Member Update: November 25 2022

Dear Members,

It's been a big week for us all.  

RTBU officials attended and spoke at the Sydney rally of a National Day of Action in solidarity with the workers locked out by the company. Now more than ever, workers' collective action is more important than ever. 

In other news, for the CMET EA update, the replacement for the Greenfield Agreement is almost ready to be reviewed and voted on by members. CMET members should anticipate a special bulletin on Monday. For more on this, see the article below.

In Region 6, the Union ran a poll to gain members' input into the work done so far and the Transit Systems proposal for putting the two rosters together. You can find more details on this below. In addition, a RTBU/TWU delegate meeting is scheduled for next week, so members can expect an update next week. 

For Region 7, the Union was given numbers to review the two-tier system. We're trying to talk them out of it - it's a move that leaves everyone worse off. Find more on this below.

A reminder we've got an email action running to remind the NSW Government about their bungles on Bus Privatisation. We all know it doesn't work, and by taking a minute to send them an email, you'll be reminding them that bus privatisation has been an abject failure. 

In other news, Jared Church's wife, Rebecca, visited the Hamilton Depot to say thank you for all the support during this incredibly difficult time for their family. Our thoughts are with Jared's family and workmates - and if anyone does need support, don't hesitate to reach out.

And as always, if you have any questions or queries, 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.

RTBU back the MUA

RTBU officials attended and spoke at the Sydney rally of a National Day of Action held to protest the company Switzer locking out its workers and trying to terminate the workers' industrial agreement.

This was a dirty tactic long planned by the company, backed by the liberal government and other companies that employed dock workers across the country.

Luckily the Fair Work Commission saw through the attempts to terminate the agreement and ordered that all industrial action be suspended and that the company and union return to the bargaining table.

While it's no surprise that workers are continually under attack by companies colluding with the Liberal government, it is a pleasant surprise that the Fair Work Commission saw through that attempt.

It's more important than ever that workers stand together and fight for justice and fairness in the workplace.

CMET Update

The replacement for the Greenfield Agreement is almost ready to be reviewed and voted on by members. Late issues for discussion include the RTBU trying to eliminate in-cab cameras for drivers as well as tightening up various clauses that don’t impact drivers on the day to day.

We’re reviewing it now and will have a special bulletin for CMET members cataloguing the changes on Monday, which is when the company is hoping to start the access period for employees to review it.

The document will be made available for seven days before a vote takes place.
Special thanks to Dom Nugent, who has stepped in as the driver rep and greatly contributed to this work.

Region 6 EA Update
 

Although the RTBU election put a brief pause on proceedings, work never really stopped.

The RTBU ran a poll to let members have a say on the work done so far and the Transit Systems' proposal for putting the two rosters together.

It became clear that while many people want the work to go together, they don’t want to lose anything in the process, which is fair enough. These are conditions that have been fought for over many decades and won at great personal cost by members that came before us.

So, we have a direction from members which is that the union should pursue the putting the work together but with less compromise than what has been proposed so far.

The issue now for the RTBU is that we’re running out of roads. Since we secured the Majority Support Determination order to drag everyone to the bargaining table a couple of years ago, it’s been a hard slog. It’s only relatively recently that the company has come to the table to bargain properly, and while they may be bargaining well now, it’s taken a long time and a lot of industrial action to get us here.

On July 1st of next year, the Copied State Award will expire.

This means legacy employees would move to the Modern Award, which is quite frankly, garbage and the union cannot allow that to happen. While we work federally to have the appropriate regulation introduced to allow for an extension of the Copied State Award, we can’t count on it getting done before the middle of next year.

A combined RTBU/TWU delegate meeting is scheduled for next week, and we’ll report back to members after that.

In the meantime, we will continue to work to achieve the aims of ‘same job, same pay’ and honour the legacy of those that fought before us.
 

Region 7 EA Update

Last week a meeting was held with a larger group of members to get feedback on what the company was proposing. The issue is that with two-tiered workplace, a reality thanks to Transport for NSW, we have the threat of two rosters being introduced hanging over us as we negotiate. Bringing in two rosters would deliver terrible suffering to workers on both sides on the fence.

The company has effectively given us some numbers to go over. The issue is that they budgeted for a two-tier system and we are re trying to talk them out of it. That is what makes the numbers our problem. Normally we’d be taking action and fighting over these things but with the threat of two rosters it means we have to be mindful of things we wouldn’t normally really care about. This is not a comfortable place for the union; we’re being forced to bargain against ourselves in order to protect members from the Region 6 experience.

One thing became clear after last week’s meeting. While members may or may not be willing to part with certain conditions to protect their future earnings from a two-roster system, the company cannot expect us to do all the work and they will have to come to the table and offer more. After all, a two-tier system hurts the company as well, especially when drivers are hard to come by; good luck getting new drivers to stay when they’re getting less than ex-STA drivers.

Once again, we can thank TfNSW for delivering drivers into a worse situation for the profit of a private company, and where the union is left trying to make good on their broken promises and protect workers as best we can.

A meeting is scheduled for next Thursday and we’ll report back after that.
 

Email the NSW Government to end Bus Privatisation 

In September 2022, the NSW Legislative Assembly handed down a report recommending the Government end bus privatisation.

You can read the full report and its recommendation here.

We've known that bus privatisation doesn't work. No one knows this better than our members and commuters, who have both suffered.

That's why we've set up an action calling on the NSW Government to adopt the report's recommendations. You can add your name to our letter and help add pressure on the NSW Government to fix the mess they've made.

It'll only take a moment, and the more emails we send, the greater our chance of making bus privatisation an issue for the election and beyond.

Remembering Jared Church

On Wednesday 16th November, the Hamilton Depot was visited by Jared Church's wife, Rebecca, who came to say thank you to everyone for their support.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who came together to lend a helping hand. 

Members, please remember if you struggling, support is always available. If you are struggling don't hesitate to reach out. Support is available through the Black Dog Institute.  Additionally, 24/7 support is available at Beyond Blue. 

Union Elections Reminder

A reminder to members that union elections for National and NSW Branch positions for 2022 are fast approaching. All members are encouraged to cast a vote - this is the best way to make sure the future representatives have the best interests of members at heart. Casting a vote during the Union elections is an incredibly important part of strengthening the democratic process of our union. 

The Attendance Ballot will open on the 17th November 2022 at 7:00am and close on the 17th November at 4:30pm. 

The Postal Ballot closes on 12 December 2022, 5:00pm. 

We urge all members to use their voices by voting in the upcoming elections.

In solidarity, 

David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers