Sydney Ferries workers have confirmed their industrial action will proceed from tomorrow, with Opal card readers to be switched off and turnstiles left wide open across the Sydney Ferries network from Friday 11 September until Tuesday 6 October.
“I offer to personally welcome any doubters from TfNSW or Transdev aboard one of Sydney Ferries’ iconic vessels tomorrow, fare-free, to see for themselves the consequences of their pig headedness,” the MUA Sydney Branch Deputy Secretary, Paul Garrett said.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said attempts by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) executives and Transdev executives to deny the Union’s workforce had a right to take this industrial action would not change the fact that it would ultimately go ahead.
The action to switch off Opal readers and leave turnstiles open is part of an ongoing dispute between Sydney Ferries workers and Transdev, the foreign-owned multinational private operator contracted to the NSW Government, over wages and conditions for ferry workers on iconic Sydney Harbour.
Mr Garrett said the message to TfNSW and Transdev was simple. The dispute has not been resolved and the industrial action is going ahead.
“If Transport for NSW executives have time to front the media on behalf of their private contractor, they’ve got time to fix this at the negotiating table,” Mr Garrett said.
“If TfNSW and Transdev won’t pay workers fairly, we won’t collect the fares at the turnstiles.”
Mr Garrett said commuters should ignore the spin coming from the department responsible for the failed privatisation of Sydney’s ferry services.
“Come out to Sydney Harbour, the best harbour in the world. The turnstiles will be open,” Mr Garrett said in a message to commuters posted on the Union’s social media channels.
“The industrial action is still on as the issues in dispute have not been resolved, ” Mr Garrett explained.
Opal readers will be switched off from 12:01am Friday 11 September through to Tuesday 6 October, meaning passengers will be able to travel on Sydney ferries without paying a fare during industrial action that will run all the way through to the October Long Weekend.
Mr Garrett said the action would ensure that the travelling public did not bear the financial cost of the dispute.
“It’s the beginning of spring, you’ve got a public holiday around the corner celebrating the historic wins of organised labour, and here’s another one – free ferries on Sydney Harbour!” Mr Garrett said.
The MUA said ferry workers had already demonstrated their commitment to keeping Sydney moving through some of the most difficult periods in the network’s history, including the COVID pandemic and the introduction of overseas-built vessels with serious safety and operability issues.
Workers are seeking a 5 per cent wage increase, together with annual wage increases that protect their pay against inflation and the rising cost of living.
Mr Garrett said workers were not prepared to accept a situation where a foreign-owned multinational private operator benefited from a publicly funded transport network while the workforce responsible for delivering the service fell further behind.
“These workers are not asking for anything outrageous,” Mr Garrett said. “They want fair wages, they want their pay protected against inflation, and they want Transdev to recognise the skills and responsibility involved in operating a safety-critical public transport network.”
“The executives can keep spinning the situation to the media, but that doesn’t resolve a single issue at the bargaining table where this dispute will ultimately need to return,” he said.
The MUA said the dispute was a consequence of the former Liberal State Government’s decision to place an essential public transport service in the hands of a private multinational operator.
“Sydney ferries belong in public hands,” Mr Garrett said. “The workers are here, the passengers are here and the public money is here. The only people who seem to be missing from the equation are well heeled Transdev executives who should sit down and make a fair deal with the people who actually operate Sydney Ferries,” Garrett said.
The union said the industrial action would remain in place until the issues in dispute were properly resolved.
