Member Bulletin: Action on Bus Privatisation/COVID-19 Safety

Dear Member,

We are aware that many members have wanted to take action against bus privatisation for quite a while. The reason we haven't yet is because action should be decided by as much of the membership as possible. Also, action without the support of the community and as part of a public campaign will not help stop privatisation (as we saw with Region 6).

Although resolutions were passed last year through depot ballots, these were not to be used as a blank cheque to take action months down the track. It was explained that members would be consulted about that closer to the time. We did conduct a survey in each depot at that time to gauge the feeling of the membership and about 55% of members voted and just over half of them said YES, they did want to take strong action.

Having established that there were enough members who wanted to do something we then organised for phone polling as a way of getting in touch with as many members as possible and not just ask the question but to INFORM PEOPLE OF THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES. This was to ensure that any decision was representative of what people want. Everyone was called 3 times and was able to call the number back if they missed it. The polling went on for 3 days and was extended a 4th to make sure people that requested a call back the next day got one. The survey was anonymous with member information being treated confidentially. Delegates spread the message of the vote 3 days prior to the calls and members also spread it amongst themselves.

Failure to vote was not counted as either for or against and only votes that were answered after being informed of the potential cost of industrial action were consulted for a final result.

The result of the phone polling was overwhelmingly towards taking action (67%}. This is a decision that has the potential to affect everyone financially and that is why  reasonable  steps  have  been taken to ensure everyone has a say. That said, the Union cannot FORCE people to participate in voting, all we can do is provide people with as much opportunity to have a voice as possible.

Members who decided not to participate have effectively decided to be guided by those who have spoken up.

The Current Situation

 Negotiations with TfNSW have meant that the RTBU has been successful in having a new clause put into the contract so that a 2-tiered employee scenario cannot be created. This is why things are so bad in Region 6 for ex-STA employees. This is why there are two rosters and why ex-STA employees have lost so much money, because the company that took over made it so new employees are paid less so they cost less to use. The job guarantee only means you get your 38 hours a week, it doesn't stop rosters from being demolished.

There IS something in the Region 6 contract that would have stopped this from happening, but it has not been enforced by TfNSW. This means we do not know if we can trust that the new clause will be enforced even if it is in the final contract for regions 7, 8, & 9.

After our announcement of industrial action planned for next week the Minister has made an offer of a written guarantee that the negotiated clause will be enforced by TfNSW and the Government. They have also offered to facilitate a paid stop work meeting to put this guarantee to members.

This letter will also contain confirmation of penalties for  companies that try to get around the  clause and guarantees on community consultation for route changes and bus stop removals in the future. It also touches on why masks are not compulsory on public transport and what that decision is based on.

Delegates will be spending all day tomorrow canvassing members for their opinion on replacing industrial action with a legal stop work meeting. Following each stop work meeting, members can vote on whether they feel their concerns have been met and to call off industrial action or reschedule it.

The obsession over the issue of masks has been media driven. From the beginning we made it clear that we had several issues and that masks where social distancing can't be maintained were just one of them, but the focus has been put on masks and we don't control the media.

Your local delegate will be at your depot all day tomorrow to talk things through with members and report the position of each depot back to the executive at 3pm.

Members are strongly encouraged to have a say.

In Solidarity,

David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers

NSW Tram and Bus Division
Rail, Tram and Bus Union