Millions of commuters are bracing for a nightmare start to the working week as Australia’s busiest rail network is plunged into chaos and confusion.
Sydneysiders have been warned to expect cancellations and delays after the Rail, Tram and Bus Union won its latest case against the NSW government at the Fair Work Commission on Sunday.
The rail union boss urged commuters to make alternative travel arrangements or work from home as Monday’s delays could be worse than Friday, when a lack of drivers drove the city into chaos.
‘Tomorrow may well be fine, but tomorrow may well be worse than Friday,’ Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Toby Warnes warned.
However, the gravity of the disruptions won’t be known until the trains begin running on Monday morning after Sydney Trains employees received mixed messages about whether or not to turn up for work.
Text messages sent to rail workers on Sunday night ‘strongly encourage members to report to work as usual and not apply the go-slow’ in a ‘calculated move’ to ‘further highlight the government’s incompetence’, the Daily Telegraph reported.
‘By controlling the timing and intensity of our actions, we force the government into a difficult position,’ the text said.
However, other texts urged workers who weren’t rostered on not to accept shifts on Monday.
Commuters are bracing for a week of transport chaos after the rail workers’ union won its latest case against the NSW government . Pictured is Parramatta Station on Friday
Cancellations and delays are expected across the Sydney Trains network on Monday
‘Please do NOT accept a day in. This undercuts the sacrifice of those participating,’ the message read.
‘You do NOT have to work tomorrow if you are a union member. You will miss out on the days pay.
‘You do not have to call ahead and tell anybody that you are not coming in … but please if you do call ahead wait until your sign on time or close to it.’
Sydney Trains is preparing for the worst, urging commuters to make alternative arrangements, including students heading to school.
‘Avoid non-essential travel and allow extra travel time as lengthy delays and cancellations are expected due to industrial action,’ the latest alert shared on Sunday night read.
‘The nature of this impact is very unpredictable and we will not have clarity on the impacts until the morning.
‘Consider using alternative forms of public transport and plan ahead tomorrow morning before you travel.
‘Disruptions are expected to continue into the week.’
The gravity of the disruptions won’t be known until the trains begin running on Monday morning. Pictured is Parramatta station during Friday afternoon’s travel chaos
On Friday, 95.3 per cent of train services were either cancelled or delayed after half of the rostered train drivers and guards didn’t show up for work.
More than 570 drivers did not turn up for work that day, which led to mass cancellations and hour after hour of delays.
The state government, led by Premier Chris Minns, was trying to block further industrial action after the havoc caused by trains not running or being severely delayed on Friday.
The NSW government argued that the mass absences had been coordinated by the union, pointing to messages sent by some RBTU delegates including one which told train drivers to ‘f*** the network up’.
But the FWC found that union officials had ‘left the decision about whether to attend, to attend … or to not attend at all, to the employees themselves’.
The ruling came as the union continued its long-running battle with the state government over a 32 per cent pay increase demand.
Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland said more delays are expected on Monday and commuters have been warned to factor that into their travel plans.
‘We will continue to see unpredictable delays and cancellations day by day, depending on the amount of train crew absent,’ he said.
‘Plan ahead, think about other modes of transport if you do need to travel throughout Sydney on Monday.’
Mr Longland said around 500 services were delayed or cancelled on Saturday, which was an improvement on Friday’s mass cancellations.
Around 260 train crew members who were scheduled on were reportedly off duty on Sunday.
Acting NSW Transport Minister John Graham said the government will again file an application with the FWC on Wednesday.
Negotiations between the union and the state government broke down over a demand for a $4,500 sign-on bonus for every rail worker.
‘We can’t sign a blank cheque to settle this dispute,’ Mr Graham said. ‘We need to settle this fairly.
‘The government will work to protect consumers, we are prepared to go back to the commission do that.’
On Friday, commuters faced a horror journey home after 90 per cent of train services were cancelled. Pictured is a packed platform at Parramatta station
Mr Graham, who took over the position less than two weeks ago after his predecessor Jo Haylen resigned over an expenses scandal, said the government hoped to halt the industrial action within days.
He said negotiations had ‘been going on for 10 months. The government view is it’s time to stop that industrial action (because of) the impact it’s having on commuters and businesses’.
‘This dispute over time has been about a range of things – at one point it was about running trains 24 hours a day, at another point it was about free fares, now it is about a $4,500 sign on bonus.
‘We can’t afford bells and whistles here … There’s no blank cheque. We can’t sign a blank cheque to settle this dispute.
‘If we did, there’d be another demand and in six months time, we’d be back here again.’
NSW Secretary of Transport Josh Murray said there are no guarantees the rail network won’t grind to a halt again on Monday.
‘We’d like to apologise to commuters across Sydney,’ he said.
‘Sunday nights can be tough enough, without thinking about the uncertainty about how you’re going to get to work and how long it’s going to take.’
RBTU state secretary Toby Warnes offered no comfort to those wondering how they’re going to get to work on Monday, saying the train network could be a ‘similar situation to Friday’, which the union blamed on ‘lockout notices’.
‘We don’t know if these 5,000 lockout notices will stay in place,’ he said.
‘The nature of these lockout notices say that if you do come to work and you are found to be going slow, which is our original ban, you will lose an entire day’s pay.
‘So our members are in a really hard position at the moment, choosing between potentially working for free for a day or not coming to work at all … we saw on Friday 600 people made the latter choice.’
Mr Warnes said the outlook for the coming week is ‘unpredictable’.
