NSW: State gvt backs striking rail workers

AAP General News (Australia)
08-14-2001
NSW: State gvt backs striking rail workers

By Natalie Davison, Industrial Reporter

SYDNEY, Aug 14 AAP - The NSW government has taken the unusual step of backing a group
of striking railway maintenance workers, calling on their employer to protect their entitlements.

The strike by 230 workers at Maintrain is now into its sixth week and could interrupt
train services if it drags on much longer.

Maintrain workers are striking after their bosses refused, during enterprise bargaining
negotiations, to set aside their entitlements in the union-developed trust fund Manusafe.

The dispute is similar to that at Tristar Steering and Suspension, in which workers
were concerned they would be left penniless if the company went belly-up.

While Maintrain management has insisted workers' entitlements are protected by a State
Rail Authority (SRA) bank guarantee, the government has confirmed it has legal advice
showing that is not the case.

Transport Minister Carl Scully, who last week met concerned union officials, has since
issued a press release and has written to Maintrain management informing them that the
entitlements are not protected.

"I am concerned that Maintrain has provided this wrong information to staff and I have
written to the general manager asking that future statements be checked with the SRA,"

Mr Scully said in a statement.

Maintrain management refused to comment on the matter today.

But Mr Scully has urged management to guarantee workers' entitlements without delay.

"This dispute has gone on long enough," he said.

The intervention by the government comes only days ahead of a meeting between Mr Scully
and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) over the impact the dispute is having
on train services and maintenance.

An SRA spokesman said the dispute had not yet impacted on train services.

"It hasn't had any affect yet, it may have an impact eventually," he said.

"We still have adequate supplies to cope with day-to-day running."

He said heavy major overhauls were done by Maintrain, while day-to-day running repairs
was done in-house at SRA maintenance centres.

AMWU state secretary Paul Bastian said it would only be a matter of time before services
were impacted.

Mr Bastian said the government's intervention proved workers were right to be concerned
about protection of entitlements.

"Everyone said the bank guarantee wasn't worth the paper it was written on, and the
minister has confirmed that, and our lawyers have confirmed that," Mr Bastian said.

He said the union had told management they were prepared to negotiate on Manusafe,
but the company refused to put up an alternative scheme.

"We've been prepared to negotiate, they're simply burying their heads in the sand and
are refusing to talk," he said.

The AMWU will hold a mass meeting at Maintrain's Auburn depot tomorrow morning, while
union officials are set to meet Mr Scully on Thursday.

AAP nd/rp/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: MAINTRAIN

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