Member Update: September 24, 2021

Dear Members,

Protected industrial action by Pyrmont Depot Tram Drivers continued this week. Multiple actions have been taken since last week in response to Transdev's refusal to provide fair career progression as part of current enterprise agreement negotiations. On Monday, we made sure Transdev knew we weren't backing down by having members show up at the depot wearing RTBU branded clothes and flags. This visibility bolstered our actions a step further as we steer Transdev back to the negotiating table to address this outstanding issue in the EA.

At the time of releasing this edition of the Express to members, the union is running a "NO" vote on Transdev's proposed EA.

Protected action will continue next week, where two 2-hour stoppages will occur from 7:00am-9:00am and 3:00pm-5:00pm due to Transdev's failure to take accountability, play fair and fix a massive double-standard in pay and conditions.

The NSW Government remains focused on their reopening plan to the detriment of essential workers' health and safety. The RTBU is working with community groups across NSW to ensure that the plan for reopening and recovery after this damaging lockdown is fair and equitable while the Government crawls at a snail's pace in implementing a testing regime alongside the vaccine rollout. More information is available on the full COVID-19 Update on the Branch website.

The last few months have, no doubt, been long and difficult. It's heartening to see that members haven't faltered in their efforts to keep yourselves and the community safe. It's common knowledge by now, but please keep it up and continue to wear a mask as required, social distance where possible, and, where you can, pay attention to exposure sites in case you may have attended any of them personally.

We are continuing to appeal to members to please give generously to the donation account we have set up for Michael Yammouni, a TSA bus driver from Leichhardt bus depot. Michael has been involved in an accident that has tragically resulted in the death of a pedestrian. All funds from the account will go towards Michael's legal defence. View the details on where to donate here.

We hope that you continue to stay safe and well.

COVID Update – 24 September 2021

You all continued to keep passenger and freight transport running through yet another week of COVID lockdowns. The focus of the Government continues to be on the reopening plan, with 70% vaccination rates of the over 16 population in NSW on track to be reached mid-October. Unfortunately, the Government is still dragging its heels on implementing testing regimes in every workplace to ensure they remain as COVID free as possible. Without a testing regime, members will continue to be at risk from workplace outbreaks as we’ve seen in the past few weeks.

At this stage, we are not aware of any employer who is threatening people’s jobs if they are unable to work due to the Public Health Order. If your employer does threaten this, please ensure that you let your organiser know and we will ensure that we address the issue.

As we navigate these difficult times, remember help is close at hand. Here are some services you can reach out to if you need support or someone you care about does.

If you are an Australian resident the following free services may be able to help:

Aboriginal Counselling:
https://www.aboriginalcounsellingservices.com.au/contact/
0410 539 905
Aboriginal Contact Line:
https://www.victimsservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/pt12_atsi-contact-line.pdf
Beyond Blue:
https://online.beyondblue.org.au/email/#/send
1300 22 4636
Lifeline:
https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/online-services/crisis-chat
13 11 14
Mental Health Line:
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/Pages/contact-service.aspx
1800 011 511
Mission Australia Helpline
https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/
1300 886 999
QLife: 1800 184 527
Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia:
https://www.rape-dvservices.org.au/
NSW Rape Crisis: 1800 424 017
Relationships Australia:
https://www.relationships.org.au/
1300 364 277
1800 RESPECT:
https://www.1800respect.org.au/contact-us/
1800 737 732
Sexual Assault Counselling Australia: 1800 211 028
Disclaimer: We do not assume any responsibility for the quality of the services offered by these organisations.

Pyrmont Depot Protected Action: Stoppage on Tuesday 28 September

Protected industrial action by Light rail drivers at Pyrmont will continue into next week with two 2-hour work stoppages on Tuesday 28 September. The stoppages will occur between 7:00am-9:00am and 3:00pm-5:00pm.

It's unfortunate that the union has resorted to this stoppage, as some essential workers and other members of the public rely on the Pyrmont line to travel for work and other reasons.

However, Transdev has forced us to go down this path after management again refused to play fair and fix a massive double-standard in pay and conditions.

Pyrmont Depot Protected Action: Members show up in union gear

On Monday, members at the Pyrmont depot continued their protected industrial action by showing up at the depot in RTBU branded clothing and flags. Members' action has been ongoing since last week.

Coming to work wearing union gear together is a show of strength and solidarity in the fight for equal career opportunity. It was a brilliant effort by those who wore their clothes and waved their flags proudly!

The union is running a "NO" vote as we speak on Transdev's proposed agreement based on the company not addressing the equality issue we've been raising throughout our protected action.

We are also continuing to call for a Category 1 worker (Tram Operator) to earn more per hour than a Category 3 worker across all grades to be in line with the higher responsibilities towards passenger safety conducted by Category 1 workers.

Category 1 rail safety workers perform critical safety work and their sudden incapacity may lead to serious incidents affecting public safety and/or the rail network. Category 3 workers perform non-critical safety work and their health and fitness will not have a direct impact on public safety and/or the rail network.

This arrangement has been applied in the past, and members have been urging for its return.

More protected action is happening next with stoppages planned across the Inner West Light Rail network.

Region 6 EA battle shapes up

Transit Systems are living up to their reputation as a low rung employer with their attempts to avoid any meaningful negotiation with Unions. Instead of putting forward the company position in negotiations as agreed, they’ve gone straight to employees and tried to convince them that a two-tiered workforce is somehow in their interest.

Members have clearly told us what they want -

One Agreement and one set of conditions
Conditions based on the Copied State Award

The RTBU and TWU are united in fighting for these outcomes together. It’s time to show this company exactly what treating workers like garbage earns them!

Protected action applications will be lodged in the Fair Work Commission next week, and both unions are co-ordinating to make sure we’re all marching to the same drum.

Officials did the rounds at depots this week and spoke to the few drivers who were around, answering questions and giving as much information as was available. We’ll be sending out regular bulletins as the process goes on.

Remember that no matter how much they try and feed you lies, they have created this situation and they now want you to fix it- by bending over!

Enough is enough!

Vaccination Reminder

Bus drivers, due to their working environment, are at particular risk. Members are encouraged to sign up for the appropriate vaccination for your circumstances ASAP. The sooner you’re protected, the sooner your family is. Members who for health reasons are eligible for priority vaccination are encouraged to make an appointment. Vaccinated employees with health risks are considered safe to attend work. Employees not yet vaccinated who have health issues should approach their staff supervisors or line managers to discuss what options are available.

If the Pfizer vaccine is suitable for you, the STA have designated appointments available for you to get vaccinated. Contact your local manager for more information.

Please stay safe and stay vigilant. Bring any issues or concerns to the attention of your local delegate, including any hot spots where you see consistent non-compliance of mask wearing by passengers on buses or at bus stops.

Donations for TSA Driver Michael Yammouni

Donations are being collected to assist a TSA bus driver from Leichhardt bus depot. Michael has been involved in an accident that has tragically resulted in the death of a pedestrian.

We’ve all had and seen near misses and know how easily this could happen to any one of us. The RTBU has set up an account for drivers to donate to and help with Michael’s legal defence. Add your name or depot location to the deposit reference field so Michael knows who has contributed.

Thank you for supporting our colleague as he traverses this most difficult of times.

View the details on where to donate on the Tram & Bus website.

Thanks for your essential work during a time of crisis.

In solidarity,

David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers