‘Sick to death of it’: Train action delay in court wait

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‘Sick to death of it’: Train action delay in court wait

The ongoing dispute with rail workers on Australia’s busiest suburban train network will return to court, amid calls for thousands of workers to be sacked.

Trains are running close to timetable in Sydney with minimal delays despite 115 drivers and guards not coming into work as of 5am, Transport for NSW said in a statement on Tuesday.

It warned commuters to allow extra travel time as there may be disruption over the course of the day.

The number of train drivers and guards who haven’t turned up for work is far below the amount in recent days, amid an escalation of the dispute between the NSW government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

The long-running dispute returns to the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday.

Premier Chris Minns has says the government is awaiting the outcome of that hearing and has taken legal advice on potential next steps.

But he has also been offered plenty of ideas from political rivals, including a call for the unionised workforce to be replaced with contractors.

“That’s an indication of the paucity of advice that is coming to us,” Mr Minns told 2GB on Tuesday.

“I don’t believe sacking 15,000 workers this morning – and replace them with a hypothetical workforce from, where? – is going to solve this dispute,” he added.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman and NSW Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic have called on the premier to get Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Industrial Relations Minister Murray Watt involved.

Mr Minns has not dismissed the idea outright but said he will await the result of the commission hearing.

Mr Albanese backed the premier when asked about federal intervention, saying it was a state dispute.

“We’re getting to the point where the union needs to see common sense (and) settle this dispute,” he he told ABC radio.

Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement have dragged on for almost a year and come before the commission several times, where the union has been largely successful in thwarting the government’s legal action.

Mr Minns said the commission had ruled in the government’s favour “at various points” and the actions had secured concessions from the union, but said the government would not cede to union demands.

“I’m sick to death it, and I feel for the commuters in Sydney … but we are determined to hold the line because giving in at this point, I think, would be terrible for the state,” he said.

The union initially sought a 32 per cent pay rise across four years, but the government offered 15 per cent for the same *******, including a federally mandated superannuation increase.

The union later provided a counter-offer of about 20 per cent across three years, which it rescinded after legal action was launched.

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