The Sydney Rail, Tram, and Bus Union has rejected the NSW government’s offer and is planning to continue striking. I am fed up with union and their endless disruption.
Sydney commuters stopped caring about what the ‘union wants’ long ago. Commuters have spent too many days standing on platforms in the freezing cold, pouring rain, late at night, or trying to make their way home in the dark while taxi services rort desperate travellers with added charges.
‘That’ll be $30 extra dollars to send a driver and $89 total for a 10 minute trip.’
And if you say ‘no’ that’s it, you’re left standing in the dark in the middle of nowhere in front of an abandoned train station.
Women’s safety? Ha! As if the union cares about all the young women trudging home at night after their train services were cancelled. We were fools to rely on public transport.
‘We recommend you avoid non-essential travel this week. If you must travel on the rail network, please plan ahead and consider using alternative transport if you need to travel during the affected times.’
For those of us that live in the real world, we have to go to work every day. That is essential travel. How hard is it to drive these trains? I’m sure a few of us could work it out if you just leave the trains at the platform.
There is no better argument for private car ownership than the behaviour of the public transport sector. It’s expensive, filthy, unreliable, and lately the only thing blaring over the loudspeaker is the many ways in which they intend to fine you. It’s like a railway brought to you by Orwell’s nightmares.
It doesn’t help the union cause that transport workers driving the trains are paid far more ($100,000 – $160,000) than the retail and hospitality workers ($63,000) trying to get to their jobs in the city.
Let’s not forget that this is happening in tandem with a different union holding up time-sensitive shipments on the docks leaving retailers with freshly delivered Christmas-themed stock a month after the holiday season ends and so on…
Businesses are getting screwed by industry thugs that seem to operate outside the laws that everyone else has to obey.
Frankly, the hard-working businesses of the CBD have had enough of the union and their endless greedy scuffles with the government. They are the fattest fat-cats in town and they use everyone else as pawns in their political games.
Right now, the union can smell blood in the water with the weak Perrottet government surrounded on all sides by Labor. The Rail, Tram, and Bus union thought they could create a little chaos – as they always do – and blackmail the State into giving them ridiculous gifts. It’s continued because Perrottet, like all Liberal governments, is scared of the unions.
Finally, yesterday, we saw the Premier step up and issue a direct threat. Here’s a thought Perrottet, don’t ‘threaten’ to tear up the union’s contract – just do it. Throw it into a shredder on live TV and teach them a lesson. Endlessly extending their deadline to negotiate is like pegging out the tent as a hurricane approaches – pointless. The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union proved this today by calling his bluff and continuing their strikes.
Enough. Get lost. Sack them all and open up the transport industry to the same work ethic as everyone else. There are plenty of people waiting to fill those high-paid, cushy jobs.
We cannot have our capital cities grind to a halt every time the union wants pocket money. And while you’re at it, cut train fares in half. It shouldn’t cost $6.50 to travel two stops less than 3km apart. Bloody robbery.
