Agreement in-principle reached, but ETU blocking vote

This afternoon, the Combined Rail Unions (CRU) reached an in-principle agreement with Sydney Trains and NSW Trains for a new enterprise agreement.

All EA delegates attended the Commission this morning and worked through what the package looks like including the wages package.

The broader CRU delegates then met and unanimously moved a motion to accept the offer on the table and move to a vote of members as soon as practicable.

In the coming days, we will be putting out a comprehensive table of all the new conditions achieved, and the full suite of increases to pay.

The in-principle agreement will see members consider a three-year deal with base level pay increases of 4%, 4%, 4% and 4%, which includes backpay all the way back to 1 May 2024.

Due to the complexity of what your EA delegates managed to achieve this bargain, we will be out in workplaces each day between now and the vote to ensure members understand exactly what is in the new proposed agreement, and what they stand to gain should it be voted up.

There is something in this deal for every part of our industry union which demonstrates the strength of our union and what we can do when we all work together.

However, under the laws that govern multi enterprise agreements, every union covered must agree for a proposed agreement to go to a vote.

Unfortunately, the ETU is blocking a vote by members effectively withholding any pay rise or new conditions that our EA delegates have fought so hard for.

We’ve achieved significant new gains for members across our Infrastructure Division and the Engineering and Maintenance Branch (EMB) – claims our members have been fighting to achieve for many years. Our claims always benefit ETU members and by their actions, they are stopping those benefits from flowing through to their members too.

The reason they are blocking a vote is due to a misconceived claim to create a “new section” for their members, for a purpose nobody understands.

We know you are all thirsty for detail, and we’ll prepare it as soon as possible. Please call your EA delegate if you want a full explanation of what has just happened.

You can find your EA delegate here: https://fightingforourfuture.com.au/delegates