Latest news with #ElectricalTradesUnion
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
This one union must not railroad the deal to end Sydney's train chaos
A territorial brawl within the ranks of train unions is now threatening the resolution of their protracted and disruptive pursuit of a pay rise that has played havoc with Sydney's train system and damaged the NSW economy for so many months that any lingering sympathy for their cause has evaporated and turned into anger. The powerful Electrical Trades Union has baulked at signing an agreement that most believed would finally end the strikes and other actions that, since last September, have caused considerable anxiety for people who rely on rail services not just to get to work but to keep medical appointments. The union campaign not only threatened major events, including New Year's Eve, but in some instances, saw passengers left on crowded platforms or in packed carriages for hours in the middle of summer with little regard for their personal safety or the dangers they faced. Unions had been seeking a risible 32 per cent pay rise over four years and a 35-hour working week. The Minns government opened with a 9.5 per cent rise over three years before offering the Combined Rail Unions 12 per cent, plus back pay backdated to May 2024. On Friday in the Fair Work Commission, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union agreed to the government's offer. It was cheers all around, with the state government celebrating the in-principle agreement as a win, claiming it just needed to be voted on by union members. Now the settlement of the damaging dispute is jeopardised by the inability of the unions to get their act together. Loading The ETU is reportedly threatening to block the deal, apparently unhappy with the way maintenance and engineering employees were categorised in the proposed agreement. A recommendation from members of the Fair Work Commission, including president Justice Adam Hatcher, SC, described the issue as an 'apparently insurmountable impediment to the parties reaching a successful outcome' in their bargaining. 'We infer that the dispute issue has at its heart, at least in part, a demarcation dispute between the ETU and other unions which represent maintenance and engineering employees.' The ETU and state government will return to the commission on Monday to try to resolve the sticking point.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Intense' discussions, ‘complex negotiations' sparked NSW government's deal with rail unions after lengthy dispute
A 'complex negotiation process' and 'intense' discussions paved the way for a deal between the NSW government and rail unions, which could improve the response to disruptions similar to last week's live wire train chaos. The government and unions on Friday agreed in the Fair Work Commission to a 12 per cent pay rise over three years. The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union and the Electrical Trades Union had been seeking a 32 per cent pay rise over four years, while the government offered a 9.5 per cent rise over three years. The dispute led to a series of industrial action, that disrupted travel for millions since last September. The deal ends protected industrial action by the Combined Rail Unions and allows Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to focus on improving reliability across the network, the government said in a statement on Friday. NSW Transport Minister John Graham said there had been 'intense' discussions with the rail unions in the lead up to the deal. 'We have had good, if intense discussions with the rail unions,' Mr Graham said at a press conference on Saturday. 'We're in a position to lift pay and conditions of rail workers, but also deliver to the public.' A number of the changes in the new agreement could make a real difference in the response to disruptions such as last week's incident where a live wire fell on top of a train in Strathfield. This includes consultation clauses and the roll out of new technology across the network that 'just simply isn't in place'. 'It gives the hope that should something like this happen again, right in the dead centre of the network — the worst place possible — the ability to recover the train network way more rapidly would be there now,' Mr Graham said. 'That would make a big difference to our ability to deal with disruptions on the network.' He added routine maintenance would be easier without constant industrial action. Sydney Trains chief executive officer Matt Longland called the deal an important milestone following a 'complex negotiation process'. 'We've got to a position that we've worked through, and we now have approval in principle to take that package to our staff,' Mr Longland said. 'Although that's great news for our people, it's also really positive news for passengers.' The rail network is being modernised, Mr Longland said, including by way of new technology and moving away from manual processes. 'I acknowledge it's been a challenging period for passengers who've been regularly disrupted, not only through industrial action, but also incidents across the rail network,' he said. 'This now gives us the reset we need to work with our people to stabilise performance and invest in the rail network to improve performance in the future.' ETU expected to reject deal However, the ETU is expected to reject the deal. 'This afternoon, the Combined Rail Unions (CRU) reached an in-principle agreement with Sydney Trains and NSW Trains for a new enterprise agreement,' the CRU said on Friday. 'Unfortunately, the ETU is blocking a vote by members effectively withholding any pay rise or new conditions that our EA delegates have fought so hard for. 'The reason they are blocking a vote is due to a misconceived claim to create a 'new section' for their members, for a purpose nobody understands.' The proposed Enterprise Agreement, facilitated by the Fair Work Commission, delivers rail workers a 12 per cent pay rise over three years plus back pay. It will deliver agreement on a number of technology-based solutions to improve recovery times when incidents on the tracks bring the system to a halt. For example, train crews will support the introduction of a new digital disruption management system that will end the current practice that relies on a manual system of phone calls and paper-based instructions during recovery from an incident. The unions and government have also reached agreement to move to a streamlined process for consulting on new fleet, systems and infrastructure projects.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
NSW government has made a deal on a long-running pay dispute with train unions
The long-running pay dispute between the NSW government and train unions, that led to months of on-off chaos for commuters, appears to have been resolved. The government and unions on Friday agreed in the Fair Work Commission to a 12 per cent pay rise over three years. The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union and the Electrical Trades Union had been seeking a 32 per cent pay rise over four years, while the government offered a 9.5 per cent rise over three years. 'This agreement will bring relief to the disruption from protected industrial action that a million daily rail commuters have been forced to endure while just trying to get to work and get around,' Transport Minister John Graham said. The dispute led to a series of industrial action, that disrupted travel for millions since last September. The deal ends protected industrial action by the Combined Rail Unions and allows Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to focus on improving reliability across the network, the government said in a statement. However, the ETU is expected to reject the deal. 'This afternoon, the Combined Rail Unions (CRU) reached an in-principle agreement with Sydney Trains and NSW Trains for a new enterprise agreement,' the CRU said. 'Unfortunately, the ETU is blocking a vote by members effectively withholding any pay rise or new conditions that our EA delegates have fought so hard for. 'The reason they are blocking a vote is due to a misconceived claim to create a 'new section' for their members, for a purpose nobody understands.' The proposed Enterprise Agreement, facilitated by the Fair Work Commission, delivers rail workers a 12 per cent pay rise over three years plus back pay. It will deliver agreement on a number of technology-based solutions to improve recovery times when incidents on the tracks bring the system to a halt. For example, train crews will support the introduction of a new digital disruption management system that will end the current practice that relies on a manual system of phone calls and paper-based instructions during recovery from an incident. The unions and government have also reached agreement to move to a streamlined process for consulting on new fleet, systems and infrastructure projects. Mr Graham said the bitter dispute had 'strained the patience of train passengers'. 'But in finalising this deal we have made a very important investment in reliability,' he said. 'This much-needed reset allows us to implement improvements for passengers with the full support of the rail workforce and unions. 'We said we would sign off on a fair and reasonable wage rise for our rail workers that protects taxpayer's money, and that is exactly what we have done. 'I want to thank the commuting public for their patience as we got this agreement done.'
9 News
3 days ago
- Business
- 9 News
Bitter NSW rail dispute over as government, unions strike pay deal
Commuters across NSW can breathe a sigh of relief after the state government struck a pay deal with the combined rail unions, ending the bitter dispute that repeatedly brought the train network to its knees. 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.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Clean energy, environment unity ticket on nature laws
Environment groups and the clean energy industry have found common ground on long-awaited nature law reforms, joining forces to urge the federal government to hurry up and finish the job. The unprecedented alliance between the Clean Energy Council, Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Marine Conservation Society and others is bound by the shared belief that existing environmental protections are failing both biodiversity and the energy transition. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-shape the law to tackle Australia's climate and nature crises," Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said. The federal laws designed to kick in when renewable energy, mines and development threaten vulnerable species and other "matters of national environmental significance" are widely considered ineffective and in need of overhaul. The federal government has promised reform but failed to complete the task in its first three-year term. In the meantime, existing regulations have failed to stop projects destroying critical habitat at the same time as cumbersome environmental assessments have delayed the clean energy rollout. Clean Energy Investor Group chief executive Richie Merzian said the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was the number one concern for renewable energy investors and developers. Projects were taking nearly twice as long to secure approval and the assessment backlog was growing, Mr Merzian told AAP. "We want to see faster yeses and faster nos," he said. The alliance, which also includes the Electrical Trades Union, Re-Alliance, WWF Australia and Biodiversity Council, agree on key pieces of environmental reform including legally-enforceable standards to prevent subjective ministerial decision-making. Setting up an independent "cop on the beat" Environmental Protection Agency was also backed by the coalition, as well as more resources for departments to keep projects moving through the process. Better planning should further help solar and wind developers identify "regions we should and shouldn't be working in". Mr Merzian said the "nature versus climate" narrative was false. "We can and should be doing both," he said. Electrical Trades Union national secretary Michael Wright said delayed environmental assessments were making it hard to train workers for future jobs. "The uncertainty of the assessment process means there is no reliable pipeline of work for communities or to train apprentices on anywhere close to the scale we need," he said. New environment minister Murray Watt has already indicated that legislating a federal environment watchdog will be one of the top priorities for the returned government. It's not been the only pressing matter competing for his attention, with the minister opting to greenlight Woodside's proposal to extend its North West Shelf project in Western Australia after years of delays. The expansion has been granted commonwealth go-ahead despite concerns about its emissions burden and impact on sacred rock art.
