Chapter 6: - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

*On Wooden Rails Chapter 6 8/30/05 8:50 PM Page 219
A Few Good Women
The following selection of women
currently on the job has been chosen
to illustrate both the diversity of
women’s work within the rail
industry, as well as touch on some of
the issues that may be unique to
women workers. Many of these
issues are likely to take on greater
significance as women occupy an
increasingly diverse range of
occupations within the industry and
the unions representing these
workers.
It would not be surprising to see
some of these women take on full-time roles within the
union, as did Eileen Powell, and more recently Sallie
Higgins. Sallie continues to push boundaries in the
industry, first gaining the respect of her co-workers as a
freight driver in the Hunter, then as an organiser in the
Locomotive Division of the RTBU, and representing
members on the union decision-making bodies at state
and national levels. Most of the women here are
similarly trailblazers or pushing the boundaries of their
chosen jobs.
One distinction that can be made about many women
joining the railways, in contrast to many of their male
counterparts who previously joined as first-job seekers
following a family member, or accidentally or as one of
the few secure jobs available, women are choosing the
railways as a career. These women are coming to the job,
not as inexperienced youth, but as older experienced
workers who have done other jobs and have consciously
chosen to seek a career in the industry.
Cleaning Up Our Mess
Diane Seymour – Carriage Cleaner
Diane is a carriage cleaner at RailCorp’s Mortdale
depot. She is the union delegate on the job, and a young
single mother. In her short time on the job she has had a
taste of difficult management, being sacked and then
reinstated, as well as some frustrating moments around
union matters.
Before joining the railways as a ‘rover’ in 2000, Diane
had worked in a number of retail jobs after leaving
1 Interview with Diane Seymour, July 2005
On Wooden Rails - Celebrating 150 Years of Work on the NSW Railways
Diane Seymour
school. The prospect of more stable
work with better conditions led her
to apply for a guard’s position,
which was unsuccessful. She was
later contacted and offered the
position of a ‘rover’ train cleaner.
This involved four-hour shifts,
travelling on designated trains and
cleaning loose rubbish in the
carriages. “You would ride a train,
clean it then get off. For example
you might start at Hornsby, move
through and clean, then get off at
Pymble.”
She was later offered the same ‘roving’ role on the City
Circle, on 6-hour shifts for five days per week on a
rotating roster. It was here that she came into conflict
with one of her supervisors, who she eventually wrote a
letter of complaint about, only to be sacked a week later
for ‘performance and attendance’ reasons. In response to
a situation that she considered simply as ‘unfair’, and
having had no previous experience with unions, she took
the matter to the RTBU. The union organiser, Andrew
Baker pursued the matter with management and had
commenced arbitration proceedings, when management
offered to reinstate Diane.
This initial and positive experience with the union
encouraged Diane to nominate as union delegate at her
new work location at Mortdale Depot. The depot
employs approximately 120 workers, 30 of which are
carriage cleaners. In the intervening period she took
maternity leave to give birth and care for her son, Luke.
When she returned to work, she was more alert of some
of the poor conditions and the fact that the incumbent
union delegate didn’t seem to be doing a lot to change
the situation.
As Diane describes it, “there was a lot of bullshit with
management, there were rostering concerns, some
health and safety issues, and people were as angry with
the union as with management for doing nothing about
it. I have a basic belief that you have to stand up for
what you believe in, and fight for what is right and fair,
whether it is with management or the union.” 1
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