RTBU Members Vote to Proceed With Strike

BY JESSICA ROUSE AND LAUREN FREEMANTLE

UPDATE 2:15pm:

In an overwhelming decision, members of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union have voted to proceed with industrial action on Monday.

Just 5.93% of union members wanted to suspend the strike.

They'll stop work for 24 hours on January 29, leaving Hunter and Sydney commuters without any passenger train services.

While 2900 services are usually in operation across the Sydney CBD on weekdays, tomorrow they'll only run 1600 as rail workers refuse to work overtime hours.

For Hunter commuters, it means they'll have access to rail services operating on a Saturday frequency from Thursday through to Monday when the total stoppage occurs.

Meanwhile, the state government has lodged proceedings with Fair Work Australia in a bid to prevent Monday's strike, and a private Sydney law firm is suing the Union for economic loss as their employees will struggle to get to work.

A screen grab depicts tomorrow's timetable disruptions on the Newcastle to Central line. Head to Transport Info NSW for all the latest updates. 

EARLIER:

NSW rail workers are expected to decide today whether or not they'll continue with planned industrial action.

Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) members will decide by lunchtime if the offer from Sydney and NSW Trains management is good enough to cancel a ban on overtime tomorrow, but at this stage a 24 hour strike planned for next Monday is definitely going ahead.

It's understood if the industrial action does happen, the Hunter line will be working to a Saturday timetable tomorrow and possibly every day until a deal is struck, and there will be no passenger trains next Monday, January 29.

With workers not doing overtime the network could be plunged into chaos; the RTBU says the railway can't run without workers working overtime because rescources have been run down so significantly.

The offer being put forward to all 6,000 union members is a 2.75 per cent pay increase each year for three years; it also includes travel entitlements and a $1,000 cash payment if the offer is accepted.

Apart from the money side of the offer, a range of items were also put on the table to deal with working conditions, roster conditions and redeployment options in the event of a privitisation of the network.

"Obviously we've been trying to get people to listen to us and our concerns for six months, so it was great to have that breakthrough yesterday in relation to that [working conditions]," said RTBU Secretary Alex Claassens.

He added that it's never been about the money for him, it's been about the working conditions. But in the end, for the members, it does come down to money.

Workers received a text message overnight asking for a YES or NO response on the offer and planned industrial action.

Alex Claassens said it's important the workers get this opportunity to look over the offer and decide for themselves whether it is good enough, and whether it warrants putting the planned industrial action on hold.

"It's disappointing that we're in this position. The Transport minister has unfortunately let it get to this. Finally, we've got an offer that we can put to members to look at, but it's got to be noted that the Minister has been dragged kicking and screaming to this point," said Alex Claassens.

"He didn't want to be a part of it and now he has to deal with the reluctance and unfortunately we've been crying for help for a long time and nobody was listening. We've had to carry this railway on overtime.

"We all like a little bit of overtime, but eventually you get so tired that you cannot function properly and we work in a safe railway and we need to make sure we don't have tired people out there on our railway because that's when accidents happen," said Alex Claassens.

Unions and Sydney Trains in Deadlock over Pay Negotiations

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Last night's meeting between unions and Sydney Trains bosses ended in deadlock after 10 hours of negotiating.

They're meeting again this afternoon in a bid to resolve the deadlock ahead of planned 24 hour strike action next Monday, and workers planning not to work overtime on Thursday across the state and here in the Hunter.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) rejected an offer put on the table last night which is understood to have been a 3 per cent pay rise and travel entitlements.

"Our members are angry, they're fed up, they're sick of getting the blame for all the stuff that's been going on and we just want a fair deal and we're not getting it," said RTBU State Secretary Alex Classens after the meeting last night.

RTBU NSW Secretary Alex Classens Image news.com.au

The RTBU is asking for a six per cent pay rise and improved conditions, but the government isn't moving far away from their 2.5 per cent cut off.

Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins told reporters after the meeting last night, "I'm hoping that some overnight thinking and some common sense will prevail tomorrow morning that we may hear back from them to say that we want to look after our customers first."

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance copped some flack this morning for not being at last night's meeting, but he said he met with the union on Friday and the right people are in the meetings brokering a deal.

"Because they're working through the specific details and we've got a good agreement on the table and we're going to go from there. I met with the union leaders on Friday, it's appropriate for the management and the bosses to work through the specifics of the deal," said Andrew Constance on Nine this morning. 

Mixed Reviews for Newcastle Bus Network

BY MATT JOHNSTON

The first weekday of Newcastle's new bus network has been met with mixed reactions from commuters.

Despite 1200 extra services on offer and increased frequency on certain routes, some passengers are wary of the changes.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald, remains optimistic people can look past the teething pains to take advantages of the new services on offer.

He says it's the biggest shake-up to Hunter transport in a decade, and innovative features like buses on demand.

"It was really exciting to be on the first bus on Sunday. It's a service that you can now use in suburbs like Dudley, Mount Hutton, Whitebridge, Windale, Warners Bay, Eleebana, Gateshead and Charlestown. It's a great new service."

But the Uber-like Buses On Demand, and services to John Hunter Hospital every 15 minutes on certain routes, has some customers feeling left out.

Rail Tram and Bus Union division president David Woollams said the early feedback they've received has been mostly negative.

"A lot of the passengers are disappointed now that they don't have, in some areas, a direct service, that they do have to changes buses, that there's been more than about 200 bus stops removed right across the network."

"Some passengers are experiencing a 50-minute wait for connecting services."

But while this might lead to frustration, the union wants to remind people that it's not bus drivers who are to blame.

David Woollams hopes the network can be adapted to make public transport a more viable option, but he isn't optimistic that will be the case if buses and waiting for connections will take significantly longer than driving.

Photo: Downer Group

Constance Tells Union Bosses To "Go Back To Sleep" At Newcastle Transport Interchange Official Opening

BY IAN CROUCH

NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance has taken a swipe at union bosses during today's official opening of the Newcastle Transport Interchange.

The $200 million transport hub will be the focal point of public transport into and out of Newcastle, with around a thousand train services a day connecting commuters to Maitland, the Hunter Valley and the Central Coast and Sydney.

The route 110 shuttle bus will take commuters into the city from Stewart Avenue while work continues on planning approval for a coach interchange on the site of The Store in Hunter Street.

Construction of Newcastle's Light Rail project is under way and is on schedule to begin running from the new interchange in 2019.

On Friday, officials from the Rail Tram and Bus Union staged a small protest outside the interchange calling for Andrew Constance to step down over the underpayment of bus drivers and missing or cancelled services by Newcastle's private transport operator, Keolis Downer.

The minister said the company needed to be given a "fair go" to allow them to "bed-in" the new network and that the government will work through any issues which have arisen.

Today, union secretary, Alex Claassens described the interchange as a waste of taxpayer's money by essentially re-opening the Wickham Train Station which was closed three years ago.

Andrew Constance dismissed the criticism.

"The union bosses should just go back to sleep. Seriously, they call for my resignation every day of the week. I love it. They have nothing to contribute, they're rent seekers and (they should) just go back to sleep," he said.

Parliamentary Secretary For The Hunter Scot MacDonald and Transport Minister Constance At Today's Official Opening

Keolis Downer Confident it Will Bring Newcastle World-Class Transport

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle's private transport operator Keolis Downer has responded to claims they are still underpaying drivers and cancelling services.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) says there are still problems occurring two months after dozens of bus drivers were underpaid hundreds of dollars.

Keolis Downer admits there were problems with the payroll system, but the incidence of workers being underpaid are much less than they were three months ago when they first took over Newcastle's transport system.

"The pay roll that was run Wednesday last week for a total workforce of around 350 people we had only nine errors within that payroll run, some of those were overpayments, some of those were underpayments. Where we had underpayments the corrective payment has been made within days of the error being identified,"

"So this issue has certainly reduced down to a point where we have only a handful of errors on the most recent payroll run," said Keolis Downer Chief Executive Campbell Mason.

Several of the Hunter's Labor MPs met with the RTBU and workers yesterday, calling for action from Transport Minister Andrew Constance on the operator. The call for action comes after he promised Newcastle and the Hunter a world-class transport system, but MPs are all in agreeance that Keolis Downer is failing to provide it.

Another problem is services being cancelled, often without notice.

"The worst month that we had for cancelled services was August when the flu spike was at its worst and certainly the cancellations have stabilised since then. So its nothing like the problem that it was in August, and we have also recruited additional drivers into our workforce so that we are more resilient and more able to deal with those sorts of shocks should they happen again," said Campbell Mason.

Despite all of the criticism, Campbell Mason is confident Keolis Downer will be a world-class transport operator in Newcastle and bring the people what they want.

"I've used teething problems to describe the system issues that we've been addressing, there are some broader based issues within the business where we need to driver longer-term improvement and change so I don't see us putting a time frame on turning the business around as such. Some of the things can be readily fixed, other things will take time to fix."

Keolis Downer has Stuffed Up: RTBU on Newcastle's Private Transport Operator

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Keolis Downer was first accused of underpaying its workers in August, and it seems the problem hasn't gone away, instead it has gotten worse.

Workers have been reportedly getting underpaid, not getting their uniforms, there's numerous rostering issues, bus services have been cancelled without warning and children are being left on the side of the road when their buses don't turn up.

Local Labor MPs met with Shadow Transport Minister Jodi McKay, workers and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) this morning to discuss the problems plaguing the operator.

RTBU Divisional Secretary Chris Preston said the first pay period problem was fixed and the company did apologise, but when the next pay period came it was the same problem again.

He says Transport Minister Andrew Constance came, signed it over, walked away, and doesn't care enough to do something to fix it.

RTBU Divisional Secretary Chris Preston addressing media this morning.

"What I think has happened here is the Transport Minister has signed them on the dotted line, walked away and hasn't bothered to follow up to ensure that this would be smooth. It's been far from smooth,"

"You ask these workers over here if they like not being paid for what they've done if you ask the community who've been left on the side of the road if they're happy about that. I'm sure the answer Mr Constance will be no. We're not happy about what's happened up here," said Chris.

The union says the problem goes beyond just underpaying workers, drivers are fatigued because of their rosters. Bus drivers can't work more than 12 days straight and their shifts are heavily regulated, but Chris Preston said it doesn't appear to be being adhered to in Newcastle.

"We raise this time and time again with Andrew Constance. He doesn't care, quite frankly this has become about money and about a privatised system that is about efficiency, that is about the government pushing it onto someone else and saying you can make money out of this," said Shadow Transport Minister Jodi McKay.

The MP's have been fielding complaints from the public, and workers alike, because they aren't getting the answers they want or any answer from Keolis Downer.

"Now sure the company apologises, and they say they're going to get it right. Well, they've had three months and they haven't got it right and we are deeply concerned," said Jodi McKay.

"This is the Minister's baby. He came out and said this would be a world class system, it is not. Ultimatelytransport in this state rests with him whether its public or private it rests with him. He has to take accountability for this and he is not."

In addition, Swansea MP Yasmin Catley hasn't seen any of the consultation she says residents were promised from Keolis Downer. 

"They promised us consultation. We all met with them and they said we'll consult, trust us. Well, we've waited three months and we don't' trust them. They have not been transparent and they have not been honest with the people in this community," said Yasmin Catley.

"I believe the Transport Minister and the company have stuffed this up, it's the only way to say it," said RTBU Divisional Secretary Chris Preston.

Both Keolis Downer and Transport Minister Andrew Constance have been approached for comment.

Blame game for Newcastle's bus drivers

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle's transport operator are facing blame from all sides for workers being underpaid and mismanaged.

Transport Minister, Andrew Constance has put operator Keolis Downer on notice after bus drivers were again underpaid this week. They've reportedly failed to pay more than a dozen drivers their correct pay and entitlements.

It comes after more than 70 workers were underpaid last month.

But the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RBTU) are today putting the blame on Andrew Constance saying it's another example of his incompetence. The union is labeling the situation as disgusting and claim from day one workers haven't been paid correctly.

"The Transport Minister is the one who came out and announced privatisation and what a wonderful beast it was going to be and how things would improve and he's obviously given the tender to a company who can't put in place a payroll system that can correctly pay their employees," said President of the Tram and Bus union division of the RTBU David Woollams.

The RBTU have taken the issue to the Fair Work Commission to have a system put in place whereby the workers, once they realise they've been underpaid, can go to Keolis Downer and get the pay rectified.

"Workers shouldn't have to be doing that in the first instance, You can accept you know a couple of dollars here and so forth - but not when we're talking about $500 dollars. Most of us just live from pay to pay," said David Woollmans.

Keolis Downer's CEo Campbell Mason is hitting back at the union, saying they're working to fix the problem before the end of business today.

"It is our highest priority to correct those underpayments, there will be an off-cycle payroll made today to correct those payments but we are very apologetic to our staff and we appreciate how frustrating it is. And it is our highest priority to get the system fixed so we don't have a recurrence of these types of problems," said Campbell Mason.

He isn't passing any blame onto the Transport Minister.

"The Minister has made clear it is for us, Keolis Downer, to fix this problem and he's right it is our payroll and its up to us to get it fixed and its our highest priority to get it fixed."

Hunter Jobs To Go At Pacific National

BY IAN CROUCH AND GARY-JON LYSAGHT

 The Rail Tram and Bus Union is accusing Pacific National of casualising it's Hunter workforce by stealth.

Pacific National Jobs On The Line

The rail company has confirmed dozens of full time coal train drivers are being made redundant, with 40 jobs to go in the Hunter at the company's Port Waratah and Greta depots, with more than 120 job cuts statewide.

The union has slammed the move saying the company is advertising for casual staff while cutting full time workers.

The company says the job cuts are necessary to cope with the peaks and troughs in demand for staff.

But RTBU Organiser Steve Wright says casual workers aren't experienced enough.

"Casuals are on ad hoc; they won't be driving trains every day," he said.

"Pacific National have also indicated that anyone that gets tapped on the shoulder, they'll be requested to come back as casuals.

"It's about casualisation of the workforce, I think, and it's really disappointing."

Steve Wright says it's too late for some workers to re-skill.

"There are people who are 30 to 40 years on the job that'll possibly lose their job," he said.

"They're the sort of people that are at the age where they can'y pick up another job.

"It'll be very distressing, especially around Christmas."

But for Wright, the layoffs don't come as much of a surprise.

"It's the third time in five years that we've been under the pump with redundancies from Pacific National around Christmas time," he said

ARTC leaves privatisation door wide open

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The privatisation door has been left wide open with Hunter Australian Rail Track Corporation workers signing a dud Enterprise Agreement deal.

Employees were put in a difficult and unfair position as they voted for changes to the ARTC which will reduce future financial liabilities and make the company an attractive purchase for the private sector.

If the government privatises the ARTC, a number of conditions workers currently enjoy will be scrapped.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union Secretary Alex Classens says the union are calling on the ARTC to publicly confirm workers conditions and entitlements will be protected.

"Our union does its best to protect members conditions and unfortunately in this circumstance we haven't been able to achieve that."

Mr Classens slammed the voting process pointing to concerns about transparency and fairness.

It is unknown who was allowed to vote in the ballot; all the union know is the outcome which they are very disappointed in.

The combined rail unions will be meeting to seek legal advice on what options are available to them so they can continue to fight to protect employee entitlements.

Hunter Rail Workers Take Strike Action

BY IAN CROUCH

 Commuters on the Scone and Dungog rail lines can expect delays from today as workers from the Australian Rail Track Corporation take industrial action over pay and conditions.

A 2-hour stoppage is planned for all coal, freight and passenger services from midday today, while back-to-back 24 hour strikes will take pace tomorrow and Saturday amid concerns the Corporation could be sold off, leading to a loss of working conditions.

The Rail Tram and Bus Union says services to Sydney will run as usual, but passenger trains running north of Newcastle will be affected by the stoppage.

Safety Concerns for Newcastle's Future Light Rail

BY BRIDGET GUNN

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has accused the NSW Government of failing to add important safety features on the proposed new light rail cars in Newcastle.

This has raised concerns that the Government is trying to cut costs at the expense of passenger safety.

The trams allegedly lack Automatic Train Protection devices, which monitor track conditions and maintain the safe operation of the trams.

Divisional Secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union Chris Preston says the cost of these anti-collision safety devices is worth any expense to ensure the safety of passengers.

"Trams around the world and Australia have this device," says Mr Preston.

"Now we have got time to get involved and make sure that the Newcastle trams, they need to have them on."

A proposed image of a Light Rail tram turning into Newcastle's Hunter Street
Source: The Newcastle Herald

Newcastle Fare Free Day

BY IAN CROUCH

 Newcastle bus and ferry commuters will ride for free today as part of industrial action by the Rail Tram and Bus Union.

Bus drivers and ferry workers won't be asking commuters to pay for tickets or tap their Opal Cards as they continue to protest against plans to privatise the city's public transport.

The Union's Chris Preston says state transit workers want the same transition deal offered to other public sector workers who've had their industries privatised.

"The government said they're not going to do the same arrangements that they have done in the past. When I've asked why, a government authority said 'because they don't deserve it' ", he said.