30th November 2017

Rail Workers Vote for Strike Action on Auckland Passenger Trains

Members of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) who work for the French multi-national company Transdev the operator of passenger trains in Auckland on behalf of Auckland Transport, have overwhelmingly voted for strike action as part of their resistance to employer proposals to introduce driver only operation and in support of their claims in collective bargaining.

“We have run a ballot and this returned an 84% vote in favour of industrial action – giving our negotiation team and the Employer a very clear message: unless Transdev abandon their demonstrably unsafe plans to remove Train Managers and Ticket Inspectors from the trains our members will strike, ” said RMTU Organiser John Kerr.

‘’The security and safety implications of getting rid of permanent on-board crews are serious. The railway will become a criminal’s paradise. Uniformed staff deter criminal and anti-social behaviour and it’s vital they are on every train. Furthermore, getting rid of on-board staff endangers the travelling public as these people are first responders in the event of medical emergencies and on-board and trackside incidents. They play a vital role in ensuring passengers are safe,’’ he said.

“Auckland Transport have an ill-conceived plan to deploy so-called Transport Officers on the network but they have limited powers and there will not be enough of them to ensure any given train will have a uniformed staff member on-board at any given time,’’ he said.

“We have been in collective bargaining since May and the sticking point is our claim rejecting driver only operation. We have requested urgent talks with both Auckland Transport and Transdev today to try and resolve this issue through discussion, however our members are resolute: they do not want to inconvenience passengers but they will not compromise public safety,’’ he said.

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