Tram and Bus Express: News and views from life in the bus & tram lanes
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Tram and Bus Express
Friday 13 December, 2019
Dear members,
Firstly, a big thank you to every member who has taken action as part of our campaign to protect our bus services from privatisation. It’s great to see members out campaigning at rallies, at street stalls, and collecting petition signatures.
Every bit counts. At the end of the day, this privatisation will impact your jobs as well as the services of local commuters, so it’s critical we all stand united against the NSW Government’s privatisation plans.
The good news is that that commuters are on our side. They understand that privatisation means longer journey times, fewer stops and cut routes. Commuters deserve a quality public transport system – and privatisation can’t deliver that. We workers also deserve to know that our jobs won’t be shunted off to the private sector.
We need to keep the political pressure up if we’re going to be successful, so please take action where you can and speak to your local delegate about opportunities to get involved.
Together, we can beat this.
While crucial, the fight against privatisation isn’t the only thing those of us in the Tram and Bus Division office have on our plates at the moment. The case to change our eligibility rules is being heard in the Fair Work Commission at the moment and is incredibly important for our union. You can see more about that in the article below.
There's also the new Sydney light rail debacle as well as numerous other issues impacting members.
Thanks again for your solidarity. There’s no doubt that it’s a tough time at the moment, but united, we will win.
We hope you enjoy this edition of the Tram and Bus Express.
In solidarity,
David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers
For your diary: join us!
Eastern Suburbs rally: Saturday 14 December
Join us on Saturday 14th of December, 10am, at High Cross Park, Randwick for a rally to keep our Eastern Suburbs buses in public hands.
RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/705194456636738/
Ryde rally: Monday 16 December
Join us on the 16 of December, 12:30pm, 5-9 Devlin Street Ryde for a rally to keep our buses public. We'll be outside Victor Dominello - Ryde MP's office to send him a message!
Petition to Parliament
Those of you at the Martin Place rally last week would have seen over 11,000 petition signatures, calling for the NSW Government to reverse its privatisation plans, handed over to the Leader of the Opposition, Jodi McKay.
This was a huge moment. 11,000 petition signatures are what is required to trigger a debate in parliament. We’ll keep you posted on the timing around that when we hear.
We’ve got a huge number of petition signatures, but we can’t stop here. The more signatures on the petition we get, the greater pressure we’ll put on the NSW Government.
If you haven’t already, please sign the petition here and ask your family and friends to do the same: https://ourtransport.org.au/take-action/
RTBU: changing the rules to support bus drivers
The RTBU is currently in the middle of a hearing at the Fair Work Commission to change our eligibility rules to ensure that we can continue to represent and support bus drivers across the state.
Getting the rules changed will ensure that there is no question of our ability to continue to represent members in the event that the management of a transport service is shifted from the government to a private entity. It is crucial to ensure that drivers’ wages and conditions are protected today and into the future.
The Fair Work Commission is currently hearing the case for the rule change. The current situation means that unless the eligibility rules are changed, it is contestable that we have the ability to sign up new members when a private operator takes over. It is also letting Transit Systems play games and is currently seeing the RTBU locked out of inductions for new employees – a huge risk to members.
Unfortunately the TWU and the company in region 6 are opposing the move. The RTBU does however have a Memorandum Of Understanding with the AMWU, the ETU, and ASU who are supportive of the RTBU claim. The other Unions know that our goal is not to change things on the ground but keep doing our good work where we always have.
Members will be kept updated on the Fair Work Commission proceedings.
In photos: campaign actions right across the regions
This week saw a range of actions against bus privatisation take place throughout our regions, including street stalls at Maroubra Junction, Port Botany and Bondi Junction.
And keep an eye out for our campaign billboards travelling around the city!
In the media: RTBU claims CBD light rail riddled with ‘safety and design flaws’, The Daily Telegraph
From the Daily Telegraph, 24 Nov: The CBD and South East Light Rail is riddled with at least 11 design flaws and safety issues that could easily result in injury or death, unions claim.
Weeks out from the opening of the $2.7 billion project, the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union said the state government has botched the redesigned Anzac Parade, with glaring flaws at Moore Park and the intersections with Robertson and Alison Rds.
RTBU divisional secretary David Babineau said the pedestrian crossing at Martin Rd has no safety measures for cyclists who have just come from Centennial Park.
He also pointed to a lack of chicanes at pedestrian crossings along the 12km route – measures designed to slow pedestrians and give drivers better control over safety issues.
Click here to see the full article (note - the Telegraph has a paywall)
