More Brisbane train disruptions possible as ETU takes action over pay deal
Queensland Railways has warned there could be further disruption to Brisbane’s train schedule on Thursday as another union takes protected action amid ongoing wage talks.
A day after protected action by train controllers from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union caused major disruption, workers from the Electrical Workers Union are also preparing to take protected action.
According to the plan, ETU members will not repair any faults in the network unless there is a security risk.
Trains on the Ipswich/Rosewood line and Cleveland line were disrupted on Wednesday after controllers took action affecting around 300 services throughout the day, according to a QR spokesman.
Queensland Rail general manager Kat Stapleton said those lines would be operational as usual on Thursday but blamed other problems on the ETU.
“The impacts of tomorrow are unknown at this stage, but if there are any unplanned faults the ETU has advised its members not to repair them,” Stapleton said.
He said QR had been involved in six different pay deals since January, covering more than 5,600 employees.
“The combined unions sought more than 500 items in their claims register, many of which far exceeded community norms or what might be considered reasonable, such as pet bereavement leave and birthday leave, 32-hour workweeks, large pension contribution increases and extra annual leave,” he said.
The ETU has been contacted for comment.
Wednesday’s controller action was clouded by the public battle for goodwill between union and employer; The union claimed that the 200 controllers only wanted to influence freight trains, but the state did not allow them to make this distinction.
“Any impact on passengers is entirely self-inflicted and entirely at the discretion of the Queensland government,” RTBU Queensland secretary Peter Allen said.
Stapleton didn’t dispute that story but said controllers should be prepared to do all their jobs.
“We want people to come to work and do their full job, which means delivering to all customers – not just passengers, not just freight, but all of them,” he said outside Central Station on Wednesday morning. he said.
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