Time to sort out some alternate plans for your Monday commute, as rail workers have voted to go ahead with a 24-hour strike over failure to reach an agreement with the government over improved working conditions.
NSW union members were asked via an SMS poll yesterday whether the offer tabled by the government was sufficient to warrant calling off the planned strike, with less than six percent of the over 6,000 members contacted replying in the affirmative (a non-response was counted as a ‘no’ vote).
The vote also means that workers will continue to uphold their ban on overtime, which will see the number of services on Thursday reduced from 2900 to 1600 and a number of regional services replaced by buses, according to 9 News. The government is asking that people make alternate plans for tomorrow, by either starting or finishing work outside of peak hours or by working from home, if possible.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the government has threatened legal action over the strike, with the Fair Work Commission holding a hearing tomorrow at 3pm.
The Guardian Australia is reporting that law firm Harmers Workplace Lawyers filed a legal complaint with the Fair Work Commission on their own behalf, arguing that their business will be affected because their staff rely on the rail network to get to and from work.
