‘Disgraceful’: union sues to undo rail strike stoppage

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‘Disgraceful’: union sues to undo rail strike stoppage

Strikes on Australia’s busiest rail network might restart sooner than expected as a tribunal’s ruling to halt ongoing industrial action comes under fire in the courts.

A full bench of the Fair Work Commission ordered in February that strikes on Sydney’s railways be paused until July 1 while the NSW government and rail workers try to resolve an ongoing pay dispute.

The disagreement led to extended pain for commuters through cancellations and delays as negotiations continued.

On Thursday, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union (CEPU) applied to the Federal Court to quash the FWC’s decision via an expedited hearing.

The CEPU was one of seven unions, including the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, working under the banner of the Combined Rail Unions which had been in discussions with state transport officials since May 2024.

However after the FWC’s decision, the CEPU made the decision to break away.

Electrical Trades Union NSW/ACT secretary Allen Hicks told members via email that the CRU had not adequately represented their interests.

The ETU is a division of the CEPU.

Union members were deeply disappointed with the commission’s ruling, Mr Hicks told AAP on Monday.

“The Fair Work Commission fundamentally failed to take into account the interests of all bargaining representatives and as such the ETU has applied to the Federal Court for a review of this disgraceful decision,” he said.

“We wish to restore the fundamental right of union members to take protected industrial action to encourage a swift and fair resolution to this enterprise bargaining dispute.”

The CEPU and the RTBU had been seeking a 32 per cent pay rise across four years, but the government has only offered 15 per cent for the same *******, including a federally mandated superannuation increase.

More recently, the parties were at odds over a $4500 one-off payment included in workers’ last pay agreement, which officials from both unions said should form part of the new deal.

In an affidavit filed with the court, ETU NSW head of legal and operations Alana Heffernan described the commission’s ruling as “irrational or legally unreasonable”.

“By suspending protected industrial action, the commission has substantially reduced the capacity of members of the CEPU to exert legitimate influence to achieve an enterprise agreement that includes the claimed sign-on bonus,” she wrote.

The decision provided a strategic negotiating advantage to the government and rewarded its opposition to the union’s proposed terms, she said.

If the dispute is not resolved by August 6, the commission can make an bargaining declaration forcing the unions to stop all industrial action related to the enterprise agreement, court documents reveal.

A spokesperson from Transport for NSW told AAP that it would continue working towards finalising the enterprise agreement.

In February, NSW Premier Chris Minns did not accept his government would have to dig further into its funds to seal an agreement, despite the apparent gulf between its offer and the union’s asking price.

“But we’re open to genuine discussions about what a package would look like,” he said.

He stood by the FWC’s decision to suspend industrial action until July, saying negotiations could continue without “holding the people of NSW hostage”.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman also welcomed the commission’s call at the time, but said there would be “more pain for commuters or taxpayers or both down the road”.

The case will come before the court on March 7.

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