A massive rail strike across greater Sydney has been sensationally called off at the last minute after the union and the New South Wales government met for crucial talks.
The New South Wales Premier, key ministers, bureaucrats and representatives of five unions met on Thursday afternoon to discuss the three-day strike and were able to reach an agreement, to the relief of millions of commuters.
The NSW government has agreed to run trains 24 hours a day this weekend with “intense negotiation” to reach a long-term deal with the union starting in the next two weeks.
“I’m pleased we’ve been able to reach an agreement with the unions, which means Sydneysiders can get where they need to go on Friday and Saturday, over the weekend,” Transport Minister Jo Haylen said.
“My number one job is to keep our city moving, making sure people can get where they need to go and have the information they need to plan their lives.”
Minns said he was grateful to the union for agreeing to the tentative agreements and acknowledged the efforts of both sides of the table.
‘They are tough negotiators…they know what they are doing. “It’s not an accusation against them, but they fight hard on behalf of their members,” he said.
However, he said it was not possible to run 24-hour trains “every weekend, forever”.
Key players who can potentially prevent a massive rail strike in metropolitan Sydney are meeting for crucial talks in a last-ditch effort to stop the closure (pictured at Martin Place station in Sydney).
“The main reason is that a lot of the maintenance and repair of the transportation system is because people are incredibly hardworking and their work starts at two in the morning, when the trains stop,” he said.
The surprising backlash comes after not-for-profit advocacy group Business NSW said the Rail, Tram and Bus Union strike would have cost the state $50.7 million.
Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter, Business Western Sydney chief David Borger and Business Sydney chief Paul Nicolaou jointly signed a statement calling the protected industrial action “economic sabotage”.
‘The domino effect of the irresponsible and damaging train strike will cost jobs, damage essential services and be a kick in the gut for hard-working businesses. Administrative workers have the advantage of being able to work remotely,” they stated.
“However, many of the 415,000 people employed in the retail sector and the 306,000 people employed in the hospitality sector will not be able to carry out their tasks remotely.”
The Sydney train strike was due to continue from 4.15am on Friday until Sunday morning and would have impacted a large number of concerts, matches and performances.
Ticket holders for Pearl Jam, all 12 women’s and men’s A-League matches, theater giant Hamilton, the Nepal Festival at Darling Harbor and a James Blunt concert would have been affected.