Sydney Trains Industrial Action Suspended For 4 Months So Let’s Thank The Transport Gods

In a welcome turn of events for Sydney train commuters, industrial action on the city’s rail network will be suspended until July.

Although the Fair Work Commission rejected the NSW government’s request for a six-month pause on any stoppage, they did grant a four-month hold on any industrial action by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) until July 1.

The metro would never do this to us, just quietly. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

It is now the hope of the government and the RTBU that the dispute will be settled through arbitration over the next four months.

“This gives us the clear air to stop interrupting people’s lives and get on with the business of landing an agreement, [and] fair pay and conditions for rail workers,” NSW transport minister John Graham told reporters, per The Guardian.

NSW RTBU secretary Toby Warnes said he was “disappointed” by the Fair Work Commission’s decision and is worried that the government would “sit on its hands” rather than make an effort to solve the dispute without the threat of industrial action.

“We need to have a tool available to us to get the government back to the table,” he said.

“While we are hopeful that the NSW government will see this result as a reason to come back to the negotiating table, we are not confident.”

The RTBU has been in a dispute with the NSW government since their pay deal expired in May 2024.

While the RTBU and government had been inching towards a deal last week, the latest issue was a $4500 one-off payment to all staff that the union wanted included in the new deal. The rail unions claimed it was included in the last agreement and wanted it to be included in the new one. However, the government said it was only a one-off payment intended to cover back pay in 2022.

As a result, the RTBU imposed a “go-slow” action which severely impacted the train lines through Sydney.

Hopefully, this will be the last of the commuting issues on the train line and they will soon come to an agreement. Otherwise, let’s enjoy this reprieve until July.

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