As part of four days of strike action the following week, NSW train drivers would slow down and refuse to run trains made abroad.
The administration called off a meeting that was scheduled for Friday, according to the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union.
The meeting with transportation authorities and government ministers, which had already been postponed numerous times, was canceled, according to RTBU secretary Alex Claassens, who claimed to have received the call late on Thursday night.
The NSW government’s continued political game-playing at the expense of workers and commuters, according to Mr. Claassens, is “beyond sad.”
He claimed that throughout the protracted negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement since the previous one expired more than a year ago, workers have been acting in good faith.
All we want for, Mr. Claassens added, is for the government to act on the workforce and basic safety issues that have been on our minds for many months.
The strike is set to start on Tuesday with a go-slow movement in which drivers won’t go faster than 60 km/h.
Members would only be permitted to work from their existing depot on Thursday and would be prohibited from returning to the train operations center on Wednesday. Work related to Sydney Metro would also be prohibited on a permanent basis.
Members will refuse to operate foreign-built trains on Friday, putting new trains that had been put into operation since 2011 out of commission.
According to Mr. Claassens, the statewide action was mandated by the breakdown in negotiations with the state administration.
The NSW government, particularly some ministers, “seems focused on driving us into that situation,” he said, adding that “we never want to have to take industrial action.”
“Taking action to fix the trains is the single most crucial problem for us.” We desire secure trains.
The protest was in response to cleaners on NSW trains refusing to clear hazardous garbage from the network as they went on a “indefinitely” extended strike last Thursday.
The union criticized the NSW transport authority for denying employees access to all the tools they needed to safely clean up deadly messes left on trains.
To make up for handling the hazardous waste and garbage, cleaners request an additional $2.60 per hour.
Hazardous waste, according to the union, comprises toxic substances, needles, bio-waste, and other noxious and unhygienic byproducts like vomit, blood, feces, and urine.