New South Wales premier Chris Minns has condemned the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, saying it has rejected every good faith offer put forward by the government to end a wage dispute. Mr Minns says the union demands for a 32% pay rise would lead to massive fare increases for each year over the next four years, and he is accusing the union of holding the government and the city hostages on the Eve of Christmas and the New Years fireworks.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00With only eight days to go until New Year's Eve, the clock is ticking for the State Government
00:06to try and find some way to stop the swathe of protected industrial action that has been
00:12plaguing Sydney's rail network for more than a month now from continuing over the busy
00:17holiday period.
00:18The State Government has its last chance to do so in a Christmas Eve hearing at the Fair
00:23Work Commission tomorrow.
00:24Premier Crispian says if that falls through, authorities may be forced to cancel Sydney's
00:29world-famous New Year's Eve fireworks.
00:32Now this can all be traced back with the union's long-running pay dispute.
00:36They're asking the State Government for a 32% pay increase, which the State Government
00:41says the budget cannot afford.
00:43They went into two weeks of intensive negotiations, which dramatically ended with the State Government
00:49applying for an injunction to ban all industrial action from taking place on the rail network
00:54through the Federal Court.
00:56But that was only in place for about a week, and it was lifted last week when the union
01:01successfully argued its case in the Federal Court.
01:04They now find themselves in the position that they are today.
01:07The combined rail unions last night put an offer to the State Government, saying that
01:12it will call off all of its protected industrial action over the New Year's Eve weekend if
01:18the State Government offers fare-free travel.
01:21And pretty quickly, Premier Crispman's ruled out that demand as well, saying he's agreed
01:25to it twice before, and described his previous decisions as stupid.
01:30Here's what he had to say today.
01:31I stupidly agreed to that twice in the last six months, hoping that it would solve the
01:37industrial dispute.
01:40But the strikes kept happening, and the industrial dispute went longer.
01:43Nothing changed.
01:45So twice the unions have demanded that the Government introduce fare-free days.
01:49We've done it on two occasions, and yet the dispute goes on and on and on.
01:53Now that Fair Work Commission hearing tomorrow, the State Government says it's applied for
01:57a section 424, saying that it has serious safety concerns if there is no public transport
02:04on New Year's Eve night.
02:05It also says that it can't take place because it will have a severe impact on the State's
02:10economy.
02:11The State's Police Commissioner, Karen Webb, supports that as well, saying that police
02:15will not be able to do their job if there's no way to safely get people home.
02:20The State Government also says that there's more than 200 pieces of protected industrial
02:24action that has continued to plague the network over the last six weeks, and they say it's
02:29continuing to call delays and cancellations, although it's not had a significant impact
02:34on the rail network today.
02:36It still holds concerns for the many weeks ahead, especially for commuters who may be
02:40travelling or using the train to see family over the holiday period.
02:45While the State Government says it has contingency plans in case it's case that the Fair Work
02:49Commission falls over tomorrow, it says ultimately it still may be forced to make the dramatic
02:55decision so that Sydneysiders will be forced to reign in the new year with a fizzle rather
03:00than with a bang.