The negotiations have dragged on for the last 18 months. The 62 controllers, members of the Rail Tram and Bus Union and the Australian Services Union, monitor rail traffic throughout Sydney and to Canberra, Lithgow and Newcastle. The strike will also affect the operation of interstate trains such as the Indian Pacific. The controllers are demanding a 12 percent wage increase but SR has refused to budge from its offer of 8 percent and is also seeking productivity trade-offs, including further cuts to manning levels. Last year SR cut controller numbers by four and is now looking to cut another six jobs.
Controllers say they are already having extreme difficulty meeting the increased workloads.
There are two guys on tonight who have worked 26 days straight. This is getting ridiculous. Following a three-day hearing in the Industrial Relations Commission this week, the union began last minute talks on Friday with SR aimed at heading off the strike. Australian academics take action over pay After a lockout notice from college management, academic staff at the Australian Marine College in Launceston took strike action for 48 hours on Thursday. They are demanding a 4.5 percent wage increase over the next three years.