- Railway union overturned eight major labor bans
- The move occurred before the New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Commuters should have more time to spend with family and less time stuck on train platforms after a major union succumbed to pressure over work bans.
Amid concerns over Sydney’s world-famous New Year’s Eve party, the state rail union lifted eight major work bans late on Monday.
They include distance limits for drivers and several sign bans that forced more than 680 cancellations over the weekend.
It represents a major setback on the eve of a legal challenge to work bans on safety and other grounds.
The Rail Tram and Bus Union NSW deemed the changes necessary to help avoid actions that would “effectively crush” its trading strategy.
“While it is frustrating to have to adjust our planned actions, our ability to pivot and respond strategically is crucial in the face of these dishonest and immoral maneuvers,” Secretary Toby Warnes told members Monday night.
It means New Year’s Eve revelers and the businesses that depend on them no longer need to anxiously await the industrial arbiter’s decision on potentially devastating train delays and cancellations.
Pub and bar operators, a casino and the New South Wales Labor government had planned to argue on Tuesday that work bans on train drivers planned for New Year would cause significant harm to third parties and potentially endanger lives.
Amid concerns over Sydney’s world-famous New Year’s Eve party, the state rail union lifted eight major work bans on Monday night.
The hearing at the Fair Work Commission comes after police warned of “serious concerns” over safety if a million people lining the port struggled to get out after the midnight show.
Organizers say another 400 million people around the world watch the fireworks.
Its economic impact is estimated at 280 million dollars.
New Year’s Eve is also the busiest day on Australia’s largest rail network, with rare overnight journeys transporting people around the state.
Some 3,200 services run approximately every five minutes throughout the day, with the decisive moment coming an hour after midnight, when the masses try to leave together.
The union and the government remain at odds after seven months of wage negotiations.
Unions are still demanding four eight per cent annual pay rises, but Premier Chris Minns says that is unaffordable and cannot happen while denying nurses an equally costly claim.
The government has offered 11 percent over three years, including pension increases.
The work bans resumed on Thursday after a court rejected a government attempt to declare them illegal.
The saga could drag on for several more months.
The Fair Work Commission cannot be asked to resolve the substantial dispute – pay and conditions – until February.