Keolis Downer gets Region 8 Contract

While it remains a sad day when the end of government run transport on the Northern Beaches is in sight, one thing that went our way was that Keolis Downer (KD) were the company to get it. KD runs Newcastle, where the RTBU local delegates have built a solid working relationship and most issues are sorted out at a local level. Delegates are straight up about pushing the interests of their members and the members, in turn, back their Delegates; solidarity and the fear of that unity helps keep things on an even keel.

The RTBU has a road map to get us across the line into the private sector with our conditions intact. The company has agreed to this and both parties ultimately want the same thing- certainty. Drivers want to know that nothing will change going across and the company wants to know that their business isn’t going to explode when they take over.

Our road map means that members should NOT SIGN ACROSS TO THE NEW EMPLOYER until the union gives the instruction to do so.

At every step there is also a stick we can use, and this is one of the biggest. With solidarity from the members, we can make sure that the company sees it to be in its own best interest to work with us, and they’ve already committed to doing so.

Today KD sent us a letter reaffirming their intention to work together and get everyone across the line without being worse off. There can never again be a two-tiered workplace like Region 6 has suffered for the last two and a half years. Regardless of the consequences, the union and its members must stand strong to ensure all workers in the Northern Beaches have good conditions and a strong voice into the future.