Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks will go ahead as planned, after the combined rail unions and NSW reached a last-minute deal before a planned Fair Work Commission hearing this morning.
The government has now withdrawn its Fair Work Commission case that it had filed in an attempt to halt industrial action on New Year’s Eve on grounds of public safety and economic loss.
As part of the agreement, the union won’t start any new industrial action before the end of the year, but existing work bans will continue.
“We have been given undertakings by the rail union that there will be no disruption, no industrial action over the holiday period,” NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said.
“Christmas, New Year and the Sydney Test are too important to the state and I am pleased to report they are now safe as the union has withdrawn their industrial action.”
The RTBU said it would continue some work bans over the holiday period.
“There was never going to be any rail shutdown or any major disruptions on New Year’s Eve and now there certainly won’t be,” RTBU NSW Secretary Toby Warnes said.
“The government and big business community withdrew its case before the Fair Work Commission today, allowing us to continue our industrial action.”
The government and union have clashed in recent days over how much of a threat the planned industrial action posed to the rail network on the busiest night of the year for Sydney’s transport system.
While the RTBU said the idea of cancelling fireworks was an “outrageous” scare tactic, Haylen said there was a very real chance the event would not have gone ahead without a deal.
“With industrial bans in place, we could not provide certainty to business or passengers,” she said.
“That was unacceptable and that is why we have been working to make sure we got to this point today.”
Although the unions said they did not expect any disruptions on the rail network on New Year’s Eve, they did not guarantee a pain-free night for commuters, saying responsibility for trains running smoothly laid with Transport for NSW.
“There is no guarantee for service on New Year’s… we did give a guarantee that we would not affect the safety of commuters, the public or workers on the night,” Warnes said.
The government said the withdrawal of the eight work bans would allow the train network to run without disruption.
While the 11th-hour deal will spare Sydney’s famed fireworks from the chopping block, local commuters still face the prospect of more industrial action in the new year, with the government and RTBU still far from reaching a new pay deal.
Rail workers are demanding a 32 per cent pay rise over four years, which the government says it cannot afford, and would lead to significantly higher train fares.
“We don’t know what their position is on wages,” Warnes said.
“We indicated we are willing to negotiate wages and willing to negotiate any conditions with the government if they will sit down at the table and bargain with us.
“We want them to do this during the festive period. Let’s not wait until the new year before we start talking.”
The government had offered an 11 per cent rise over three years to workers.
