The rail industry is resorting to outright lies in order to discredit the RTBU and its opposition to the proposed scrapping of the 12-hour shift cap as part of the new Rail Safety National Law.

In response to comments by Bob Nanva RTBU National Secretary on ABC Radio National about the dangers of watering down rail safety protections, the rail industry has accused the union of “scaremongering”.

Australasian Railway Association (ARA) spokesman Bryan Nye claimed there are currently no train drivers in the network driving anywhere near 12 hours because all drivers’ EBA agreements have shift lengths far less than 12 hours.

“This is fundamentally wrong and misleading,” said Bob Hayden, NSW Loco Division Secretary. “Almost all our agreements have the facility for drivers to work 12-hour shifts and for the ARA to say anything different proves the comments are more to do with spin rather than fact.”

In fact excessive shift lengths were one of the main complaints the union was taking to employers.

“We have people out there doing shift lengths of not only 12 hours but 14 and at times more, and with one employer alone having regular multiple complaints about excessive shift lengths.

“If this is the deception being spread by the rail industry before the new laws are passed, just imagine what it’s going to be like if the laws are weakened and the industry is regulating itself in regards to shift lengths and safety?”

The rail industry’s desperate attack on the union indicates their concern that state and federal transport ministers may actually listen to the facts rather than spin and take the union’s valid safety fears seriously.

If the union’s position is upheld, the hard-won existing protections for workers will be maintained and employers will not be able to dictate safety regulations that suit their own bottom line.

Click to listen to the ABC interview with Bob Nanva and Dave Mathie – Fatigue Management_ABC_AM

Click to listen to the rail industry response on ABC radio

Have your say on fatigue by commenting below.

RailCorp has decided to appeal a Fair Work Australia ruling on sectorisation handed down in March.

The FWA ruled in favour of the RTBU saying the introduction of sectorisation, which would prevent drivers being rostered outside their regular sector, was in breach of the current EA.

The RTBU is required to provide a submission to FWA by May 18 and the matter will be heard by the full bench on May 22.

Read the original LocoExpress sectorisation story here.

C11.CIR – RailCorp Train Crew Update No.8

The recent launch of the rail industry initiative TrackSAFE which aims to reduce level crossing, trespass and suicide incidents on the rail network is a timely reminder that more needs to be done at a government level to educate drivers and upgrade level crossings.

“Level crossing safety is a huge issue for our members,” says Steve Wright, RTBU Freight Organiser based in Newcastle. “In urban areas most of the crossings have boom gates but out in the country it’s still a big problem – it’s incredibly stressful for the drivers, particularly at night when you can see a car coming but have no idea whether they’ll see the train and stop.”

Analysis undertaken by NSW’s Independent Transport Safety Regulator (ITSR) shows that level crossings with boom gates have far fewer fatal accidents than those with just flashing lights, stop signs or give way signs.

Currently, just 21 per cent of level crossings in Australia are “active” with boom gates, the other 79 per cent are “passive” with a static stop or give way sign.

The federal government allocated $150 million in 2009 to upgrade crossings with the aim of targeting the 200 most dangerous. The good news is that the rate of collisions has decreased nationally from 85 per annum to 54 but there are still about 10 fatalities annually.

The study also showed that heavy vehicles are responsible for about 23 per cent of rail-related accidents and 30 per cent of fatalities, and that train employees and passengers account for the majority of fatalities in a these collisions.

“They will never be able to put boom gates on every crossing because many are on private land out in the bush and who will pay for them all?” said Steve. “There urgently needs to be a lot more education in country areas about crossing safety.”

For more information on rail safety and specific statistics on NSW collisions and derailments see the 2010-11 Rail Industry Safety Report at:

www.transportregulator.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/news/new-report-on-rail-industry2019s-safety-performance

For more information about the TrackSAFE initiative go to:

www.tracksafefoundation.com.au

The RTBU has welcomed the response by Transport for NSW to the draft National Laws regulating fatigue management in the rail industry.

“Transport for NSW has picked up the deficiencies in the draft that the union has long been campaigning against,” says NSW Loco Division Secretary Bob Hayden. “In particular, the fact that the National Laws will water down the strong protections for shift lengths and breaks that are currently enshrined in NSW law. We are pleased that they are taking rail safety seriously and demanding that the existing high standards are maintained.”

In a submission to the National Transport Council (NTC), Transport for NSW broadly supports the establishment of the new Rail Safety National Regulator, but says “the proposals for the management of fatigue contained within the National Law and Regulations are still insufficient to manage this critical area of safety”.

Transport for NSW’s submission says the draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) “does not contain sufficient evidence to support the proposition that safety will not be compromised in NSW”. It points out that the RIS admits there may be a gradual drift to longer hours, shorter breaks, and that fatigue-related errors, incidents and accidents may increase under the new laws.

The RIS also acknowledges that commercial pressures and driver shortages may adversely impact on safety, noting that there are deficiencies in the industry’s abilities to manage risk.

Transport for NSW highlighted four key areas it says require further analysis and consideration by the NTC before finalisation of the laws.

The first concern is that the proposed model will require employers at assess risk themselves as the basis for their individual fatigue management plans. Transport for NSW is concerned that the Australian rail industry lacks the skills and capacity to adequately assess risk and put in place effective management systems.

Transport for NSW also believes that the RIS does not provide an accurate analysis of all available options for regulating fatigue. The RIS discusses the pros and cons of “prescriptive” and “performance-based” approaches to regulation, but doesn’t take into account the approach currently used in NSW, Queensland and internationally, which is a combination of prescription (outer limits) and performance-based regulation (safety management systems).

With the removal of regulations for outer limits of working time arrangements, the Regulator itself becomes the “safety net”. This means that huge extra resources will be required by the Regulator to assess, monitor and enforce fatigue management arrangements across the industry. Transport for NSW argues that the RIS has not fully addressed the financial impact and is underestimating the costs of compliance.

The final point is that the RIS does not examine properly how existing working time arrangements in different states will clash with the new laws – in particular where operators request an exemption in order to extended shift lengths. Transport for NSW notes that “the exemption capacity is an integral part of the NSW arrangements and it should not be overlooked by the RIS”.

With the unions and Transport for NSW both calling for more effective safety legislation, the RTBU hopes the NTC will take into account these important points before delivering the final regulatory impact statement to the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI, formerly ATC) in May 2012.

Download the Rail Tram and Bus Union Submission and the Transport for NSW Rail Safety National Law Submission here.

To download other comments submitted to the NTC go to:

http://ntc.gov.au/RFCCommentsView.aspx?DocumentId=2275

The RTBU has welcomed a Fair Work Australia decision that drug testing was unfair and unreasonable and that swab tests were a more appropriate test of impairment.

The union has long argued that urine testing was not only an invasive procedure but tested for irrelevant recreational drug and alcohol use rather than impairment on the job.

Fair Work Australia ruled in a case for employees of Endeavour Energy that swab testing was more appropriate.

Unions NSW has supported the ruling and unions will work to ensure the precedent flows to workers throughout NSW.

RailCorp workers – from frontline staff  to senior management – are subject to random urine drug tests. While the RTBU doesn’t condone drug use, the focus should be on impairment on the job rather than targeting workers for recreational activities.

The RTBU is urging new national rail safety laws to enshrine swab rather than urine testing.

An audit of the NSW WorkCover scheme has just been completed, and with a $4 billion deficit predicted by the end of the year, Barry O’Farrell says the system is in dire need of reform.

The RTBU is concerned that although O’Farrell has said there is no proposal to cut benefits to injured workers, slashing payouts would be the quickest way to solve the problem and keep employers, who want their insurance premiums to drop, happy.

O’Farrell wants to bring NSW in line with other states and changes could include reducing weekly compensation payments, cutting the length of time that workers receive payments and reducing injured workers’ medical benefits.

The union believes that rather than dismantling workers rights and cutting benefits, the real focus should be on injury prevention, injury management and more effective return to work schemes.

Unions NSW has called for the NSW Government to consult not just with the business lobby but with workers and unions to help make the scheme more effective.

The state government previously indicated it would consult with unions, employers and government representatives before making any changes, but O’Farrell has confirmed he will announce the finalised reforms in a month.

This short time frame leaves no time for genuine consultation – it looks like O’Farrell has already made up his mind to fast-track the changes regardless of the negative impact on vulnerable injured workers.

The Locomotive Division has had a win at the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) against RailCorp which was attempting to shut down an unfair dismissal case using a legal technicality.

Last July a RailCorp driver, Mr Brown, through no fault of his own, sent the paperwork for his dismissal appeal to the old address of the Transport Appeal Boards (TAB). The error was discovered and the forms lodged again at the correct address.

In a bid to quash Mr Brown’s appeal, RailCorp lodged an objection arguing that because the paperwork was late TAB could not hear the case.

The Commissioner considered RailCorp’s objection and found the appeal was effectively lodged in time and that TAB could consider Mr Brown’s appeal.

RailCorp then appealed to the full bench of the IRC which handed down the decision in March that TAB has the discretion to take into consideration the circumstances of “out of time” appeals and to decide whether to hear the case.

The decision also said that the 21-day period for lodging an appeal was not intended to “erect an immovable barrier to appeals lodged outside that period” and that “minor acts of non-compliance that do not prejudice the employer in any significant way may be accommodated.”

Mr Brown’s case is unusual because it is rare that out of time applications are lodged. The issue arose as a direct result of the TAB moving premises and the paperwork given to Mr Brown having the incorrect address on it.

However, beyond this particular case, the judgement is an important legal precedent and a big win for RTBU members and members of other unions that use the TAB because it recognises the power of TAB to consider applications lodged outside the 21-day period.

It does not mean that all out of time appeals will be heard but there is room for flexibility at the discretion of TAB.

As a result Mr Brown’s appeal may still be heard and has been sent to TAB to consider an Extension of Time to Appeal.

The RTBU been also been pursuing RailCorp over the unacceptable levels of glare from the dash of the Oscar for more than 12 months.

As an interim solution ‘dash mats’ were trialled, then several non-reflective/anti-glare paints were investigated as a longer-term solution.

Late last year it was agreed that one particular paint type looked like it could potentially solve the problem.

This paint has now been applied to the cabs on Set H27 for a three-to-six month trial period to assess the paint’s durability and whether drivers believe it solves the glare problem.

Members who operate this train type are urged to provide feedback on the paint’s performance.

The long-running struggle with RailCorp over the cab detrainment ramp has now been resolved.
The two roof-mounted pulleys for the detrainment ramp guide ropes had originally been placed at just the right height for the driver to get a serious bang on the head when standing up from the seat.
When the first Waratah Set was delivered, the RTBU told RailCorp that crew would not operate these trains unless this issue was resolved by the time Set AO9 went into operational service.
Common sense prevailed and the offending equipment was removed from Set AO5 and this process will be complete by the end of March 2012. All new Sets will have this modification completed before entering service.

Before and after pictures of the detrainment ramp:

The RTBU Loco Division has beaten at attempt by RailCorp to extend sectorisation on the CityRail suburban network.

The RTBU challenged RailCorp in Fair Work Australia over its plan to put a stop to requirements for drivers to be rostered outside their regular sector.

RailCorp submitted that sectorisation would save money. However the RTBU successfully argued that removing the requirement for drivers to be rostered outside their regular sector would breach the current enterprise agreement.

While drivers stick to the same sector most weekdays, the current agreement states that rosters are compiled to ensure sufficient trips are included for each driver in each of CityRail’s three sector to maintain road knowledge across the network.

Fair Work Australia agreed RailCorp’s proposal would breach the agreement.

RailCorp’s attempt to limit drivers to working in only one sector would diminish the skills, experience, knowledge of the network and level of interest and engagement of drivers. The Loco Division will challenge any future attempts to introduce change which is in breach of the Enterprise Agreement.

Members should also enforce their legally binding conditions of employment as provided for in their EA.

FWA sectorisation decision

The 3801 steam locomotive, built in Sydney by Clyde Engineering in 1943, has been painstakingly repaired and maintained by full-time, casual and volunteer employees since the 1980s.

It’s a labour of love but for a number of years the employees who work for the company have not received the same pay increases from the EA as other employees. This is despite the understanding / gentlemen’s agreement that any increases from the RailCorp EA would flow on to these workers.

3801 workers have missed out on the last two aligned increases and the subsequent back pay of 3.5 per cent given to other drivers.

Now that the 3801 Ltd is operating a small commercial operation to offset the cost of running the historical steam train operation, the RTBU is calling for a certified EA for this arm of the company.

The Division met with representatives from 3801 Ltd on February 23 and the company agreed to provide a detailed response to these issues before Divisional Committee met on March 7 and 8.

The company did provide the response as agreed and, after discussion by Council, a formal decision will be made at the next Council in June.

In the meantime, a decision was made to approve the creation of a 3801 Sub-Division, with this going to Branch Council in mid-March for ratification. This will mean that in the elections to be called later this year 3801 Ltd members will be entitled to a Workplace Organiser consistent with other Workplace Organiser Elections.

3801 Photo from The New South Wales Transport Museum : www.nswrtm.org