continuing its war of words with the premier, labelling the government’s legal action a “smokescreen” and refusing to accept blame for train disruptions.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), along with five other unions, has put in place hundreds of work bans. The government is now pursuing legal action at the Fair Work Commission to terminate the protected industrial action.
RTBU secretary Toby Warnes. Credit: Janie Barrett
“The NSW Government’s latest legal move … is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shift the blame for its own failure to negotiate with workers,” an RTBU statement said.
“Now, instead of negotiating, the government is scapegoating rail workers, blaming them for economic disruption they themselves caused. The real cost to the economy isn’t the industrial action – it’s the government’s refusal to negotiate a fair deal.”
This morning, RTBU secretary Toby Warnes refused to accept that the union had lost the goodwill of the public, and would not concede that the union’s work bans were to blame for the rail chaos.
In a press conference this afternoon Premier Chris Minns said he was willing to stay at the negotiating table if the union released its “noose” around the transport network.
“We don’t mind negotiating with the union if it didn’t mean that, literally, nearly every family in Sydney is affected by public transport outages,” he said.
The NSW government will consider refunding passengers disrupted by the rail chaos over the last two days but Premier Chris Minns says his immediate priority is to bring a halt to the severe disruptions to train services caused by industrial action.
Asked if commuters should get a refund, Minns said the government would “look at that very closely”.
“But my main objective at the moment is to get an end to the ongoing industrial dispute,” he said.
“I’m sure it would be welcomed that your average commuter would far prefer the government focus on ending this dispute rather than getting one day back in terms of their … fares.”
Liberal leader Mark Speakman has called on the government to refund passengers.
“Refund the fares, make travel free until this chaos is fixed and stop the blame game. Commuters deserve better,” he said.
The trickle of commuters clutching umbrellas as they exited Martin Place station during the usual morning peak hour made the choice clear.
Faced with the twin inconveniences of wet weather and delayed train services, many workers decided to stay home on Thursday.
Martin Place coffee shop manager Roberto Taffuri.Credit: Steven Siewert
Near the underground entrance to the train station, Al Dente pasta and coffee shop manager Roberto Taffuri estimated foot traffic plunged by about 70 per cent yesterday. By 8am, Thursday looked like it would deliver similar conditions.
“We rely on people catching the trains. We love the trains. It’s a big disaster for us.”
Taffuri said many small businesses were already struggling post-COVID and “this doesn’t help at all, people can just work from home.
“Because people were running two or three hours late [on Wednesday], they didn’t even have time to stop for coffee. It’s had a huge impact.”
Taffuri said he didn’t know “who to blame anymore” in the wage dispute between the state government and rail unions.
Around the corner, Moses Shoe Repairs and Keys workshop manager Michaela Stewart agreed the station had been “pretty quiet”.
“When the trains aren’t running or they’re super delayed, people don’t come in, they just work from home,” she said.
“We might sell a lot of umbrellas today.”
The government hopes the “incalculable” cost of train disruptions to the public will be enough evidence to convince the Fair Work Commission to put an end to the union work bans.
“We don’t know how many small businesses have been smashed as a result of 50 per cent of train services not operating in New South Wales. We don’t know how many businesses had employees ring up today and say, I’m not battling the public transport,” Premier Chris Minns said.
Train patronage was significantly down as commuters stayed home. Credit: Dylan Coker
“We know that there are tens of thousands of nurses and police officers and firefighters as well as carers and those that work in different parts of the economy that rely on the public transport system, and 50 per cent of transport services are not getting to their location, then we’ve got a massive economic problem on our hands.”
The government is making an application under section 424 of the Fair Work Act, which compels the commission to terminate a union’s protected industrial action if it is found the action is threatening significant harm to welfare or the economy.
The government was unsuccessful in previous legal action taken amid last year’s threats by the rail union to disrupt New Year’s Eve services. The action was ultimately avoided.
Premier Chris Minns said families and commuters have become collateral damage to the endless industrial action “smashing the economy” as the government launched legal action against the rail union.
“Scenes last night … of people scrambling to get home from the station in the face of an oncoming storm, give you all the evidence that you need that this industrial dispute has gone on long enough,” he said.
Today 402 services have already been cancelled and that figure is expected to hit over 1000 by the end of the day.
Premier Chris Minns. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Just 28 per cent of services are running on time.
“We don’t mind negotiating with the union if it didn’t mean that literally, nearly every family in Sydney is affected by the public transport outage,” Minns said.
“But when the union says negotiations, what they really mean is that they’re going to continue to put a noose around the public transport system while demanding more and more and more money from the New South Wales Government.”
Minns said he is taking legal action in the hopes of putting an end to the protected industrial action.
