The combined rail unions in NSW have called statewide members' meetings from April 19 to discuss the 2010 Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.
RailCorp is offering a 2.5% pay rise and any further rise is to be traded off with reductions in conditions. The unions are asking for 5% and have accused the NSW treasury of taking $17 million out of savings from the last EBA's trade-off of conditions.
RailCorp has made 27 demands including a reduction of paid casual sick days and cutting off full sick leave entitlements at six months before retirement. The most savage proposal is a clause that includes forced redundancies so that workers will literally be thrown out of work with no safety net.
Rail workers and the railways themselves have been under attack from successive state governments, resulting in one of the worst rail systems in Australia. A world class public transport network is needed to reduce carbon emissions by reducing car use. This EBA proposes the opposite and should be fought.