Victoria‘s V/Line network could grind to a halt next week, with workers set to walk off the job for four hours as they ramp up their fight for better pay and conditions.
Early commuters from the regions to Melbourne and back will be impacted by the strike, which will take place between 3am and 7am on Wednesday, December 13, but will likely have a domino affect on later services.
Buses will replace trains during the industrial action, which The Rail Tram and Bus Union announced today.
“Our members are very frustrated, we haven’t made this decision lightly,” Vik Sharma from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union told 9News.
Members want the same deal Metro staff got – a 17 per cent pay rise over four years and a guarantee they won’t lose their jobs if driving a train becomes a job for a computer.
“They want to destroy that industry,” Sharma said.
Chief Executive Officer for V/Line, Matt Carrick said the strike “could potentially disrupt tens of thousands of passengers.”
“We have been negotiating with employee representatives and the union in good faith and urge the union to reconsider industrial action which could potentially disrupt tens of thousands of passengers,” Mr Carrick told SkyNews.com.au.
“We’ll continue to work with the union to deliver excellent employment conditions for our workforce and a better service for our passengers – we will work hard to minimise the impacts of disruption on passengers.”
Negotiations have been ongoing since June, but the decision to escalate the campaign to a state-wide strike comes after V/Line operations staff voted last week, with 93 per cent voting in favour of industrial action.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) claims to have met with V/line following the vote, but both parties were still unable to come to a compromise.
RTBU announced the strike on Monday, stating it had provided V/Line with “ample notice to have the outstanding matters resolved whilst providing travelling public with maximum notice to make alternative travel arrangements for the hours notified”.
While the strike will take place in the very early hours of the morning, V/Line said any reductions in staff availability will significantly impact service delivery.
“The RTBU will continue to meet with V/Line and negotiate in good faith as members would prefer to avoid industrial action if their concerns are addressed,” he said.
“V/Line needs to stop blindly driving this corporate cowboys’ train and listen to its workers.
“We make no apologies in our fight to secure decent conditions for our members.”
(9 NEWS/ SKY NEWS)
