Sydney Trains employees offered 13 per cent pay rise

Sydney Trains employees have been offered a 13 per cent pay rise over four years as part of the NSW government’s attempt to resolve a long-running industrial dispute with the state’s rail union.
The offer will include an additional 1 per cent rise in superannuation contributions plus another 1 per cent rise made through savings.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the offer would involve merging Sydney Trains and NSW Trains over the course of the next enterprise agreement.
Ms Haylen encouraged rail workers to support the government’s offer.
“This offer is reflective of the government’s value of them and the role that they play each and every day here in Sydney and across New South Wales,” Ms Haylen said.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen has encouraged rail workers to support the offer. (ABC News: Nick Dole)
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has made a number of demands including a 32 per cent pay rise over four years, a 35-hour work week and an additional 1 per cent in superannuation contributions.
Ms Haylen said the offer included improved conditions which she said would be paid through productivity gains.
“The process of negotiation is give and take. You don’t get something for free,” she said.
“There are amendments proposed to the enterprise agreement that would assist us to pay for these conditions.”
Union seeking details of government’s offer
RTBU NSW branch secretary Toby Warnes said the government had not provided the union a draft enterprise agreement about what it had offered its members.
“We have heard the government is putting the agreement to a vote. We’re not sure how the government plans to do that. We still don’t have a draft document in which our members could consider,” Mr Warnes said.
Mr Warnes said the additional 1 per cent increase the government offered workers would be made through job losses from combining Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.
He said the government’s proposed changes to the enterprise agreement would remove a “significant” safety protection that was put in place by the previous state government.
“We’re incredibly disappointed that a Labor government has come after what is a core safety commitment made by the last government.”
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said the RTBU had rejected an offer to suspend industrial action beginning on Wednesday while workers consider the offer.
“We’ll see increased numbers of services running slower, particularly our intercity and regional services will be affected,” Mr Longland said.
“We’ll see difficulties in managing incidents in the rail operations centre as a result of some of these bans.”