Dear members,

Another week of fighting to protect our members.

This week, the union movement won paid pandemic leave for workers. Members will know that this has been an ask for quite some time and although it comes late because the premier wouldn’t write to the Prime Minister and ask for NSW to be included in the scheme, better late than never. This is only right as it's no one's fault that they are sick or have to look after someone who is sick and self-isolate. They should not be penalised and left with no way to support themselves. 

We also had a very successful community forum to talk about bus privatisation and why it is so terrible for the affected regions. Members of the community joined in the discussion to figure out the best way forward after the NSW Government reneged on its promise to extensively consult with the community before making any further moves. Commuters were suitably outraged and everyone agrees that the NSW Government must be held to account. Rest assured, your union is on the case and with the support of the community, we will continue to fight to make this right. Upcoming service changes are going to be a slap in the face to the travelling public and we’ll be making sure the government gets as much heat as possible from people’s anger.

This week also brought a slight easing of restrictions as NSW recorded just one new case of COVID-19 yesterday. NSW residents' efforts to social distance and stop the spread of the virus have been credited with achieving such a low number, and we hope to see restrictions ease even further soon. We also encourage members with concerns about the cleaning of buses to take advantage of the TfNSW sanitisation services.

NSW residents can now visit South Australia as the borders reopen and certain areas of Northern NSW are also permitted to cross into Queensland from Thursday. Hopefully we will see a complete border opening soon. At weddings, bridal parties can have 20 guests on the dance floor and schools are allowed to continue activities including sports, choirs, formals and more. Two parents are also allowed to attend their child's community sports games.

Victorian cases are also looking up and just 12 new cases were recorded yesterday with an approximate average of 30 cases a day. As Australia looks towards a post-COVID recovery, we need to ensure that they don't forget about the essential workers that kept the community moving throughout this crisis by putting themselves on the front lines.

STA award survey

STA members should expect to see a survey on Monday 28th September about the Award. It can be filled out on a computer and submitted online or printed and handed to the delegates.

Please note that the survey will close Monday October 12th.

Pandemic leave for private employer members

The NSW Government recently announced that paid pandemic leave would be available for anyone unable to work during the 14 days you need to self-isolate, quarantine or care for someone. You will get $1,500 during this period assuming you have used up all of your sick leave. Private companies will have communication from TfNSW today about this and the scheme is currently operating. You will be able to access sick leave for self-isolation and once that is gone, you can apply for the Pandemic Leave.

This is a huge win and significant step forward for members as at the very least it gives members options rather than just forcing them to burn through entitlements, even if it’s not the same amount that people would normally earn. Importantly this also applies to part-time and casual employees.

As members may be aware, your union, alongside other unions, had been fighting for this since March and we are glad to finally have won this battle for our members.

Click here to read more on their website.

Sanitisation and terminus cleaning locations for buses

All members are reminded that TfNSW sanitisation services are available between or during runs at the following locations.

We encourage you to make use of these services as needed.

Maintenance of exclusion zones 

It’s important that we all keep an eye on the condition of the signage on closed opal machines and the taped off areas- seats in buses and around the driver cab in trams. The Union is discussing maintenance of these measures with each operator to make sure that drivers are protected. STA have confirmed they will be going over their entire fleet over the next 10 days to ensure that signage is right and areas are taped off properly, and Keolis Downer replace it as part of their cleaning process. This was something the Union won from the operators to protect members and it’s crucial that we police it. Anyone who finds a vehicle without the proper measures in place should repot it immediately to both their management and their local delegate.

STA IT Breach

It’s been a while now but STA members will remember the IT crash that forced depot back to the stone age for a few weeks and impacted employee pay for a short time. Because of the complexity of the govt systems, it’s taken this long for an investigation to be concluded and for a draft report on the incident to be compiled. Part of the delay is that each server had to be forensically audited, and they have more than a few. The good news is that STA have now confirmed that no data left the servers. That means peoples personal information like contact details, drivers licences, and MOT details were not compromised. While the delay in getting that answer was frustrating, it’s worth getting an answer that is right, especially for something so important.

Service NSW cyber attack response

Service NSW had a data breach back in March of this year putting all NSW members' data at risk. Below is some information on Transport’s response to Service NSW’s cyber attack which some members may have received correspondence about.

• Service NSW (SNSW) emails were targeted in a cyber security attack earlier this year which accessed customer information relating to licences and other products held in emails of 47 Service NSW team members.  
• SNSW has confirmed individual  MyServiceNSW accounts were not compromised.  
• There is no evidence any  Transport systems were affected. We have however reprioritised some cyber security efforts to assess whether there was any immediate threat to our networks, and in doing so further strengthened our cyber security posture.   
• SNSW has started contacting affected customers by registered mail to communicate actions taken to resolve the situation and to reissue their licences.  
• The safety of customers and their data has been the core consideration in all responses to this incident.   
• SNSW is leading the customer engagement process and have a Hypercare team in place to ensure this process is managed with the upmost integrity to confidentiality.   
• If people have been directly impacted, they can contact the SNSW  Privacy Hypercare  team or call them on 1300 137 162 between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.  
• A Licence Security Taskforce has also been set up.  If staff have questions they can be directed to licencetaskforce@transport.nsw.gov.au.

Read the full article on Tram and Bus Express.

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