Sydney's Rail Strike Has Been Suspended and Trains Will Run as Usual on Monday

So far, 2018 has been a bit of a rollercoaster for both drivers and patrons of Sydney Trains. Employees have been dealing with problems with overtime and vehicle conditions since a new, more extensive timetable was introduced late last year, and commuters have been directly impacted by this through a string of delayed and cancelled services.

Earlier this week the Rail, Bus and Train Union (RBTU) called for a 24-hour strike on all rail services this coming Monday, January 29 if it could not reach a negotiation with management. The union then announced that it would be placing a ban on overtime, which saw Transport NSW implement a reduced timetable across the long weekend.

Naturally, the NSW Government was not on-board with the strike. The government submitted an application to suspend the industrial action to the Fair Work Commission, which has this afternoon ruled in its favour, citing that the strike threatens to endanger the welfare of Sydneysiders (as seen in the doc below). This essentially bans the union from going ahead with a lawful strike.

#sydneyTrains decision pic.twitter.com/x87Bnjjjna

— Ursula Heger (@ursulaheger) January 25, 2018

"We have to respect the process, "NSW union secretary Alex Claassens said today, as reported by SBS. "We are a law-abiding union. We've always followed the rules, and we will continue to do that."

The order comes into place at 6pm tonight, so it's possible services could resume as usual as soon as this evening. Minister for Transport Andrew Constance has said in a press conference that trains will run as usual on Monday — so looks like you'll be able to go to work, after all. We're still waiting for an official update from Transport NSW, so we'll update this post when we get one.

Via SBS. Image: Wikimedia Commons.