NSW Trains & Sydney Trains EA 2021: Your Log of Claims

Dear Members,

As we launch into the 2021 bargaining round for the Sydney and NSW Trains Enterprise Agreements, it is worth looking back on what it took to get us to this point.

It has not been easy. NSW and Sydney Trains have put up a range of barriers to avoid bargaining with members.

They started by trying to convince workers to accept 0.3% to roll over your Enterprise Agreements which members resoundingly rejected.

Then, NSW and Sydney Trains actively ignored their commitment to respect their employees’ wishes and the integrity of the vote and once again tried to kick bargaining down the road by refusing to bargain.

Members once again had to step up and as a direct result of thousands signing the Majority Support Determination, NSW Trains and Sydney Trains capitulated and finally agreed to come to the table.

The commitment to bargain, of course, came with more games. NSW and Sydney Trains then advised that they want to split us by bargaining separately – at different times, and in difference places! RTBU Members are not easily fooled and saw this tactic for exactly what it was, a deliberate attempt to divide us.

Then on 26 May, the Combined Rail Unions put to NSW and Sydney Trains that they shared a “single interest” and should therefore be bargaining together, for a single agreement. The Unions indicated that this was their first claim, and that members were willing to fight for it. NSW and Sydney Trains were invited to a meeting with EA delegates on 3 June – however both organisations refused to meet.

NSW and Sydney Trains members work together to deliver an essential and vital service to the community. It is the firm view of the EA Delegates Committee and your RTBU representatives that the best mechanism to do this is negotiating one agreement across both NSW and Sydney Trains.

We work together to keep NSW moving, and our Enterprise Agreement should reflect what happens on the ground. Members have told us this is important, and this is what we will fight for.

On Thursday, 3 June, your EA Delegates endorsed the RTBU Log of Claims for both Sydney and NSW Trains reflecting our commitment to stick together.

You can find a full copy of your Log of Claims right here.

The final Log of Claims is drawn from thousands of responses from members and extensive feedback from your Delegates. It includes changes, clarifications, and improvements for every rail worker covered by the NSW and Sydney Trains Enterprise Agreements.

This is not going to be an easy negotiation and we will, as always, fight for the best outcomes for every RTBU member.

We will be in touch as things progress.