But perhaps Claassens can stomach being hated. The long-serving union leader and ALP heavyweight would be well aware that commuter anger will be directed at the NSW government,which is responsible for making sure the trains run,and run on time. As they are left stranded on platforms,commuters are not concerned with the minutiae of an industrial dispute. They just want their trains to turn up.
Services across the rail network were cut by 75 per cent on Wednesday.Louise Kennerley
The government is acutely aware of this,too. With 75 per cent of trains not running on Wednesday,Premier Dominic Perrottet was left no option but to hit the detonate button. It was a belated move,but Perrottet finally called time on the protracted dispute.
Anger has simmered between the union and the government since February,when Sydney Trains shut down the entire network for a day,claiming it would be unsafe to keep it running during planned industrial action over the long-awaited new intercity fleet of trains. That fleet,which has cost the taxpayer $2 billion,has been sitting idle for years.
While the Rail,Tram and Bus Union was raising safety concerns about the new trains,there was probably some public support for its action. The government insisted the fleet had been given a clean bill of health by the safety regulator,but the union warned guards would be unable to keep an eye out for looming accidents on platforms. A safety campaign is much more palatable than one solely for a pay rise.
In May,Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope and Treasurer Matt Kean came out swinging. This only emboldened the union. Their ill-thought intervention also fuelled a brawl within the government. Transport Minister David Elliott threw grenades at his own side,accusing Kean of single-handedly derailing negotiations. Elliott reckoned the union became sceptical of the government after it sent “in a boy to do a man’s job”.
The government eventually caved in and agreed to spend as much as $1 billion on modifying the fleet. That really should have placated the union,if its claims had been genuine. But it didn’t,and after more backwards and forwards,and delays for long-suffering commuters,the rail workers now have another demand – a pay rise above the government’s wages cap. That casts serious doubt on whether the union was ever entirely honest about its motivations.
On Tuesday,Perrottet said the government and Labor were on a “unity ticket” when it came to the industrial action needing to end immediately. This would have infuriated some of his colleagues,who had spent weeks trying to paint Opposition Leader Chris Minns as Claassens’ puppet or,worse,that Minns was encouraging the union action.
The chief spear thrower had been Kean,who used his budget estimates hearing to attack Labor repeatedly over the rail dispute. “When are you going to apologise to the people of NSW,” the treasurer shrieked at ALP committee members,“for the inconvenience you’re causing them through your year of the strike,which we’re seeing today again being waged on the commuters of this state.”
Other frontbenchers,including Roads Minister Natalie Ward,joined in,noting that Claassens is a member of the ALP’s powerful administrative committee.
In any case,Perrottet changed his tune dramatically on Wednesday. No more unity ticket with Minns. Rather,a clearly furious Perrottet pointed the finger at the Labor leader and blamed Minns for having a pivotal role in the dispute that has dragged on for the best part of a year.
The premier then delivered a fierce warning to Claassens and his union:stop industrial action and accept the pay offer that’s in line with other public sector workers or the deal to fix the safety concerns with the intercity fleet will be off – and the government will drag the union before the industrial umpire.
For now,there is likely to be some relief for commuters. No further industrial action is scheduled for at least the next fortnight. But the whole saga is hugely damaging for all sides.
Perrottet and his government still risk bearing the brunt of commuter anger. Labor faces being tarred by the union’s tactics. And the union has played hardball for so long it has lost public support,if it ever had it. No one wins.
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