Sydney and NSW train commuters can expect service delays with rail workers set to strike despite the NSW government trying to block them.
Transport for NSW on Sunday warned the public in a series of tweets that trains would be disrupted by protected industrial action, advising them to allow extra travel time.
Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink intercity services are not running today due to industrial action.
Please avoid travel wherever possible, use alternative modes of transport and allow extra travel time on other modes of transport. pic.twitter.com/YFeQ9VmP6S
— Sydney Trains & NSW TrainLink Info (@TrainsInfo) February 20, 2022
The action planned for Monday by workers at Sydney and NSW Trains is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between the government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union over safety guarantees, hygiene and privatisation concerns.
“The NSW Government filed an application with the Fair Work Commission seeking to cancel our industrial action,” said the RTBU NSW Branch in a statement posted on social media on Saturday, adding the government “backed down”.
“We have a government that is willing to try anything to screw us over, no matter what the cost to taxpayers,” it said.
The union said it would abandon its ban on overtime as a compromise to ensure the strike goes ahead, but vowed to push on with further industrial action planned over the next fortnight.
AAP