Union Wins Employee Pass Extension!

In a win for common sense, TfNSW has agreed to the RTBU request for an extension of 6 months to employee home and duty passes.

This was originally asked only for Region 6 members to cover the negotiation period where we’ll be seeking to have them included in a new Agreement. Eventually it grew to cover regions 6, 7, 8 & 9. We did try for Newcastle as well but those had already expired so TfNSW wasn’t keen to touch it. This means that in Region 6, ex-STA employee travel passes will now expire at the end of the year, and the other STA regions will have an additional 6 months.

This agreement also extends to Gold Pass accrual, so if you are close to getting over the line, that may help. Members a few months short of a Gold Pass should contact us and the union can raise it directly with TfNSW on your behalf.

Importantly, the extension only covers the local Opal Card part of the travel pass system. It does not extend to point to point passes, family passes or interstate passes. Those will still have to be booked before the previous expiry period, which is the end of this financial year for ex-STA Region 6 employees.

It remains the union position that employees should be covered when travelling to and from work at the least, by travel passes at the employer’s cost. We will be seeking this in all our negotiations from bus and tram operators.