Member Update: February 11, 2022

Dear Members,

The juggling act continues this week with lots of EA negotiations happening across the board.

Updates for KD Newcastle and Northern Beaches, Region 7 and Region 9 can be found in this week's Express.

The latest COVID update is available as well, especially since Monday saw the end of the Transport for NSW CovidSafe Measures Policy (the Policy). Further information on the newly available Novavax vaccine, disciplinary action, policy exemptions for certain members, rapid antigen testing, and workers' compensation for COVID-positive members is covered.

The fight for increased workplace safety measures is ongoing as the RTBU repeatedly calls for rapid antigen tests (RATs) to be more accessible for transport workers. Despite Transport obtaining millions of RATs, we're yet to see them become available to members to ensure their workplace is as COVID-safe as possible.

In some good news for our Inner West Light Rail members who are eager to get back on the job, the NSW Government has advised that the decoupled trams from the Randwick Line will begin taking passengers next week. Look out for your fellow members on the tracks!

We hope that you continue to stay safe and well.

Region 7 bargaining in sight

Busways have agreed to commence bargaining in Region 7 to replace both the Copied State Award AND the Greenfield Agreement. This would mean if an outcome can be negotiated then there would only be one set of conditions for all workers in Region 7, and all the horror that comes with a two-tiered workplace would be removed.

To effectively represent workers in Region 7 we MUST be united. While there have been issues during the transition with payroll, we urge workers to FILL OUT AND RETURN THEIR PAYROLL DEDUCTION FORMS.

If you ARE NOT a member of the union, apart from the various insurance policies we have for members and the Traffic Fund that you lose access to, you will have no say in what the RTBU is fighting for on behalf of workers.

If you ARE a member, a Log of Claims will be circulated from next week which will ask you to identify those things conditions which matter most to you that you want the union to prioritise.

Delegates will continue to circulate the MSD petition as a back up until the legal paperwork to indicate bargaining has started is sent to workers by the company.

Keolis Downer Newcastle EA Update

The union met with Keolis Downer management representatives on Wednesday 9 February to continue negotiations for the Keolis Downer Newcastle Bus Operations Enterprise Agreement 2021.

The negotiating committee advised KD of Members' disappointment that KD had cancelled the first EA meeting for the year and made it clear to KD that these negotiations needed to start addressing your Log of Claims.

Some of your claims were discussed in the meeting, including claims regarding job security, flexible working, on-demand services, banking ADOs and a pandemic clause. You can read the full list of these, along with KD's response, in the Member Bulletin on Tram and Bus Express.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 16 February and will focus on going through the remainder of your log of claims.

Keolis Downer Northern Beaches Payroll Issues

It has been 3 months since Keolis Downer took over from STA and Members have told us that all outstanding payroll issues need to be fixed now, or at the very least for KD to be held accountable to a timeline to address the payroll issues.

The union met with KD management last Friday 4 February to discuss the following payroll issues:

Resolution of Outstanding Payroll Queries
Payslip Readability
Pay Code/Interpretation
Leave Balances
Access to a Payroll Officer

Members can read KD's commitments in the Member Bulletin. KD proposed a timeline til end of April 2022 to address all the outstanding payroll issues. The union has agreed, and KD have indicated that some issues may be rectified sooner. If KD fail to meet their timeline, then your union will escalate the matter further.

Your delegates are working on the ground to assist KD in achieving outcomes as quickly as possible. Once all the above issues have been addressed, KD will perform an audit on all employees to determine underpayments or overpayments. Please see your delegate if you happen to be one of those identified in this audit.

Download the Member Bulletin for the full update.

Inner West Light Rail up and running soon

We're thrilled to hear that Members at the Inner West Light Rail will soon be back on the tracks!

The NSW Government has indicated that decoupled trams from the Randwick line will begin operating next week.

When the IWLR shut down last year the union fought to keep our Members gainfully employed elsewhere on the network, and we won. But we know our drivers are keen to be back in the cabin doing what they love - and our station staff and crew back on the Inner West corridor.

Keep an eye out for your fellow members out on the tracks!

In Principle Agreement Reached in the East

Following review of the draft EA by the industrial team at Hall & Payne lawyers, we can confirm an ‘in-principle’ agreement has been reached between the union and Transdev John Holland Buses (TJHB).

A couple things we had planned to include in this bulletin are not possible due to staff availability here at the office. Apologies and thank you in advance from your patience.

An example of the Letter of Offer. We had planned to do this at request of members and will do so next week.
A summary of the changes to the Award. There are items still under discussion that need to be finalised before this can happen. Changes will be explained to members soon and a copy of the document provided to review.

This means that members should feel free to return their Letters of Offer and deduction form.

The first step has been taken and we are on the path to having our Award go across into the private sector. Members will be kept updated as we progress the union roadmap.

TfNSW Mandatory vaccination policy - latest update

As the union has long maintained, there are other ways of making sure workers are safe than mandatory vaccination.

In a common-sense win, Transdev has committed to looking at these other measures (masks all the time, regular testing, physical distancing etc) and allow workers who have not been vaccinated to return to work. They will only return to work (once the company takes over) with extra safety measures in place. The union is not going to advocate anything that puts workers at risk.

The next battle is to have members who are on the wrong side of this politically motivated policy paid for the time they’ve been kept at home since the beginning of December, because STA refuses to acknowledge that other safety measures exist. The union has written to the IRC seeking a hearing next week to fight for these Members' pay.

Let’s not forget that this policy didn’t come from the NSW Department of Health, it was a direction from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to Transport for NSW. Because transport didn’t stand up for their staff and conduct their own Risk Assessments properly but just went through the motions, we’re in the ridiculous position of vaccination being virtually the ONLY safety measure in place for the vast majority of workers.

This means that if you’re a school crossing guard, bus driver, or tram driver, you must be vaccinated to keep your job without any consideration to your workplace or other measures that could be applied.

There are several disputes running in the fair Work Commission and the Industrial Relations Commission on this at the moment, more news as it develops.

Clarification over Redundancy

At the request of members last week we posted a link to the Managing Excess Employee Program.

What should have been mentioned (as it was in the meetings) is that this policy acts together with the offer of ‘reasonable, comparable employment’. That means if you’re offered your substantive position (and as bus drivers we are) with a new company to whom the business is transferring (which it is), you DO NOT QUALIFY FOR REDUNDANCY. This was the key part of the legislative changes made several years ago.

The Policy then takes over and sets out how you are dealt with as an employee who has refused to continue doing your job with the new employer. The short version of that is 3 months on base rate while you look for a job and then you’re on your own.

In case you missed it: Depot visits in the East

Following the depot visits to Region 9 this week about the upcoming transfer to Transdev/John Holland, below is a brief summary of what was said and some of the questions asked.

We understand that there are a lot of people who are not able to attend these meetings, specifically PM drivers.

This is not a negotiation for conditions in the way you would normally (and we will in the future) negotiate an Agreement. We are working with the company to drag and drop our Award into the Federal system.
The plan is for an in-principle agreement to be reached and for members to then return their Letters of Offer. It is anticipated this will happen next week.
Members will be sent SMS and email notification to return Letters of Offer.
The company has returned the document we sent them, and we need to go through it.
An informal vote will be held before transition to gauge member views on that document. If members are happy then that is what the company will put forward for a formal vote after they take over. Any issues members have can be addressed between these two votes.
Because having to take on the Award conditions comes at a cost, members must make a decision about what is more important, pushing for immediate pay rises and risking a two-tiered workplace or maintaining conditions and avoiding a 2-tiered workplace. In the Northern beaches, members chose to accept the Wage Price Index (WPI) for pay rises. This is what the company is guaranteed to be paid to them by TfNSW to pass on to workers. This was the cost paid to preserve conditions held in the STA Award.
Future Superannuation increases will not come out of future pay rises as STA was doing. It will be paid on top on any pay rise.
Home and Duty passes last for 3.5 years after transition. Family point to point passes and Ghan tickets will be available for 3 years.
Because it’s a transfer of business, ALL your current entitlements are going across. Whatever Sick Leave, Annual Leave or Long Service Leave you have goes with you.
Disciplinary records do NOT transfer. Be aware though, that the same people who were your previous supervisors will probably still be there.
The only reason to cash out any leave (as has been suggested by STA) is if YOU WANT TO. STA wants as little liability to go to the new company as possible, that’s the only reason they’re suggesting it.
The company is open to bringing back the Holiday Book with possible changes to make it more fair.
The 2-year job guarantee only provides that you will HAVE a job for 2 years (except for misconduct etc). It means no one will be made redundant but has no bearing on your working conditions.
If you don’t sign across you will be declared an ‘Excess Employee’ by TfNSW after Transdev takes over. There is a policy that explains what happens after that which can be found here.
It is highly unlikely that Transdev are looking to backtrack from the roadmap we have both agreed to. While it’s always possible, the company has spent a lot of money to get to this point and has factored in the cost of our Award. If they wanted to screw us over, there are far cheaper ways to do so. They want their new business to work from day one and the union has told them this is the way to make that happen.
Things will certainly change moving forward, just as they’ve changed for other workers who now work for other companies, but the conditions in your Award will be safeguarded.
As requested by members, Transdev have been asked to hold depot meetings for staff to directly as questions to them. They are looking at availability to do this and are supportive of the idea.

In case you missed it: TfNSW Mandatory Vaccination policy

This update applies ONLY to workers still employed by STA.

It took a while, but the RTBU has secured confirmation from Transdev/John Holland that the company will NOT be enforcing the TfNSW policy of mandatory vaccination on transferring employees when they take over Region 9 in the east.

This means that those people who have not been vaccinated are confirmed now to have a job to go to, and won’t be sacked before the transfer of business. The company has said that they will do a Risk Assessment of their own after they take over but the union is confident that without the government playing politics with things, we can get a much better hearing for these workers.

Now that employment has been secured for the near term the issue of payment can be addressed. Today the RTBU wrote to TfNSW demanding that employees currently at home due to this policy are paid their normal wages and back-paid for what they have missed out on.

This is off the back of cases being run the Fair Work Commission by other Unions. There are multiple cases afoot in the FWC including by the RTBU but the ETU and CEPU cases came on first. In those cases it was argued that the dispute (like ours in the IRC) means that the Status Quo should be preserved. That means work should continue as it did before the dispute was lodged, which is before those employees who are not fully vaccinated were told to stay at home without pay. This is NOT a decision about the merits of the Policy itself; that has to be fought at a Hearing.

We have given TfNSW until the close of business Friday next week to agree, after which we will apply for an Order from the IRC to force this to happen.

Members will be updated in next week’s Tram & Bus Express on this matter. It remains the position of the RTBU that there are a combination of other control measures that can be used to ensure a safe workplace for everyone.

Now that Novavax has been approved, Transport will accept people who want to have that vaccine to comply with the policy. We are still waiting for Transport to give us information about that application process. It should be included in next week's update.

COVID Update

Novavax Vaccine

Some members have advised that they are waiting to be vaccinated with the Novavax vaccine which has recently become available in Australia. We have received advice from Transport for NSW that should members wish to receive the vaccine, that all they have to do is advise their employer that they intend to get the Novavax vaccine, and no disciplinary action will be taken against them under the Policy.

Potential Disciplinary Action

The deadline of 7 February 2022 on which date disciplinary action was intended to commence against employees non-compliant with the Policy is no longer applicable. Transport for NSW has advised that they intend to wait for the various disputes before the Fair Work Commission and the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW to be resolved before taking any action against employees.

Members with Exemptions from the Policy

We are asking that any member that has obtained an exemption from the Policy (for any reason) but has not been allowed to return to work to get in touch.

Rapid Antigen Testing

We continue to agitate to secure rapid antigen testing for all frontline members. This primary safety control should be have been provided months ago, and despite Transport obtaining millions of RATs, we still have not seen them rolled out to members on the frontline to ensure that the workplace is as COVID free as possible.

Workers Compensation for COVID positive members

Remember that if you test positive for COVID as a transport worker, it is presumed that you contracted the virus at work and you should be entitled to claim workers compensation. We have heard reports that some managers are attempting to convince members not to claim or misrepresenting their rights to claim. If you need assistance, contact your delegate.

Did you know that the NSW Government is trying to get rid the legislation that allows you to claim workers compensation for COVID? Last week the RTBU appeared before a NSW Upper House enquiry to give evidence why it is so important that members continue to be entitled to workers compensation. We will fight any move by the Government to take away this important entitlement.

Thanks for your essential work during a time of crisis.

In solidarity,

David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers