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NSW trains fight back at industrial umpire

The rail union has called off industrial action during the busy weekend of football fixtures.

The rail union has called off industrial action during the busy weekend of football fixtures. Photo: AAP

The rail union and NSW government are returning to the industrial umpire in a bid to break their long-running stalemate over the safety of a new intercity train fleet and wages and conditions for workers.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) will meet with the government at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Monday for a second day of conciliation talks.

The talks come after the union on the weekend dropped plans to shut down Opal Card readers this week, following a government threat to launch court action over it.

“There won’t be anything this week,” a union spokeswoman told AAP.

The RTBU had planned to leave station gates open as it did last month, but to also deactivate Opal Card readers, preventing commuters tapping on to pay for trips.

The measure reportedly could have cost the government more than $1 million a day.

As part of its campaign, the union recently took Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to the FWC in a bid to keep negotiating a new enterprise agreement and changes to Korean-built trains that have been mothballed for years, with the union saying they are not safe to operate.

Premier Dominic Perrottet declared negotiations were over at the end of August and threatened to terminate the enterprise agreement if there was further industrial action, after weeks of union disruptions to train services.

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens has said the union is doing everything it can to reach a speedy resolution but says the government “is stalling the process at every opportunity”.

Transport Minister David Elliott has been contacted for comment.

– AAP

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