Sydney prepares strike: agreement prevents closure

Sydney is now back on track after the Labor state government and union bosses managed to agree on one thing: an international city like Sydney couldn’t be left without its vast rail network for a few days.

Stopping the city would be a disaster. This week, the million people who rely on the commuter rail network every day were faced with the prospect of finding other ways to get to work, school, sporting events and music concerts without the relative ease and low cost of train travel.

Sydneysiders were on the verge of finding out what it was like to live in a second-rate city.

Faced with the frustrating prospect of driving their cars through sluggish rush hour traffic or squeezing into crowded buses or ferries, it’s safe to assume that many would give up and stay home.

Business lobby groups said the “economic damage and chaos” from the potential closure, which would coincide with major events including Saturday’s Pearl Jam concert at Sydney Olympic Park and A-League football matches in Moore Park and Kogarah, was “simply devastating ” .

With just over 12 hours to go, the threat to close all services from Friday to Sunday has been thwarted. But the deal isn’t done yet—far from it.

On Thursday, the government agreed to run limited 24-hour train services this weekend in exchange for the union lifting work bans. This buys time for more intensive negotiations.

Now the hard work really begins between unions and members of Premier Chris Minns’ government, which has been adamant it cannot meet the wage demands of the united rail unions.

Asked whether the Government had delayed resolution by two weeks, Transport Minister Jo Heylen said negotiations were an “ongoing process” but Labor had “made good progress”.