NIF Update: Another Win for Safety

Dear Members,

We will get straight to the point. Our Legal Team has just finished in the Federal Court of Australia, where NSW Trains made a desperate and last ditch effort to force members to staff a proven unsafe train, and we won.  

In a stunning win for safety, the Federal Court rejected NSW Trains’ application to force changes to working practices and arrangements proposed to allow for the introduction of the New Intercity Fleet (NIF). We are still working through the judgment, but we won on every point: 

Meaning:

• The Federal Court found that changing the working arrangement for Drivers and Guards would be an extra claim and not permitted.
• The Federal Court dismissed in full NSW Trains application meaning they cannot force you to crew the NIF. 

This is a significant win in a fight that we should never have had to have had.

The judgment has only just arrived so we need to wait and see how NSW Trains will react. They have been known to be reckless and unpredictable, so members need to be on high alert for any suspicious activity in relation to NIF readiness activities. If you see something, make sure you let your delegate know. 

Nevertheless, NSW Trains’ have undertaken to not take any adverse action against any worker who refuses to board the NIF. 

The fight for a safe operating model on the NIF is far from over, but we have NSW Trains on the ropes and are prepared to do whatever it takes to finish this fight.