News and views from the bus and tram lanes
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Member Update: February 17 2023
Dear Members,
We hope you've all had a great week and trust that you've all been staying safe and well. Out in the Tram and Bus lanes, it's been full steam ahead, with a lot to report on.
Recently we held a Save Our Buses Rally in Randwick, with local community members, bus drivers, and leaders. You can read about all that happened down below - and we can appreciate that our members are the ones who know best when it comes to the disaster that is bus privatisation. The Union stands at the ready to keep holding the Government to account for the total failure on buses.
In other news, a Go Fund Me page has been set up for Bus Driver George Michael, who has recently lost a son and had to take a leave of absence. We ask members to dig deep to help George through this difficult time. The link can be found down below.
In terms of bargaining in Region 7, we've been waiting on a new draft EA from the company. The union has now received that and we have several officials reviewing that document. Find more on this further down.
In Region 6 news, following the recent NO vote a number of discussions have been had, both with RTBU members and with the combined RTBU/TWU caucus, to hammer out a proposal for consideration by the company. Read more about this down below, but do keep in mind further detail will be shared as we come closer to a potential solution.
In regards to the CMET EA, the approval of the EA has been temporarily delayed while the Fair Work Commission satisfies itself that all the requirements have been met. This is usual practice.
There has recently been a surge in safety related incidents on Newcastle buses, specifically at around Charlestown. Members are strongly encouraged to continue making reports to management regarding any incident of antisocial behavior and to slide a copy of the report under the union office door so we follow up results.
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact your local delegate or the Tram and Bus Division office directly. We hope that you continue to stay safe and well.
Save Our Buses Rally
We recently held our Save Our Busses rally alongside Marjorie O’Neil, Member for Coogee, Mark Morey from Unions NSW, and Jo Haylen, the Shadow Minister for Transport. Peter Grech representing the union made remarks on the recent cuts to services, and the worsening of working conditions for bus drivers across the state. We heard from members of the public and drivers alike who expressed their grievances with the absolute disaster that is privatisation. Thanks to the failed policies of this government, drivers are overworked and under immense stress, and commuters are losing out on a proper transport system. NSW deserves better, and this is a fight we’ll continue to champion.
Region 7
As related in previous bulletins, the bargaining in Region 7 was waiting on a new draft EA from the company. The union has now received that and we have several officials reviewing that document.
We are expecting to be able to come together next week and put together a master list of issues as we see them, and intensive bargaining will follow as planned with updates flowing regularly once that starts.
Early indications are the company intends to red circle certain entitlements so they will not apply to new staff. This would include 5 weeks annual leave and more than 10 days personal/sick leave.
The time is fast approaching when members will need to raise their voices and demand the outcome they want from the company. As in Region 6, as long as members want to fight for a better outcome, the union will lead that fight, but we cannot do that in a divided workplace.
Only an active and involved membership can deliver the best EA result. If you know a non-member, encourage them to join the union; Solidarity is Strength!
Region 6
After the NO vote delivered to the TSA EA draft, a number of discussions have been had, both with RTBU members and with the combined RTBU/TWU caucus. We’re hammering out a proposal to put to the company for discussion and consideration and are still working towards Same Job, Same Pay with the Copied State Award as the basis of a single Agreement. As we get closer to a potential solution we’ll be able to share more. The other potential outcome is that we get stuck in a loop with unions demanding and the company refusing. If this happens, given the expiry of the Copied State Award at the end of this financial year, it may be worth looking to arbitration of disputed claims in the Fair Work Commission. We’re taking legal advice on possible outcomes and how to protect workers and hope to have more news next week.
CMET
The approval of the EA has been temporarily delayed while the Fair Work Commission satisfies itself that all the requirements have been met. Important things like how employees were notified about the draft and how it was made available, as well as technical questions about how the recently upvoted EA relates to the various applicable Modern Awards. We’ll keep you updated and should have more news next week.
Newcastle Safety dramas
There has recently been a surge in safety related incidents on Newcastle buses, specifically at around Charlestown. Multiple members have been spat on, assaulted, or threatened with weapons including knives and in one case a firearm. There has also been serious assaults of passengers on buses.
Local delegates immediately pushed hard on these issues as you’d expect and the company needed little prompting in reaching out to the Police Traffic Command as well as relevant Local Area Commands. We’re happy that KDH are treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves and that the union did not have to blow the issue up publicly or black ban areas- the safety of members always comes first.
As of this week, the police presence has been significantly increased on affected runs and over the last couple weeks arrests have been made in relation to some of these incidents.
Members are strongly encouraged to continue making reports to management regarding any incident of antisocial behavior and to slide a copy of the report under the union office door. If delegates have a copy then they can chase management and find out what has been done to fix the reported issue. There’s nothing more discouraging than reporting incidents or issues and having no idea what, if anything, was done to fix things.
Bus Timetable Changes
The RTBU Tram and Bus office has had a lot of calls from members regarding customers and passengers abusing them due to lack of services or loadings on buses.
The new roster and timetable which came into effect on Monday 30 Jan has been a disaster. Cuts to shifts and cuts to services have impacted both members and the travelling public. Some companies have rostered 7 hour shifts making earning a living harder than ever and making the shift worth less than a sick day. If you call that running a business, it’s only running it into the ground and encouraging workers to look elsewhere for employment.
We have been out in the media a lot recently spreading the message that this failure is due to the Government's botched privatisation policies and drivers should not be blamed.
This is an ongoing issue that we're certainly not going to let up on. Drivers and commuters deserve better. Expect more media on this as we move into the election where we’ll be working to make public transport a core issue for both parties.
NSW State Election
As we come towards the NSW State election at the end of March, we look forward to electing a more sympathetic Labor government. While we will no doubt have to push them, at least we know that they are more willing to work with Unions and understand that when we speak, we are not speaking for ourselves as organisations but for our members. Top of the list is the return of the Home and Duty passes for employees, ensuring there are no more two-tiered workplaces set up, pushing for TfNSW to extend funding for more entitlements for employees of companies operating TfNSW contracts. Longer term items include an industry wide Agreement and bringing buses back into public hands.
We encourage all members to make themselves available to assist those who do the work of representing workers in the political space during the election.
Transport Now: January 2023 edition
The January 2023 edition of the RTBU's quarterly national member magazine, Transport Now, is hot off the presses. This edition includes articles on the the RTBU union election results, how the Inland Rail project is at risk from shonky contractors, and much much more.
To read the latest edition, click here.
A message from the Hamilton Bus depot Delegate to all Members.
Hello, my name is Robert Matthews, and I am helping out a fellow Bus Driver, George Michael who has recently lost a son and had to take a leave of absence.
This is just a way to support our brother and friend in this very trying time. Any funds will go directly to Michael to help him pay some bills.
Any donation will be greatly appreciated by both me and George.
From David Babineau, Divisional Secretary-
A quick note to Rob’s message. As with every time where we ask members to reach out and support a brother or sister in genuine need, I see the generosity of our members from other depots and it makes me proud to be a bus driver and a member of our union. I see names of people who I know have gone through serious hardship themselves and who still dig deep to help out their colleagues in whatever way they can. Thank you to all who maintain the old ways of solidarity and brotherhood- If we don’t look out for each other, no one will.
In solidarity,
David Babineau and Peter Grech
