Bitter NSW rail dispute over as government, unions strike pay deal
The warring parties reached an agreement this afternoon in the Fair Work Commission, under which workers will receive a 12 per cent pay rise over three years.
While an increase on the government's initial offer of a 9.5 per cent raise, the final figure is well short of the 32 per cent the combined unions had argued for and has sparked anger from the Electrical Trades Union.
Train delays for afternoon passengers due to industrial action by NSW Rail workers leaving commuters waiting for the reduced services. Photo taken at Chatswood Station 15th January 2025 Photo: Steven Siewert (Steven Siewert)
The agreement will put an end to the bitter negotiations and strikes that caused major disruptions to the Sydney rail network and at one point even threatened to lead to the cancellation of the city's New Year's Eve fireworks.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
15 hours ago
- ABC News
Commonwealth Bank backtracks on AI job cuts, apologises for 'error' as call volumes rise
The Commonwealth Bank has backtracked on dozens of job cuts, describing its decision to axe 45 roles due to artificial intelligence as an "error". CBA said it had apologised to the affected employees after finding the customer service roles were not redundant despite introducing an AI-powered "voice-bot". The Finance Sector Union has described the reversal as a "major win", after it raised a dispute at the Fair Work Commission. It said its members found work actually spiked after the bot was introduced, despite the bank's claims it would reduce calls. "Our investment in technology, including AI, is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres," CBA had said when confirming the job cuts in July. The FSU said the experience of workers after the bot was introduced was "a very different story". "Call volumes were rising, with management scrambling to offer overtime and even pulling team leaders onto the phones," its statement read. CBA admitted it "did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations" when announcing the redundancies and acknowledged "we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required". Affected staff have now been provided the choice to continue in their current roles, pursue redeployment within the bank or proceed with leaving CBA. However, the FSU said the "damage is already done". "CBA has been caught out trying to dress up job cuts as innovation," FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said. The union said it was continuing to collect accounts from members at CBA about the impact of offshoring, automation and AI on workloads and job security, ahead of a Fair Work hearing next week. CBA chief executive Matt Comyn recently told ABC News it was difficult to predict the impact of AI on jobs in the long term. "I think the full potential of AI, to the extent that we even understand how that can be done, is one that is many years away. "It's true of any technology that some tasks may be automated. "Ultimately, what we've been able to say before is that people have migrated to higher-value work." The CEO highlighted around 2,000 extra staff hired in recent months, but acknowledged that many of those roles had been added in India, as the bank expanded its technology team there. CBA reported a record $10.25 billion cash profit for the 2025 financial year.
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
Manager at prestigious college alleges she was frozen out for working from home
A manager at a prestigious Melbourne college who says she was frozen out at work and demoted over her working-from-home arrangement has taken her employer to the Federal Court. Kelly Reed, a commercial manager at University College – a student boarding facility attached to the University of Melbourne – says her health suffered and that she was hurt, distressed and humiliated by the conduct of her employer after she asked last year for a formally agreed arrangement to work from home most of the time. Loading The case comes as the state Labor government prepares to give workers the legally enforceable right to work remotely up to two days a week – the first Australian jurisdiction to do so – and with the right to work from home emerging as an increasingly fraught workplace issue. Reed is suing the college and two of its senior figures, college head Jennifer McDonald and its governing council chair Lisa Williams, alleging multiple breaches of the Fair Work Act after she made her flexible working request. She alleges her bosses made it difficult to do her job, demoted her and stripped her of responsibilities after she appealed in the Fair Work Commission the college's refusal of an ongoing working-from-home arrangement. Loading Courts have previously held that workers have no legally enforceable right to work remotely, but Reed and her lawyers allege the college breached the Fair Work Act by violating the work-from-home agreement that the parties had struck in the Fair Work Commission, as well as other contraventions of the legislation. The college denies any breaches of the act, has lodged a defence with the court and declined to discuss the case when contacted on Tuesday. MacDonald and Williams, in response to Reed's case, have both invoked the 'civil penalty privilege', a legal concept that shields people from giving evidence that might expose them to potential penalties.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Manager at prestigious college alleges she was frozen out for working from home
A manager at a prestigious Melbourne college who says she was frozen out at work and demoted over her working-from-home arrangement has taken her employer to the Federal Court. Kelly Reed, a commercial manager at University College – a student boarding facility attached to the University of Melbourne – says her health suffered and that she was hurt, distressed and humiliated by the conduct of her employer after she asked last year for a formally agreed arrangement to work from home most of the time. Loading The case comes as the state Labor government prepares to give workers the legally enforceable right to work remotely up to two days a week – the first Australian jurisdiction to do so – and with the right to work from home emerging as an increasingly fraught workplace issue. Reed is suing the college and two of its senior figures, college head Jennifer McDonald and its governing council chair Lisa Williams, alleging multiple breaches of the Fair Work Act after she made her flexible working request. She alleges her bosses made it difficult to do her job, demoted her and stripped her of responsibilities after she appealed in the Fair Work Commission the college's refusal of an ongoing working-from-home arrangement. Loading Courts have previously held that workers have no legally enforceable right to work remotely, but Reed and her lawyers allege the college breached the Fair Work Act by violating the work-from-home agreement that the parties had struck in the Fair Work Commission, as well as other contraventions of the legislation. The college denies any breaches of the act, has lodged a defence with the court and declined to discuss the case when contacted on Tuesday. MacDonald and Williams, in response to Reed's case, have both invoked the 'civil penalty privilege', a legal concept that shields people from giving evidence that might expose them to potential penalties.
