News and views from the bus and tram lanes No images? Click here Member Update: October 28 2022Dear Members, It's been another big week for us all. Out in Region 7, Busways presented the Union and roster committee delegates with a new roster. Upon evaluating the proposition, the Union found Busways failed to place any consideration for work-life balance and has put these rosters in dispute. You can read more about this below. In Region 6 a bargaining meeting was held today, members can expect a bulletin on Monday next week about progress. In addition to this, we’re still waiting on a draft EA from CMET. Once we get this we’ll be able to share with members the details. Regarding the Wickham Tram EA negotiations, the Union reached out to Keolis Downer Hunter last fortnight to begin negotiations to replace the existing Enterprise Agreement, which is set to kick off in early November. We will keep members posted with any new updates. In other news, Peter Daniel has announced his retirement. Peter has been an exceptionally active member of the Union for 27 years, having stepped up to be a union delegate at Belmont depot for seven years. We wish him all the best as he enters this new chapter of his life. And once again, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Go Fund Me page set up for the family of Jared Church. This support has been incredibly important to his wife and three children, who are now putting this to good use. Our thoughts are with Jared's family and workmates during this difficult time. We hope that you continue to stay safe and well. Region 7 Roster DisputeRecently, Busways presented the delegates and roster committee members with proposed rosters due to commence on 12 December. After going through the rosters, it was very clear Busways had failed to make work life balance considerations. Region 6 EA UpdateIn Region 6, we’re coming to a tipping point and it’s going to be up to members to make the call on which way we go. As we get more information on what a single EA would look like it’s becoming clear that to achieve a unified roster, RTBU members will have to make a choice about compromise. Region 8 AuditLast week's express mistakenly referred to the Region 8 update under the label of Region 9. Apologies to all members for this error! Wickham Trams EA UpdateThe Union reached out to Keolis Downer Hunter last fortnight to begin negotiations to replace the existing Enterprise Agreement and the first meeting is planned to be held late October/early November. We will keep members posted through bulletins as we go through the negotiations. In the meantime here is a reminder of the broad log of claims. 1. Keep all current entitlements and conditions in current EA 2. Seek real pay increase to reflect a living wage 3. Enhance flexibility within rosters to accomodate work/ life balance 4. Provision for KDH to reimburse medical costs for members associated with maintaining their employment 5. To include a consultation clause so members can have input into structural, policy and other changes Keolis Downer Hunter make that affect working conditions 6. To update the provisions of the enterprise agreement according to any changes in legislation Retirement of Peter DanielPeter has been an active union member for close on 27 years. During this time Peter was also a union delegate at Belmont depot for 7 years. We would like to thank Pete for his continual support and tremendous contributions to the RTBU. We would like to wish Peter a happy retirement and wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life. Email the NSW Government to end Bus PrivatisationLast month, 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 ChurchThank you to the members who have dug deep to contribute to the Go Fund Me Page we set up for Jared Church, who tragically passed away at age 37. Thank you again to members who have already donated - your support is much appreciated during this tough time. Union Elections ReminderA 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 Postal Ballot closes on 12 December 2022, 5:00pm. In solidarity, David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers |