Dear members,

Fluctuating case numbers have continued to be a theme over the last week, with New South Wales recording only one new COVID case. Riding on the back of this, Premier Gladys Berejiklian reiterated the call for more commuters to wear masks on public transport before employees can begin travelling back to their places of work more frequently, following a 50% decline in mask wearing this month.

Victoria has also only recorded one; a reprieve made even sweeter on their inaugural Thank You Day - previously celebrated as the Grand Final Eve - which is dedicated to the efforts of all essential workers and community members who helped to contain the spread of the virus in the state.

As a flow on from this, both states are looking to ease restrictions in different capacities. From tomorrow, up to 30 people can gather outdoors in NSW. Places of worship can now hold congregations of 300, and hospitality venues can book groups with a maximum of 30 guests. Gyms will now only be marshalled when capacity reaches over 20 patrons.

Simultaneously, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is preparing to move to Third Step restrictions from early November, meaning that more shops can re-open and outdoor dining can recommence with safety measures in place.

The safety and wellbeing of public sector workers in roles where contact with a large group of people and loose safety measures cannot be completely limited continues to take top priority. Buses have continuously been highlighted as a point of concern, where operators are still in need of adequate information about how to mitigate issues such as overcrowding.

Hopefully this decrease in case numbers will stick around throughout the upcoming Holiday season. This can only be possible if all the right measures are in place to keep everyone safe, and if we all comply with these measures properly.

We hope you stay safe and remain positive following the easing of restrictions.

Transdev: Master Roster Negotiations for Drivers

We recently highlighted to Transdev that members are becoming agitated by the level of influence external bodies have on their ability to plan their daily lives.

To give workers the freedom to meet their personal commitments, we have been in negotiations to set up a master roster. An appropriately constructed master roster will let staff know what days they would have off, allowing them to plan their everyday lives in advance.

Right now, there is no master roster in use, leaving members with uncertainty and confusion in planning and balancing their personal and working lives.

During EA negotiations, the company requested a 3-month grace period from the ratification of the agreement for it to embed a master roster. The union and members have been accommodating in the flexibility needed in these 3 months and more. Five months have now passed and no master roster has been implemented or physically displayed for workers to view. This constitutes a breach of Clause 4.3(c). The company has cited constant timetable changes being made by TfNSW, but our members have been flexible enough. Transdev must implement a master roster that doesn’t require the moving of days off due to changing timetables, and it’s up to them to sort out any timetable issues with the government. It’s not for employees to have to wear this.

Before seeking the assistance of the commission in this matter, the union is seeking a copy of the current master roster containing all known work, along with the new proposed master roster that will come into play on December 7th, 2020.

No Worker Left Behind – Unions NSW Survey Results 2020

Unions NSW has released the results of their No Worker Left Behind survey - the first large-scale dataset on the impact of COVID-19 on temporary migrants - valued workers in essential jobs who help to inject billions of dollars into the national economy. The results of their No Worker Left Behind survey showed that COVID-19 had an overwhelming impact on job security, with run-on effects on quality of life, housing, financial and food security, and health and wellbeing. 

With an overwhelming majority of temporary migrants facing unemployment as a consequence of COVID-19, the reluctance of the Australian Government to extend access to JobKeeper and JobSeeker to Visa holders is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis.

Read the full results here.

Electric Buses to be part of Nextport's $700m NSW E-Vehicle Manufacturing Plan 

Nexport, the electric bus subsidiary of Cleantech investment giant True Green, has announced a $700 million plan to establish an electric vehicle manufacturing base in the NSW Southern Highlands. This comes as the NSW Government aims to acquire 8,000 new electric buses to transition the fleet to one that runs on cleaner energy.

The manufacturing site is proposed for Moss Vale, as it sits between Sydney and Canberra; the cities showing the strongest support for a transition to all-electric bus fleets. We would expect locally made electric buses to enter service in NSW at some point as the Government pushes the retirement of older buses and their replacement with ‘green’ vehicles.

Read more in the article here.

COVID-19: FAQs

We are constantly updating the COVID-19 frequently asked questions section of the website, so please make sure you head there and have a look. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact your local delegate or the Division office at nswbus@rtbu-nsw.asn.au. 

Thanks for your essential work during a time of crisis.

Once again, stay safe.

In solidarity, 

David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers