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The Secretary shared today (18 February) that Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink have applied to the Fair Work Commission, alongside an application from the Minister for Employee Relations, to suspend and or terminate protected industrial action.

It is incredibly disappointing it has come to this, but the impacts to our network, our people and customers has left no other choice. We are in the customer service business, and the safety of our people and our customers must always drive the decisions we make.

Since June 2021, we have spent more than 150 hours bargaining in good faith with the combined rail unions.

We have agreed to a number of concessions as we’ve worked through the negotiation process, however unfortunately we have been unable to reach an agreement on significant matters that we need to resolve in order to progress further.

Our goal has always been an Enterprise Agreement developed by us, for us, because we care about the unique needs of our people and our customers throughout NSW.

While we await the decision from the Fair Work Commission, we will continue to do whatever we can to minimise the ongoing disruption to our customers, and to support you.

I’ll keep you updated on how this progresses and what it means for us.

Regards,

Dale

Welcome to a new year – and to a fresh start.

2022 brings with it many opportunities for our people and our business; our future is bright.

I’m looking forward to bringing you the facts you need on the EA in the coming weeks. We will be giving you the opportunity to make up your own mind about what the package has to offer you and your role.

By creating our own agreement, we are considering what’s best for our people, and our customers.

We’re nearly there. In the meantime, there’s three things I’d like you to keep in mind about our EA package. To learn what they are, click on the video below to hear a short message from me, to you.

Happy new year – and you’ll be hearing from the EA team soon.

Dale

We had committed to bringing a wage offer to you before Christmas and after ongoing bargaining with the unions and the employee independent bargaining representatives since June, we are pleased that we are now in position to do so.

Our aim is to give you certainty as we move into 2022 and the offer seeks to give you, our people, that certainty.

I have met with the unions in conjunction with Sydney Trains Chief Executive, Matt Longland, and presented the following offer for our people:

• 3 year agreement
• 2.5% pay increase inclusive of the superannuation increase every year for the 3 years (noting this year’s super increase has already been applied)
• $1000 one-off payment for employees
• Terms of the current Deed continue for existing employees for the life of the EA.

Our goal has always been to have a NSW TrainLink EA developed by us, for us, to meet the unique needs of our people and our customers throughout NSW.

It won’t change the work you do, rather that everyone will benefit.

We will continue to give you all the details about the EA and what it means for you so that you can make up your own mind and vote when it is time.

Protected industrial action

Disappointingly, protected industrial action will continue at one of the busiest times of the year, significantly impacting our customers.

We will keep you updated over the coming days when we have more information to share.

Regards,

Dale

We are continuing to make progress in our bargaining sessions and are working to resolve the agreement as soon as possible so you can have your say.

We know this is important to you. It’s important to us too.

Despite continuing to bargain in good faith for over 100 hours since June, we have been advised that further protected industrial action will commence on the 6th December. We are disappointed with this outcome for our people and customers as we move into the busiest time of the year for us all.

Protected industrial action

Protected industrial action is lawful and is a personal choice, available to union members. It is important to respect colleagues who decide to participate in protected industrial action.

Thank you for your continued patience and we will keep you updated as things progress.

Keep up to date, ask a question

Go to: www.stayinformed.com.au/nswtrainlink-ea or if you have a specific EA-related question you can:

• email the EA Team at NSWTLEA@transport.nsw.gov.au
• look at the Q&As
• ask your leader who may have the answer or if it’s more complicated, can pass it to us for a response.

Remember, our future is up to us.

Regards,

Dale

We are now at the end of what’s been an intensive, two week bargaining period.

We have made good progress and there has been a genuine focus from all sides to understand the issues to help us reach an agreement that benefits both our people and customers.

There were some important matters raised over this period that we propose to address for our people in NSW TrainLink as a priority, including:

• Rostering – it’s clear that we’ve got an opportunity to oversee ongoing improvement and consistent rostering and scheduling practices
• Station staff transfer register – we will collaboratively develop an improved station staff transfer register to allow our people better mobility to different locations across NSW.
• Improved wellbeing in areas such as enhanced provisions on parental leave, domestic violence, carers leave, the prevention of sexual harassment and improved support for breastfeeding mothers.

Next steps

Our next step is to report back to the Transport Secretary and work up the detail and costings of an offer so that we can move forward based on these discussions. Our aim is to be in a position to share details with you in the coming weeks.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the CRU for their engagement throughout this process and for your time in the coming weeks as we work through some remaining items.

Regards,

Dale

As you may know, we’re half way through meeting with the unions for two weeks on matters that are common to the proposed NSW TrainLink and Sydney Trains enterprise agreements.

Today, our discussions included:

• how we can improve the discipline process; and
• continuing to make our business the best it can be so that privatisation isn't considered – best for our people, and best for our customers.

The Deed

We reiterated that we’re willing to talk about the contents of the Deed and move forward with discussions around what current provisions within the Deed could be retained as part of the overall enterprise agreement package.

We confirmed that we’re not agreeing to codify the contents of the Deed into a new enterprise agreement.

We are, however, committed to continuing to support our people through change, strengthening redeployment processes and enhancing support services for displaced employees.

While we continue to discuss common matters of interest together, our focus remains on developing an EA that meets the unique needs of our own people and our customers throughout NSW.

Regards,

Dale

As you may know, yesterday we started meeting with the unions for two weeks on matters that are common to the proposed NSW TrainLink and Sydney Trains enterprise agreements. We have been asking for an increase in the frequency of our bargaining meetings, so this is a positive step in moving towards a new EA that is tailored to the needs of our people and our business.

Yesterday, during the lunch break, the Secretary of Transport for NSW, Rob Sharp, Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland, and I met with union organisers, and confirmed a wage increase offer of 2.5% for each year of the new agreement and in line with wages policy. The 2.5% includes 2.04% increase in salary and the super contributions which came into effect since 1 July 2021.

The intense bargaining period comes after an enormous amount of work was done over the weekend by our leaders, the enterprise bargaining team and others to enable this to happen.

Unfortunately, despite our commitment to bargain intensely, there are certain protected actions that remain in place and will continue to impact on our customers.

While representatives of both Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink will be discussing common matters of interest together, our focus will continue to be on developing an EA that meets the unique needs of our people and our customers throughout NSW.

Regards
Dale

I'm pleased to advise that after significant engagement with the Combined Rail Unions including the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), they have agreed to postpone or suspend some protected industrial action which was scheduled for the next couple of weeks.

The RTBU has also agreed to postpone the following actions until at least 7 November 2021, effective immediately:

• Two-week ban on overtime
• Two-week ban on the performance of foreign depot working for train crew.

Furthermore, the following actions in Sydney Trains which would have impacted our operations have been suspended:

• 1 hour rolling stoppages of signallers, area controllers and LICs operators planned for Monday 25 October 2021 (RTBU)
• 1 hour rolling stoppages at the ROC and Sydenham Signal Box (ASU).
• 48 hour ban on overtime from Monday 25 October (ASU).

This means that, from tomorrow, Intercity and Regional services should resume normal operations.

I want thank each and every one of you for the part you have played in continuing to serve our customers during this time and dealing with changing conditions.

We have been bargaining, and will continue to bargain in good faith, to deliver a new enterprise agreement for our people. We will of course continue to update you on how our negotiations progress.

Please ensure you reach out to your leader if you have any concerns or questions.

Stay safe,

Dale

This year has thrown us challenges with changing work and home life and we are all focused on moving forward to regaining some ‘normality’ as our communities step back into their regular routines.

I thank each and every one of you for the part you have played in continuing to serve our customers during this time and dealing with changing conditions. You’ve shown resilience and courage and I hope you are starting to regain some of your own ‘normality’ back into your daily lives.

Looking out for one another

We know that protected industrial action is lawful and a part of the process of bargaining for a new enterprise agreement.

It’s okay to have a different point of view, and as a team we are here to support each other.

Please be patient and kind and treat your colleagues and leaders with the respect we all deserve.

We continue to bargain in good faith and will of course continue to provide more information in the weeks ahead about what’s in the EA for you.

Remember, our future is up to us.

Regards,
Dale

We had our 9th meeting this week and used this to continue going through the claims the unions have presented to us.

Bargaining in good faith means coming to each bargaining meeting fully prepared and with a genuine interest in working towards an agreement.

An important thing to know is that the NSW Government Wages Policy we operate under means that the cost of all claims must be cost neutral. What that means is that they must be offset by ‘employee-related cost savings’ that is, trade-offs in terms of wages or conditions.

Change and this EA

A new EA is a really important part of NSW TrainLink’s future, but it’s really not going to change your day to day job.

Rather, the big difference that you’ll notice if the new EA proposed by NSW TrainLink is voted for, is an increase in your pay.

The other thing to remember is that this is not the first time we have had our own EA. Our last two EAs, since NSW TrainLink was established, have been separate agreements. This is the first time we have run bargaining separately from Sydney Trains.

Both organisations provide transport services in NSW, but our workforces are very different. We service different customers and communities, our roles are different and we sit in different divisions of Transport.

Our workforce deserves to be considered in its own right, to have our own voice heard.

The right to make up your own mind

We have been notified by the RBTU that there are plans for protected industrial action coinciding with students returning to classrooms and vaccination rates expected to reach 80% in NSW.

We know this is also an unusual time for many people in our community as they start to venture further afield and we should all expect and plan to hear comments or criticism from our customers.

Please respect the rights of your colleagues to make up their own mind about protected industrial action. The decision to take or not take protected industrial action is one of personal choice available to union members.

Keeping up to date, asking a question

Go to: www.stayinformed.com.au/nswtrainlink-ea or if you have a specific EA-related question you can:

• email the EA Team at NSWTLEA@transport.nsw.gov.au
• look at the Q&As
• ask your leader who may have the answer or if it’s more complicated, can pass it to us for a response.

Remember, our future is up to us.