Relief as last-minute crisis talks keep trains on track – Associated Press Australia

Trains will continue to operate across New South Wales – at least for the next few weeks – after crisis talks and a major government concession averted strikes.

Trains from Newcastle to Wollongong and via Sydney were expected to remain idle from Friday morning until Sunday evening as a wage dispute between the State Government and rail workers escalates.

The largest rail shutdown in living memory would have wreaked havoc on commuter service and cost an estimated $50 million in damage to the economy.

But late on Thursday, rumors of a short-term peace deal leaked from talks between union heavyweights and the government onto platforms and carriages.

The Labor government has partly agreed to the railway union’s demand for trains to run 24 hours a day this weekend in exchange for lifting work bans.

Some queues will run until Thursday evening, many until Friday evening and most until Saturday evening – music to the ears of Pearl Jam and A-League ticket holders.

“It’s not the entire network, so we can still carry out routine maintenance and the bans won’t apply,” Transport Minister Joe Heylen told reporters.

The 109 work bans, including travel restrictions for crew members, have increasingly disrupted network operations in recent weeks.

They will be lifted while the parties engage in two weeks of intensive negotiations in an attempt to reach a full agreement.

In a message to members, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said the government had “gave in” to prevent the “catastrophic closure (sic) that the media (have been hyping up) all week.”

“This is by no means the end, but it is now truly close,” the bulletin said.

Premier Chris Minns and NSW union secretary Mark Morey played key roles during the final 48 hours of negotiations, which the premier suggested were interrupted only by sleep and time for parliamentary questions.

“I apologize that it has taken so long, but these are long, very difficult and complex negotiations,” he said.

Mr Minns denied his involvement cast a bad light on his minister’s abilities.

“We’re a team—when I need a breakthrough, I call Joe,” he said.

The deal comes amid demands from the United Railroad unions for an eight percent annual wage increase – among nearly 250 demands.

The government says anything more than 11 percent over three years is unacceptable.

“Chris Minns says intensive negotiations will begin today – what the hell has been going on for the last six months?” Opposition Leader Mark Speakman made the announcement on Thursday evening.

“It was only when the opposition and the media shamed (him) into action that he finally agreed to meet with the union.”

Services operated around the clock over the weekend to avoid shutdown orders.

Transport officials have tried to draw a line in the sand in recent days, emphasizing that maintenance failures make it unsustainable in the long term.

An analysis released Thursday found the three-day strike would cause at least $50 million in damage to businesses.

The train network transports more than a million people a day.

A strike would affect many of the 700,000 retail and hospitality workers who would not be able to work from home, unlike white-collar workers.

Business Sydney said some members had already faced booking cancellations due to the threat to public transport.

“It’s good that the railway union and government have stepped back from the brink,” said chief executive Paul Nicolaou.

“However, this week’s threat of strike action should never have reached this alarming point.”