Keep Transits on Trains - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

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Safety Matters Work-hour and rest-break protections to be scrapped under new laws The draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) covering hours of work and rest in the new Rail Safety National Law delivers a major blow to the safety and work-life balance of rail workers. National Transport Commission (NTC) draft released this week recommends that the new Rail Safety National Law should not contain prescribed hours of work and rest for drivers. Instead it prefers “operators to establish hours of work and rest through the risk-based approach, subject to consultative provisions and regulatory oversight.” This means the current protective legislation in NSW, fought for by the RTBU, will be overridden. The law as it applies in New South Wales will change and will result in the removal of existing legislated hours of work and rest for drivers. There is also the intention to repeal newly passed laws in Queensland that legislate mandatory maximum shift lengths before they even come into effect in 2013. The bottom line is that if this proposal is passed into law it will lead to a lowering of safety standards. Pressure will mount to increase hours of work and reduce rest breaks to deliver employers greater flexibility, and this will have a devastating impact on workers’ family and social life. In its deliberations RIS did not take into account the impacts on work-life balance, demonstrating that the priority driving the NTC is to increase “productivity” and “flexibility” for employers at the expense of workers’ safety and wellbeing. The existing hybrid approach in NSW, where hours of works and rest breaks have been risk managed within a framework of safety-net hours for various categories of train drivers has worked extremely well. Most developed counties – Canada, USA and UK – also successfully use this hybrid approach. NSW provisions also have an exemption clause for operators who want more flexibility, and special provisions for emergency working. As an indication of how well the system is working, there have only been three applications by employers for more flexible provisions over the last decade. There have also been no complaints from employers, and workers have been able to actively participate in compliance and enforcement because the limits were clear to every one involved in the industry. The other issue of deep concern to the RTBU is that the recommended guidance material for employers is to be based on the model used by the road-freight industry. This model is completely unproven and has not been tried in any railway system or country in the world, and represents a dangerous backwards step from the current best practice regulation to worst practice. The current road-transport model is incomprehensible, with both employers and unions unable to gauge the ramifications of the application of the model to the rail industry. Unions were also not involved in the development of this model, with the NTC refusing delegates and employers the chance to explain their concerns about the guidance material. The option recommended by the NTC will leave it up to operators to decide hours of work and rest without any clear boundaries in a process that will exclude workers and their representatives. What Can You Do? It is crucial that RTBU members become involved in this fight. Your voice and the real story about rail safety needs to be heard by the NTC now because it has relied on academics and experts, rather than front line workers, in its decisionmaking process. The NTC is fast-tracking the consultation process to be ready for the meeting of state transport ministers in May. Page 28 rAIL & ROAD March 2012
Whistlestop Campbelltown Depot Retirements On Friday the 25th November 2011 over 150 friends and work colleagues gathered at the Campbelltown RSL to farewell 11 Train Crew from that depot who between them have accumulated just over 390 years of railway service. Drivers Laurie McDonald, Wayne Proctor, Graham Power, Owen Dunn, Ashley King, Brian Irlam, Garry Allen, Mal Fordham, Phil Westlink and Guard Leonie Bown were fare welled with lots of reminiscing and laughs and a great night was had by all. The Loco Division would like to thank Driver Mark Shrimpton and the Campbelltown Depot Social Club for organising this wonderful event to farewell its workmates. Warren Turnbull On a nice sunny day in January 2012 a road trip commenced led by Retired Life Member Terry Quinn and in the car was a retired Countrylink Manager Roger Mika and the Branch Secretary Alex Claassens. The road trip was a barrel of laughs and ended up in the picturesque Maclean Valley where nestled between the hills was the lovely Mareeba Nursing home our destination. Inside was the man we had come to see, Warren Turnbull (Bullfrog) Retired Life Member from Newcastle who most people would describe as being an absolute champion fellow that never took a backward step when it came to representing the members. Unfortunately since his retirement life has thrown many challenges at the stalwart defender of the members and while he is is in good spirits and looked after in his new home something was missing? Somehow his Life Membership certificate had been misplaced and could not be located, so one day he raised it with Terry (Mother Teresa as he is affectionally known) who immediately said I know someone who can fix that. Several weeks later Alex attended the Taree retired members function organized by Peter Mundy and his team and Terry put the bite on Alex to provide a replacement certificate. Alex of course did not hesitate and advised that he would only provide the replacement if he could personally give it to Warren himself so the road trip idea was born. Warren was very surprised but, extremely appreciative of the visit. The certificate now takes pride of place, on his dressing table in his room where he can see it from all angles. (Warren would also be very happy to see any of his old work mates who may be travelling through the area.) RAIL & ROAD March 2012 Page 29
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Keep Transits on Trains - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

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