Sydney's rail network is experiencing significant delays and cancellations as the Rail, Tram and Bus Union embarks on industrial action. The Federal Court's decision to reject the state government's bid to block work bans has paved the way for widespread service disruptions.
There are delays across the rail network and the transport minister has warned services aren’t running to the timetable as Sydney braces for days of industrial action by the rail union . On Thursday, the Federal Court threw out the state government’s bid to block work bans by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, opening the door to immediate industrial action – which is set to ramp up ahead of New Year’s Eve.
Trains were still running on Friday morning; however, services were delayed, and some were cancelled across the network. Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line was the worst hit. “We are being hit hard by the union’s industrial action across the train network … trains are running, they’re not running to timetable, unfortunately,” Haylen said on 2GB.“We will continue to experience delays and cancellations, it’s likely to get worse throughout the day.” By 8am, some services were cancelled across the T3, T9, and T1 lines, and all lines had reported delays. The state government will continue to pursue a block on industrial action in the courts, arguing they should be suspended on economic harm grounds or because of danger to public safety. The matter is listed in the Fair Work Commission for Monday and Tuesday – Christmas Eve. There are more than 200 work bans available to the union, including refusing to work with contractors, a limit to the number of kilometres workers will travel, and signallers not clearing the way for working fixing non-urgent faults.Not all work bans have been enacted. It is expected the reduction in kilometres will begin next week if the union decides to go ahead with it. The union has so far refrained from banning members from performing any work if trains do not run 24 hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, which would result in a sudden shutdown of the system
Industrial Action Rail Union Sydney Delays Cancellations Transport Minister Work Bans
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