Member Update: August 13, 2021

Dear Members,

The last number of weeks have been a hard slog. We thank you all for continuing to comply with such rapidly changing public health orders and restrictions while completing your essential duties during this time. We're more than certain that the union will keep on navigating this together, and that we will also come out of it stronger together.

We sent out an alert on Thursday regarding positive COVID-19 cases in Region 6 depots. Understandably this is an uncertain and worrying time for impacted members from both a health and financial perspective. We have been in contact with Transit Systems, and your Union will continue to advocate so that members required to isolate for any period are paid appropriately.

Our eyes are constantly scanning the NSW Health Case Location and Alert list As to monitor any affected transport routes. Because the situation is changing so quickly, please check this comprehensive list of Public Health Orders and restrictions on the NSW Health website to stay up to date. You can also view the latest RTBU COVID Update on the Branch website.

We appreciate the great work members have been doing to keep yourselves and the community safe. As always, 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 sent a letter to NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance last Tuesday requesting that bus drivers as part of the Transport Cluster be identified as a priority employment category for vaccination and workplace rapid testing. Since then, TfNSW advised the union that they are looking into finding a provider to ensure that frontline transport workers can have dedicated access to Covid-19 vaccination, as well as Rapid Saliva Testing as another measure to reduce potential transmission. More to come as we flesh things out with TfNSW.

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 also encourage you to show your support for the RTBU campaign calling for the government to protect COVID-vulnerable workers. The petition targets workers with pre-existing conditions who are more susceptible to adverse effects from the virus. Implementing a financial support system similar to JobKeeper will allow them to remain safe at home and securely employed to ensure they can stay out of harm's way. As essential workers, we know that a way to ensure safe and secure employment in the face of adversity should be a right for all.

We hope that you continue to stay safe and well.

In case you missed it: Positive COVID-19 within Depots

Earlier this week, RTBU Officials received confirmation that the COVID pandemic had spread to Depots in Region 6.

Understandably this is an uncertain and worrying time for impacted members from both a health and financial perspective.

We have been in contact with Transit Systems, and your Union will continue to advocate so that members required to isolate for any period are paid appropriately.

This highlights the crucial need for all transport workers to have priority access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Read the full alert on the Tram & Bus website.

REMINDER: Keolis Downer Newcastle Log of Claims - Have your say!

A log of claims which will be used to drive the upcoming negotiations with Keolis Downer Newcastle has been developed.

The most common response from members is that you don’t want to lose any conditions. This Log of Claims is about protecting what you currently have and seeking improvements and enhancements.

You can read and endorse the Log of Claims right here.

We will have member meetings at Depots in the next few weeks to explain the Log in more detail.

If you haven't already please fill in this survey to let us know what you think before negotiations commence.

Update: Covid-19 Vaccine Priority for Bus Operators

On Tuesday 3rd August we sent a letter to the NSW Transport Minister requesting that bus drivers as part of the Transport Cluster be identified as a priority employment category for vaccination and workplace rapid testing, TfNSW advised the union at our weekly meeting last Friday that they are looking into finding a provider to ensure that frontline transport workers can have dedicated access to Covid-19 vaccination.

TfNSW also advised that Rapid Saliva Testing is on its way as a further tool to help reduce the possibility of transmission within the workplace.

Both of these are works in progress. We will communicate with you as more information comes to hand.

If you are experiencing issues regarding the ability to be vaccinated, please advise your local Delegate.

COVID Update

Dear Members,

Still no good news on the horizon as the NSW Covid-19 outbreak goes from bad to worse. Today cases exceeded 300 with many cases infectious in the community meaning that these numbers are likely to continue to rise.

Current Lockdown LGAs

At 5pm on Thursday additional Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Newcastle and the Hunter Region followed Greater Sydney into lockdown after a series of positive cases were identified.

The LGAs include:

Bayside
Blacktown
Burwood
Campbelltown
Canterbury-Bankstown
Cessnock
City of Newcastle
Cumberland
Dungog
Fairfield
Georges River
Lake Macquarie
Liverpool
Maitland
Muswellbrook
Parramatta
Port Stephens
Singleton
Strathfield

Along with specific suburbs in the Penrith LGA:

Caddens
Claremont Meadows
Colyton
Erskine Park
Kemps Creek
Kingswood
Mount Vernon
North St Marys
Orchard Hills
Oxley Park
St Clair
St Marys

The NSW Government also announced the Armidale LGA would also go into a snap lockdown.

If you live or have been in any of these LGAs since 31 July 2021, you are subject to stay at home orders and can only leave your home with a reasonable excuse. Importantly for members, a reasonable excuse includes attending work if you cannot do that work from home.

Vaccines and Rapid Testing for Frontline Transport Workers

We've had further discussions with TfNSW on this matter. TfNSW has advised us that they currently cannot use any testing methods that have not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA). As a result, they are continuing to investigate avenues of testing for workers.

In the interim, we have suggested a Super Sunday for all transport workers, similar to construction workers, whereby a priority Super Sunday vaccination hub should be made available.

Basic Control Measures

The issue of basic control measures has raised its head again after it was raised by Station Staff across the network at the start of the outbreak.

We have also heard reports that some buses in the Greater Sydney Region continue to operate in service without a safety screen to protect the driver from fleeting transmission events when passengers get on or off the bus. This is a basic control that should be on every vehicle and we put it to Transport that buses without safety screens should be taken out of service.

Mask Wearing

The RTBU has called on Transport for NSW to take steps to enforce mask wearing on public transport. Reports given to the union earlier this week told us that 335 infringements had been issued with quite a few in the Newcastle Region.

Given that this outbreak does not appear to be easing, it’s so important that every control possible is put in place now to ensure our safety at work.

It’s always important that we look out for our health and safety at work but given the current pandemic it’s even more important.

Vaccination Update

The RTBU continues to push for Transport Workers to be given priority for vaccinations, bus drivers in particular due to their working environment. As it stands, 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.

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.

Read the full update on the Tram & Bus website.

NSW Government urged to prioritise rapid COVID testing and vaccination for transport workers as transport delays hit Sydney

The NSW Government needs to introduce rapid COVID testing for transport workers and priority access to vaccination, or we risk further significant interruptions to our passenger and freight transport services, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW has warned.

The call comes as many passenger transport routes across the city are cancelled today due to large numbers of workers being deemed close or casual COVID contacts.

The RTBU NSW has written to NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance urging the Minister to ensure that all transport workers throughout the state be given access to rapid COVID testing and for priority access to vaccination to be offered to all transport workers wanting it.

Secretary of the RTBU NSW, Alex Claassens said that the service disruptions seen across Sydney today will only spread and get worse unless immediate action is taken.

“Our transport workers can have hundreds of interactions with community members over the course of a shift – it’s vital they have the best protection possible to continue their essential, frontline work,” Mr Claassens said.

“Common sense tells you that in order to protect the public and transport workers and their families across the state, this situation needs to be sorted out as soon as possible.

“Cutting services at a time when we’re trying to ensure that people are able to physically distance as much as possible is dangerous.

“We need transport services to continue to operate in order to get other essential workers like health care workers where they need to go and essential goods moved across and throughout the state.

“There’s no time to waste. We saw delays in the NSW Government rolling out mandatory masks last year, we can’t afford for the same mistakes to be made again.

“Testing needs to be improved, as does supply, access and distribution of vaccines. Too many people who need to be immunised now are being put onto waiting lists. Rail, tram and bus workers, for example, should have been placed in a high-priority bracket from day one.”

Transit Systems Region 6: FWC Wage Decision

RTBU Tram and Bus Division Delegates and Officials are currently in the process of bringing Transit Systems to the table to negotiate the Enterprise Agreement for members in Region 6.

We wrote to TSA asking them to implement the legal decision of the Fair Work Commission and increase the pay of RTBU members under the Copied State Award to 2.5% effective from 1 July 2021. This is mandated under the FWC minimum wage adjustment to the lowest paid workers and workers on Copied State Awards with no further increases. Under law, this is payable to those members on the old STA Award (which is a Copied State Award) in Region 6.

The initial response from the TSA was that it would be paid.

Despite this commitment we were notified that Transit Systems planned to offer 2.5% as the initial wage increase in our first negotiated Federal Enterprise Agreement.

TSA are effectively twisting the bargaining in their favour. Not only are they trying to claim credit for a wage increase won by the Union movement for working people, but they are also failing to adhere to the bargaining environment by incorrectly framing this pay increase as an EA increase, rather than a minimum wage adjustment.

This distraction is a cheap employer tactic to distract us from their spin and avoid discussing real wage increases through the proper bargaining process.

Bargaining does not work this way, and the RTBU will not bend its arm to mediocre offers.

This is not how bargaining works. The RTBU has not agreed to this on behalf of Region 6 members. We will continue the fight to have this increase paid.

Transdev IWLR Enterprise Bargaining Update 13: Transdev’s New and Final Offer

RTBU negotiators met with Transdev management representatives on Wednesday 11 August to continue negotiations for the IWLR Enterprise Agreement 2021.

Transdev re-iterated that the COVID-19 pandemic is still having a financial impact on them, and this is their final offer and are seeking an in-principal agreement from the Union’s EA committee.

Transdev has offered a 3% pay increase on November 1st annually from 2020 to 2023, expiring on 31 October 2024. Not that there is no legal obligation for them to offer the 3% to cover 2020 as the current agreement expired in May 2021.

This offer is on the provision that the RTBU drop all claims that have not been agreed to by both parties. But Transdev has tried to shirk responsibility to the IWLR EA negotiating team to explain why these claims should be dropped. It seems that Transdev themselves have forgotten their obligations to communicate with their workforce as per the EA process.

This is a stubborn move by Transdev and looks to be just another ploy to drag on the already lengthy progress of negotiations and buy time for themselves.

We are not interested in playing to their tune.

The negotiating committee have asserted that Transdev explain the rejection of claims to their staff by next Wednesday 18 August before the negotiating committee can begin to consider an in-principal agreement.

The ball is now in Transdev’s court.

Read the full member bulletin here.

Drivers Raise Concerns on Redfern Loading Issues

Drivers have recently raised concerns over loading issues at Redfern. Thes issue has been raised for the 309 and 309x services.

The key concern is about the overcrowding of services at the stops in Redfern during the early hours of the morning. This is currently being monitored by the union.

We encourage members to report areas of concern to your Local Delegate. Recording numbers on your journal and providing a copy with your report will be extremely useful in collecting the relevant data for future discussions with TfNSW.

Canberra Metro Trams: ACT's snap lockdown

The ACT went into a seven-day snap lockdown on Thursday 12 August.

The union has reached out to CMET with regards to how services will be affected during the duration of the lockdown and how it will affect our members' incomes.

CMET has indicated that they will continue to run normal timetables until the ACT government notifies them of any changes. They also confirmed that our members will continue to work their normal rosters until further information is provided.

CMET have given an undertaking to consult with the union If circumstances were to change.

COVID-19: Clarifications and new information on support available

There is a misconception by some people that the Public Health Orders are somehow illegal or do not have the force of law. The Public Health Orders are made pursuant to Section 7 of the Public Health Act 2010. Section 10 then makes it an offence to not comply with such an order. It is the law.

The RTBU suggests that if you are affected by this latest change that you get tested at a location either close to your depot or on the way to or from work. Hopefully this will limit the time you're spending waiting in queues at testing sites in Fairfield itself.

New ACTU guide on government COVID support

Recent COVID-19 outbreaks across Australia have again highlighted the inadequacy of the Morrison Government’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing failure to look after Australian workers.

The ACTU has put together a briefing note covering the limited support that is currently available for workers who are affected by recent COVID-19 outbreaks in their state or territory.

A number of workers are entitled to unpaid pandemic leave through their relevant Modern Award.1 In March of 2021, the paid pandemic leave provisions operating in a number of health care sector awards (including the Aged Care Award 2010) expired.

ACTU fact sheet available here - with what is currently available for members in each state and territory, including eligibility and how to apply.

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.

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