93 per cent of New South Wales Trainlink and Sydney Trains employees have voted in favour of a new Enterprise Agreement, following more than 12 months of negotiations and industrial action.
New South Wales Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney, David Elliott, said it was a significant and successful outcome for New South Wales commuters and rail workers.
“There are more than 3,000 services which enable more than 800,000 commuter trips across the New South Wales rail network each weekday and Opal data has shown that significant numbers of commuters are returning to public transport,” Mr Elliott said.
“Following this positive vote, the travelling public can now be more confident in the level of service provided on the train network.
“The Sydney Trains and New South Wales TrainLink Enterprise Agreement will now be lodged with the Fair Work Commission for approval.”
More than 10,100 employees voted in the ballot, with more than 9,400 employees (93 per cent) casting a ‘Yes’ vote.
New South Wales Minister for Employee Relations, Damien Tudehope, said this successful vote means the end of industrial action on the rail network.
“This outcome formalises the agreement reached with the rail unions last year and will mean no further industrial action over the life of the EA,” Mr Tudehope said.
“This is a welcome result for the public of New South Wales who own the rail network and rely on it every day to go about their lives.”
New South Wales Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Sam Farraway, said this meant the New South Wales Liberal and Nationals Government could now get on with the job of delivering the New Intercity Fleetlaunch.
“The yes vote is a win for commuters and a win for better services for the thousands of commuters who rely on New South Wales TrainLink services,” Mr Farraway said.
“We can now begin modifying the new fleet immediately and provide our commuters with trains that are equipped with the modern facilities they deserve to make their daily life easier.”
Combined, there are approximately 12,500 employees who will benefit from a wide range of significantly improved conditions such as:
- The management of physical and mental health in the workplace
- Increases to or greater access to parental leave, bereavement leave, and carers leave entitlements
- The provision of a greater focus on preventing sexual harassment and greater support for employees experiencing family and domestic violence
- Improvements have been made to the living away from home allowance and a new electrical safety allowance has been introduced for employees who work, supervise, or direct work in accordance with Sydney Trains Electrical Safety Systems
Sydney Trains Chief Executive, Matt Longland, said the changes to the EA were made based on feedback received during the bargaining process from staff members, independent bargaining representatives, and union delegates.
“We are very pleased with the support that the employees showed for the enterprise agreement package and with the level of understanding to the conditions they showed during more than 100 information sessions held over the past few weeks,” Mr Longland said.
“The result was a great outcome for Sydney Trains and New South Wales TrainLink staff while also providing ongoing certainty for New South Wales commuters and I would like to thank all employees who voted in the ballot to approve the new Enterprise Agreement.”
The approved enterprise agreement will nominally expire in May 2024.
