As industrial action again disrupts services in New South Wales, commuters are encouraged to work from home or find other transportation.
August has been marked by rising industrial action by the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union.
Workers are participating in six-hour strikes depending on their regular work location, but the union is enabling the government to use workers from other locations to operate at a reduced capacity.
The Bankstown, East Hills, and Southern lines in south-western Sydney will be impacted by the strike on Wednesday, according to Transport for NSW.
As a consequence of industrial action by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, services on the T2 Inner West & Leppington, T3 Bankstown, T8 Airport & South, and Southern Highlands lines will be drastically cut, according to a statement from Transport for NSW.
Last week, the T4 Eastern and Illawarra line was affected by a similar strike.
The industrial action is part of a protracted dispute between the union and the government about a fleet of intercity trains that have been stored since 2019.
The union contends that the Korean-made trains are not yet operationally safe and need modifications.
In May of last year, the collective bargaining agreement covering worker pay and conditions expired, and the administration has been pushing to connect the two concerns, making an agreement on one subject contingent on the other.
Alex Claassens, secretary of the RTBU in New South Wales, claims he has already signed a contract for the end-of-June train adjustments.
In a meeting with government officials last week, he was informed that a deed would be available early this week.
Mr. Claassens said on Tuesday, “It is now fair to presume that they will not utilize the deed that I signed… obviously the attorneys are doing their work on it.”
Mr. Claassens said that the strikes would continue on Tuesday and Thursday of the next week unless a contract to repair the trains is provided and approved by members before then.