‘Extremely close’: Rail unions hand counter-offer on pay to transport chiefs

When he arrived, Murray said he and other officials, including Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland, had agreed to meet and listen to the unions.

“The unions have asked for this meeting. We’re very happy to have this discussion and hear what they’ve put down on paper,” Murray said.

“This is the No.1 priority for the travelling public at the moment to get this sorted so we’ll put the time aside.”

The government has offered rail workers a 14 per cent pay rise over four years, which includes a 1 per cent rise from savings from merging the state’s two passenger rail operators. The RTBU and five other unions’ opening claim last year was for a 32 per cent pay rise over four years.

On Friday, Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the government would consider a counter-offer if it was put in writing, but emphasised that it was pursuing its Section 424 application under the Fair Work Act.

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Haylen has said the “threshold is high” to convince Fair Work to intervene, but the government was preparing evidence to bolster its case of the “incalculable” hit to the economy and community harm. She has also said the 14 per cent rise over four years was a “final pay offer”.

At a hastily convened Fair Work hearing on Thursday, the state’s rail unions were ordered to stop their protected industrial action on an interim basis until a final decision is made at a full hearing this week.

Work bans caused thousands of train services to be cancelled or delayed across the rail network on Wednesday and Thursday.

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