Sydney Trains says delays and cancellations on the network are being effectively managed, after more than 200 train drivers and guards didn't show up for work this morning as part of the union's ongoing pay dispute with the New South Wales government. More than 300 trains services were cancelled during the morning peak. Staff are now looking to mitigate any effect on the afternoon peak.
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TVTranscript
00:00Well, there's been around 200 drivers and guards that are not at work today.
00:07That's a significantly lower number than was the case of absenteeism on Friday, which was
00:12more than 700 absences, and that saw the rail network really struggle with mass cancellations
00:17and delays.
00:18However, today, about 93 percent of services have run on time.
00:22There has been some disruption on the Hunter line, as well as parts of the suburban network,
00:27but by and large, it's been much smoother sailing.
00:30However, where there have been certain delays, commuters have been feeling the pinch.
00:34We spoke to some at Parramatta station.
00:36So, I live in Liverpool as of now, and I have to get to my work.
00:41I work as a barista, and it took me about two hours to get here.
00:47It actually took me about 45 minutes to wait for the train, and then, again, like, train
00:52got delayed and just stopped in nowhere, in the middle of nowhere.
00:57So, yeah, it took me quite some time.
00:59I was supposed to catch the 716 from Quakers Hill.
01:02That train was cancelled.
01:03Then I got another train that was coming after that.
01:07It was supposed to come at 7.22.
01:08It was delayed by three minutes, and by the time I landed up at Blacktown, I missed my
01:13connecting train from there.
01:15Then I got another train.
01:16I landed up at Parramatta.
01:18I missed my bus.
01:20So now I have to wait for 10 minutes more over here.
01:22The bigger and perhaps burning question at this point, though, is will we see more disruption
01:27in the future?
01:28It seems the clearest answer we'll get on that is by Wednesday, when the Fair Work Commission
01:33considers an appeal lodged by the government, which will determine whether or not the rail,
01:38tram and bus union can continue on with their protected industrial action.
01:42Now, that industrial action largely involves trains travelling at slower speeds.
01:47Instead of travelling at their top speed of 83 kilometres an hour, they can only travel
01:52at 60, or at least that's the tactic the union is using to enforce a point to the government
01:57around protected industrial action and the remuneration they want to see.
02:01However, the unions also made the point that they believe they're close to a deal, and
02:05in reality, they just need a bit more goodwill from the government to get a deal done.
02:10I'd say to the commuters, and look, as a union, we promote commuters to travel on the trains.
02:17There's two parties to this.
02:19The government really hasn't come to the party, so, you know, you just can't blame the union
02:24for everything.
02:25The government should get this sorted.
02:27The CEO of Sydney Trains, Matt Longland, says the focus right now for transport authorities
02:32is getting through the next couple of days of protected industrial action, hoping that
02:36the outcomes are similar to today, minimal disruption and, by and large, the network
02:41operating as per usual.
02:44We did have some hope of a deal being struck in the near future, though.
02:48We've been bargaining in good faith for around nine months now.
02:52We had a really positive series of meetings last week with union leaders across the five
02:57unions that we work with.
02:59We were very close to closing a deal on Thursday.
03:02Unfortunately, there were some last-minute issues, and we haven't yet agreed to terms
03:07with the unions.
03:08We're hopeful that further discussions will progress this week and we'll be in a more
03:11positive position, but the priority right now is to manage this ongoing industrial action.
03:16Interestingly, New South Wales Transport Minister John Graham is less hopeful of a deal being
03:21imminent.
03:22He's flagged there could be potential challenges with other elements of negotiation and has
03:27pointed out that at several points where deals were close to being struck, there were stumbling
03:32blocks that emerged between both the union and government.
03:35As a result, the government really chancing its arm on Wednesday, hoping for an outcome
03:40where it says the union can no longer take action for the next six months and is forced
03:44into conciliation.
03:46That determination will be a crucial one on Wednesday.
03:49In the meantime, it is worth noting the delays on Friday that the government blamed on a
03:53coordinated effort by the rail unions to dissuade people from coming to work was actually dismissed
03:59by the Fair Work Commission.
04:01They say overall it was not a coordinated effort by the rail, tram and bus union and
04:05found in their favour.
04:07For now, it appears as though the commute home this afternoon should be a relatively
04:11smooth one, but things can and have changed quickly on the train network as people have
04:16come to learn over the last 10 months of negotiations between these two parties.