Union members across Sydney Trains and NSW Trains have overwhelmingly rejected the proposed Variation to delay bargaining.
Congratulations to all the hard working Delegates and activists who campaigned with so much passion for a NO VOTE- this really is Your Victory!
Members voted NO to send a clear message that we want to stick to the schedule and negotiate fair and reasonable pay and conditions for the future.
NSW Trains and Sydney Trains were trying to use legal loopholes in the form of an Enterprise Agreement Variation to delay and derail our rights at work.
Enterprise Agreements are an important part of protecting our pay and conditions at work. Usually, they are negotiated every 3 or 4 years, and when the majority of workers vote to accept the conditions, they are locked in.
Negotiations for our new Enterprise Agreements should have already begun. However, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains did not want to negotiate. To delay bargaining they needed a majority of workers to vote for a “variation” to our current Agreements.
When we last secured our Enterprise Agreements, it was only after union members voted to take Industrial Action.
The threat of industrial action in 2018 meant that we were able to deliver rail workers a fair wage increase of 3% per year over three years.
Now, we were being asked to agree without any negotiation to one 0.3% pay rise and only 6 months of protection for our other conditions and rights at work.
2020 has been a difficult year for many workers and our families. Now is the time to be securing our future, not delaying and derailing our Enterprise Agreement.
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