Queenslanders commuters could soon be facing significant delays as hundreds of rail maintenance workers were told not to show up for work if they intended to strike.
This is far from the first industrial action taken, as negotiations between the government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) have seemingly broken down.
Why is this happening?
The government and the RTBU have been unsuccessfully negotiation a new enterprise agreement for months. Queensland Rail’s offer of an 8% pay increase over 3 years was rejected by the RTBU last week, with branch secretary of the Queensland RTBU insisting that the union had given enough notice about the industrial action.
For their part, Queensland Rail alleges that they have improved on the deal previously on the table, which the RTBU called a “carbon copy” of the original agreement.
The Fair Work Commission has called both parties for an urgent mediation on Thursday, May 7 to work out a solution.
Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg was adamant that strikers would not be paid.
Which services will be affected?
Starting today, Tuesday, May 5, weekday services will be significantly reduced by 20%, running on a similar schedule to that of Saturdays.
With 273 fewer trains on weekdays, the Caboolture, Cleveland, Ferny Grove, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Redcliffe Peninsula and Springfield lines will be running about every 15 minutes during peak hours.
Worse, the Beenleigh, Shorncliffe lines, and trains between Doomben and Eagle Junction, Rosewood and Ipswich, and Nambour and Caboolture will be running every 30 minutes. Most trains will present this delay outside of peak hours as well.
Of course, this will also mean busier trains overall, so we advise you to plan ahead and leave with plenty of time, just in case.
As of yet, we don’t know how long this will go on for, as it depends on the negotiations happening later this week. You can stay updated here.
