The chaos across Sydney’s train network caused by industrial action on Wednesday is expected to worsen on Thursday, as a standoff over a new pay deal between rail unions and the New South Wales government drags on.
Trains on some lines were delayed by up to five hours on Wednesday, with rail authorities warning more than 1,000 train services could be cancelled amid a shortage of staff to operate trains, as they observed a range of work bans and industrial action that the state transport minister, Jo Haylen, described as “strangling” the network.
Wednesday’s disruptions were due to a range of industrial action, but one union’s refusal to perform maintenance at Bondi and Homebush stations was singled out by the head of Sydney trains as being responsible for some of the most worst disruptions.
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) – one of the combined rail unions stuck in negotiations – again refused to perform maintenance overnight on points – rail infrastructure which guide trains across different tracks.
The government said that without the points being certified as safe, signals then revert to a default red position and trains cannot be switched between tracks.
Signallers are then forced to manually move trains through red signals one by one, leading to a buildup of trains. Delays then flow through that line and the broader network.
It led to authorities issuing a warning that disruptions were set to worsen late on Wednesday and into Thursday. Residents were urged to delay non-essential travel.
“Passengers will continue to experience lengthy delays, service cancellations and very large service gaps on the rail network,” Transport for NSW said on Wednesday.
Delays will be particularly severe on the T1 North Shore and Western, T2 Leppington & Inner West, T3 Liverpool & Inner West, T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra, T8 Airport and South, Blue Mountains, South Coast and the Central Coast & Newcastle lines, the agency said.
Another work ban includes train drivers on some services operating at 23km/h below speed limits of 80km/h.
Transport for NSW apologised to affected travellers, conceding some trains on the T4 line on Wednesday were delayed by nearly five hours. More than 25% of services in Wednesday’s morning peak were cancelled.
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The disruptions throughout the morning led to long queues for bus alternatives amid reports of commuters needing 40 minutes to travel between two suburban stations, with trains routinely stuck on platforms due to shortages of rail workers.
The turmoil comes as the combined rail unions consider an improved pay offer from the state government.
Eight months into negotiations for a new pay deal, and amid proceedings in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and federal court, Haylen announced an offer of an improved 13% pay rise plus 1% efficiency rise and 1% super rise across four years – much lower than the combined rail unions’ demands of 32% over four years.
Haylen said the sweetened offer, made public this week, was possible due to an agreement to merge the two state bodies that run Sydney trains and regional trains over the next four years. The merger was expected to drive productivity gains and financial savings – including from possible job cuts – that would fund an additional 1% rise.
Rail unions have until Thursday to consider the offer, but the Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW secretary, Toby Warnes, indicated the union was lukewarm on the offer.
Such a position has created the prospect of rolling industrial action for coming weeks, with the FWC only able to be asked to settle the substantive dispute – pay and conditions – in February.
In a statement, the RTBU called on the government to “stop playing politics” and “come back” to the negotiating table.
“It is clear that the government’s strategy is to drag this dispute out for longer than necessary in order to sway public opinion against the unions,” a spokesperson said.
In the meantime, the NSW government has indicated it could again seek legal action to quash the combined unions’ actions.
“We’re currently looking at all of our legal options to make sure that these conditions can be rolled back and that we can get the trains back running on time,” the acting NSW premier, Penny Sharpe, said on Wednesday.
The RTBU said any legal action would just “waste tens of thousands of dollars” of taxpayers’ money.
“The unions will not accept any offer that removes the safety clause valiantly fought for during the last enterprise agreement campaign, as it would jeopardise safety and leave commuters with inferior trains and services.”
