In good news for Hunter commuters, a statewide planned stoppage to rail services on Monday will not go ahead.
The Rail Tram and Bus Union has been brought to its knees by a decision of the Fair Work Commission to ban Monday's strike- industrial action has been suspended for six weeks' time.
The Commission has justified the decision by considering the detrimental effects of a complete stoppage on the NSW economy, as government lawyers argued it could cost the state between $50 to $90 million as people struggle to get to work, school or anywhere else.
Utter chaos was experienced in the Sydney CBD today as commuters packed onto intercity trains running at a weekend frequency.
Fair Work believed if a ban on overtime hours could create such havoc, a total stoppage could endanger the population and grind productivity to a halt.
After joining talks between the RTBU and Transport Minister Andrew Constance today, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has told reporters at Martin Place she's confident that, with the Commission's decision, the government will now be able to put the needs of the community first.
"I want to send the strongest message to the Rail Union and all NSW unions that we have a strong wages policy in place and we will continue to adhere to that policy moving forward," Ms Berejiklian said.
2NURFM News spoke to RTBU Secretary Alex Claassens yesterday, who slammed Transport Minister Andrew Constance's role in negotiations.
"In my experience (and I've worked under a lot of transport ministers) most of them have been conciliatory and understood the pressure we're all under...most of them have always agreed to sit down and talk about it. This guy's not prepared to."
Amidst the Union and media scrutiny, Premier Berejiklian today defended Andrew Constance's handling of the fiasco, expressing her gratitude to him.
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| Packed like sardines: a Sydney train during today's overtime ban. |
