NSW Premier says transport union’s demands amount to blackmail

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Premier's accused the rail union of treating Sydneysiders like "mugs" after hundreds more train drivers and guards failed to report for duty. While today's delays weren't as bad as Friday's, Chris Minns says the union's demands amount to blackmail. But they claim it’s a problem of the government's making.

Transcript

00:00The Premier was at a boxing gym today to observe some friendly sparring, but the gloves came

00:11off soon after with this assessment of the rail union's tactics.

00:15I just think they're trying to play us all for mugs and I think ultimately they think

00:19everybody in Sydney's stupid or that they're getting away with it, but everyone's onto

00:23them.

00:24Weary commuters say the uncertainty's almost as bad as the delays themselves.

00:27I can't handle it really, it's getting annoying.

00:31It actually took me about 45 minutes to wait for the train.

00:35At least 80% of trains ran according to the timetable this morning, but hundreds of services

00:40still had to be cancelled, with 310 drivers and guards failing to report for their shifts.

00:46When there's been a 40 or 50% increase in sick leave that just so happened to coincide

00:51with industrial action and they expect everybody at home, everybody watching the television

00:56to go along with this farce.

00:58That sort of language has an impact.

00:59The community takes their anger out on the people that are wearing the Sydney trains

01:03lanyards on a day to day basis, so I think it's unfair.

01:07The union denies coordinating the staff no-show.

01:10It says the government's threat to dock the wages of employees who run trains at slower

01:15speeds is giving some workers anxiety so they're staying home.

01:19The stress of being served with a lockout notice, the stress of not knowing whether

01:23you can get paid for a day.

01:25The opposition says it's time the Premier talked to the Prime Minister about using federal

01:29powers to intervene.

01:30Ask them to stop this industrial chaos once and for all.

01:36Instead the Premier's betting on a bout with the union in the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday.

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