Rail, Tram and Bus Union Industrial Action

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-150914

Hansard session: Fifty-Eighth Parliament, First Session (58-1)

Rail, Tram and Bus Union Industrial Action

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (11:20:19):

My question is directed to the Premier. With the Royal Easter Show starting in a few weeks, what measures are in place to prevent chaos for rail commuters if the suspension on Rail, Tram and Bus Union industrial action is lifted early?

Mr CHRIS MINNS (KogarahPremier) (11:20:42):

— I would not fearmonger in the community. That is what Opposition members hope for. They want it to be cancelled. The only hope Opposition members have is industrial chaos, because they are absolutely hopeless in Parliament. They have been shocking all week. I make the point that the full bench of the Fair Work Commission made a decision and a determination about that. The reason it did that is because the New South Wales Government made a decision that it could not hand a blank cheque over to the union. If nurses were taking strike action and we were not paying them, the same rules would have to apply to rail workers. The shadow Treasurer in the other place publicly stated that we should withdraw that industrial instrument and pay them to go on strike. If that happened, what would happen to the industrial situation when it comes to railways in New South Wales? Would there be more strikes or less strikes if the Government was paying people to take industrial action? There would be way more.

This was a decision of the full bench of the Fair Work Commission. I am not going to canvass Federal Court rulings but, at the same time, I am not going to foster fear in the community. We will wait for that decision to be made, but the Government's determination in relation to a reasonable wage outcome for rail employees is sound. In my view, it has been validated by the fact that we have been able to negotiate multi-year award agreements with 60 per cent of the public service, right across the public sector. In other places, we have lifted the wages cap and introduced an independent industrial umpire.