‘Catastrophe’: Christmas warning looms for Sydney commuters after rail union’s ‘history-making’ vote for industrial action

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has warned commuters to brace for a “catastrophe” this Christmas after the rail union approved further industrial action despite an 11th injunction lodged by the state government.

The Australian Rail, Train, and Bus Union (RTBU) was set to notify Sydney Trains on Monday evening that it would take further industrial action from December 28, following a Protected Action Ballot approved by members.

RTBU president Craig Turner heralded the vote in a Facebook video on Monday as “unbelievable” and “history making for this union”, claiming 81 per cent of Sydney Trains members had voted to take protected action.

While the exact nature of the industrial action is not yet known, Mr Speakman said businesses and commuters in Sydney deserve more than the “industrial chaos” that loomed over the holiday break.

“This has come about because of outrageous union demands and a weak government. Chris Minns went to the election encouraging expectations of significant public sector wage increases,” Mr Speakman said.

“He has inflated the expectations of the union bosses, and now he can’t afford to do the deals they are demanding.

“This is a government controlled by unions … they want their pound of flesh and Chris Minns can’t deliver”.

The RTBU has been in protracted negotiations with Minns government for a 32 per cent pay rise over four years and 24-hour rail services between Thursday and Sunday.

So far, no agreement has been reached.

The Premier earlier this month sought an injunction to stop further industrial action after a last-minute pledge for further negotiations scuttled an earlier attempt by the powerful rail union to undertake industrial action.

At the time, Mr Minns said that “after two weeks of negotiations we have not been able to come to a fair deal with the combined rail unions” and that “daily exhaustive negotiations have not resulted in a breakthrough”.

Shadow Transport Minister Natalie Ward accused the Premier of being “missing in action” and that the state government’s negotiations were a “Muppet show”, with a new person in charge of negotiations each week.

“People have had a tough year. They deserve the transport system to be running. And, what we don’t know from the government is what’s on the table or what’s off the table,” Ms Ward said on Tuesday afternoon.

“Now the Premier’s not even returning phone calls from the union. He’s abandoned this whole negotiation. The Transport Minister is stepping in and out. No one’s in charge, and the trains won’t be running.

“This is a disaster and chaos caused by this government, who has had months to get this in order. They’ve known since May that the agreement was to be completed. They’ve had months to sort this out.

“They’ve left it minutes to midnight before New Year’s Eve, and commuters are paying the price. The lethal combination of ministerial incompetence and industrial tourism is holding commuters hostage again.”

If in charge, Mr Speakman said he would have had a negotiation plan in place and would “be looking at taking the unions to the Fair Work Commission”, which he said could stop certain industrial action.

The proposed action could see the number of kilometres members travel each shift gradually reduced, including New Years Eve when Mr Turner told 2GB the level of service would depend on the government’s response.

“Trains will be running; it depends on what actions we put on. We haven’t come up with what we’re going to do … We’re hoping for everyone, especially for people in NSW, the premier calls us and gets this job done,” he said.

Transport Minister Jo Hayken on Tuesday said “the government’s position here is very clear, no level of industrial action is tolerable this time of the yearly given how tough it’s been for families and businesses”.

“We need New Year’s Eve to run well, and we need each and every one of those public transport services to be available to get the millions of people in and out of our city safely,” Ms Haylen said.

“Now, the government will absolutely pursue all legal options available to us to ensure that we protect passengers and protect businesses this New Year’s Eve.”

On the negotiations, Treasurer Daniel Moohkey said the state government was “not in a position” to cough up the 32 per cent pay rise called upon by the RTBU, and negotiations were also ongoing with other workforces.

It comes after the combined train union returned to court after an 11th hour injunction filed by Sydney and NSW Trains to stop further industrial action, with Justice Michael Wheelahan to give judgment later this week.

A lawyer for the rail entities told the court previously authorised industrial action was no longer protected because negotiations now included multiple employers under a single interest employer authorisation.

“Sydney and NSW Trains have taken us to court, ordered by the Minns government to try and crush us and stop us having proper industrial action,” union boss Mr Turner said in an earlier Facebook video Monday.

Outside court on Monday, RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes told the media “the effect of what the Minns government is doing is attacking the bargaining system that is used by employees across the country”.

“What we are seeing today is absolutely disgraceful against workers all across the country … On the ground, we’ve seen a lot of anger and disappointment, and a real resolve to keep going until we get a fair deal.”

Transport for NSW has been contacted for comment regarding the proposed industrial action.