Member Update: 22 September 2023

Dear Members,

We trust you've had a good week.

We continue to talk to Busways about a single EA for all employees. TFNSW is also involved in a process outside of that as we try and pin down how much things are going to cost.

In Newcastle, negotiations continue with Keolis Downer after light rail members voted the last deal down.

In Region 6, the issue of passing on the penalties agreed to in the EA is now in dispute across all depots. The RTBU and TWU will be lodging the matter in the Fair Work Commission next week.

In Region 8, we are back in the FWC in two weeks and have sent a bulletin to members to collate as much evidence as we can about how many people are affected by the payroll issue.

This week the Minns Government handed down its first budget, with some funding set aside for buses and the light rail network.

This includes $15.8 million on bus tracking software, to try to eliminate the so-called 'ghost buses' where scheduled buses don't appear in commuters transport apps. Of course we know its the private operators cancelling these services to make it look like they're meeting performance standards as part of their hefty contracts signed with the former Liberal government!

Elsewhere in the budget:

$521.8M over 4 years on new buses

$374.1M over 4 years for Light Rail Stage 1 – Parramatta

“Restart NSW Fund”:
- Buses and rapid buses for Western Sydney Airport – $302.7M
- Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 - $200M

Busways EA update

We continue to talk to Busways about a single EA for all employees. TFNSW is also involved in a process outside of that as we try and pin down how much things are going to cost.

The government has made it clear there will be no two-tiered workplaces and now everyone is scrambling to fix it.

Read the bulletin that was sent out to members today updating on the progress and process.

Newcastle light rail update

Negotiations continue with Keolis Downer after members voted the last deal down.

Items put forward by the RTBU for consideration by the company include-

15% penalty for the whole shift when finishing after 8pm and 15% for hours worked between 5pm-8pm and before 7am.
Mentoring work in a shift over 2 hours attracts the allowance for all time worked.
48 hour minimum notice for change of shifts.
Paying drivers the higher rate when they are performing other duties during shutdowns.

We await the company response.

Region 6 EA Update

The issue of passing on the penalties agreed to in the EA is now in dispute across all depots.

The RTBU and TWU will be lodging the matter in the Fair Work Commission next week.

Members will be updated as soon as we have more.

Region 8 Payroll Dispute

The RTBU and Keolis Downer Northern Beaches were in the Fair Work Commission this week.

A couple of issues persist around the pay problems and the audit that came out of them.

Firstly, the company is refusing to give members access to their past work journals unless specifically requested, but the union has found several mistakes where overtime on the journal was not put into HASTUS correctly.

Secondly, the issue about workers potentially being out of pocket to lodge an adjustment to their tax return if the debt is older than the current financial year.

We are back in the FWC in two weeks and have sent a bulletin to members to collate as much evidence as we can about how many people are affected.

If you work in the Northern beaches, please make sure you respond to the email we sent which can be read here.

In solidarity,

David Babineau and Peter Grech