Trammies accept deal with Kennett
By Alex Cooper
MELBOURNE — A mass meeting of members of the Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees Association on February 4 voted overwhelmingly to accept a deal struck between state secretary Lou Di Gregorio and state transport minister Alan Brown. The deal means the end of tram conductors, who will be replaced by ticket machines.
The ticket machines will begin appearing on trams in June. Over the next two years, conductors will be phased out by natural attrition. In return for this, we get to keep our trams after 8 p.m., although some tram services will still be abolished.
According to the February 5 Age, the transport minister is more than happy with the agreement, calling it a win-win situation. Other unions, however, are not so happy, especially considering the month-long dispute in 1990 brought about when the then transport minister, Jim Kennan, tried to do exactly the same thing.
Tram workers put up a militant fight against the attempt on their jobs — at one stage blocking Melbourne streets with empty trams — but the pro-Labor union leadership undermined their campaign.
The rail unions are expected to begin negotiations with Brown on February 11.
Public transport groups expect the Kennett government to close the Upfield railway line on February 20. According to information received, Brunswick Tram Depot is expected to get another six B-Class trams. These are the elongated trams the government expects to cater for a third of the displaced train passengers from the Upfield line.
How the other two-thirds travel does not seem to concern the transport minister, who is refusing to discuss the issue with community groups. Repeated requests have been made for a meeting with him, but he has ignored them and their formal petitions.
However, the community-based fight against the train closures seems to be gaining momentum with several rallies being planned involving all the communities affected by the closures.