NSW Trains Annual Leave Dispute

The RTBU lodged a Step 2 Dispute with NSW Trains following apparent changes to the process for annual leave application.

It had come to light that depots who can request annual leave (as opposed to rotational rostering) had their annual leave restricted to 5 weeks only which is in direct contradiction to the Drivers Rostering and Working Arrangements (DR&WA) Clause 11.5, Clearance of Public Holidays.

Additionally, NSW Trains have sought to allocate annual leave allotments at the start of the fortnight which is also in contradiction of the DR&WA Clause 11. It appears that swapping and splitting of annual leave will still occur in line with the DR&WA conditions however, the allocation of annual leave allotments at the start of each fortnight have proven to be incomplete as leave requests for the fortnight prior to Christmas have been omitted in some instances.

As resolution to this dispute, NSW Trains have acknowledged that more than 5 weeks leave is available as per Clause 11.5, leave can be taken commencing on any Sunday as per DR&WA Clause 11, not necessarily the start of the fortnight. Fortnightly leave allocation will also be adjusted to allow for additional leave availability during the Christmas period.

Loco Division Secretary, Bob Hayden said having clear annual leave provisions is critical for workers.

“Having a clear annual leave process is vital, particularly when you consider how hard NSW Trains members are working. It’s great that the union’s dispute process  has forced NSW Trains to come clean on the leave provisions.”