Sydney train strike: Albanese calls on RTBU to ‘stop alienating people’ and sort issues with Government
Anthony Albanese has responded to NSW Premier Chris Minns’ suggestion he is considering calling the Prime Minister to invoke a Fair Work act that has never previously been used to break the Rail, Train and Bus Union’s ability to cripple the NSW public transport system.
Mr Minns fronted a fiery interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Tuesday morning and said he would not consider sacking the 15,000 workers in a John Howard-style union-busting move, but may lean on Anthony Albanese if the NSW Government do not get the result they are after at the Fair Work Commission hearing on Wednesday.
“We have seen ridiculous and obnoxious behaviour from the unions and I refuse to give in to them,” Mr Minns said.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“It has been completely unreasonable behaviour from the union but also some of the suggestions have been equally unreasonable and to sack 15,000 people this morning is an indication of that.
“We are not giving in and Toby Warnes is not the referee here. I want this done and I will not give in to them.
Mr Minns went on to explain that the next option, if the Government fails to obtain an injunction against the union stoppages, is to ask the federal government to invoke section 431 of the Fair Work Act, which grants the Workplace Relations Minister the power to terminate industrial actions that threaten public welfare or cause significant damage to the Australian economy.
“We will go to the Fair Work Commission tomorrow (Wednesday) and if we don’t get the result there, then everything is on the table.”
“Everything is on the table including going to the prime minister which has never been done before.
“This has been outrageous industrial blackmail and I’m sick to death of it,” Mr Minns added.
The Sydney train strike confusion has continued as commuters were forced to gamble on their Tuesday trip to work with a transport system that may or may not deliver them to their destination during Sydney’s peak hours.
The blame game pay dispute between the Rail, Train and Bus Union and the Minns Government has left travellers stressed about their ability to get to work, medical appointments and connecting transport domestically and internationally via the airport.
Anthony Albanese responded to Mr Minns’ suggestion that he may get a call to intervene if the NSW Government and RTBU fail to resolve the issue after Wednesday’s ruling.
The PM reiterated his position that the standoff was a state issue but said it needs to be sorted out straight away.
“Common sense has to apply here, and I think that the union needs to acknowledge that it is alienating people through these actions of not turning up to work,” Mr Albanese said on the ABC.
“And there was hope on the weekend that it would be settled and it should have been.
Mr Albanese would not confirm if he felt the strike was significant enough to warrant invoking the 431 Fair Work Act, giving the Federal Government special powers to shut down any industrial action on a state basis.
On Monday 210 train drivers and guards either called in sick or failed to report for their shifts leaving around 400 services cancelled.
Reports from the Government early on Tuesday morning have the figure resting at around 115 absentees as authorities begin to manage potential cancellations of services.
Transport NSW has had standing advice in place since last Friday which has been raised daily as the number of cancellations increased.
“Passengers are still advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time as there may be disruption over the course of the day due to industrial action,” a statement to passengers said.
“Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink apologise to our passengers once again for the ongoing disruption and thank our staff who are working hard to minimise the impacts of industrial action.”
The anxiety around dependable transport spilled over to the Sydney motorways with traffic heavy on approaches to the city and western hubs.
Messages to talkback radio questioned the extra cars on the road with the M5 and Hume motorways experiencing a bumper-to-bumper grind of at least 23km at 6.30am with the city outskirts becoming increasingly gridlocked.
