Sydney rail commuters are being told to brace for delays tomorrow that could be even worse than the chaos they experienced on Friday. The government's lost its latest legal challenge - in which it accused the union of secretly plotting to cripple the network.
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00:00For commuters craving certainty, today's messaging is sure to bring frustration.
00:08The reality is there is no guarantees tomorrow morning.
00:11Tomorrow may well be fine, but tomorrow may well be worse than Friday.
00:16The government says Friday's chaos was due to staff absences, with the number of drivers
00:21on sick leave up 40% on previous weeks.
00:25While those numbers have been lower over the weekend, Sydney Trains went to the Fair Work
00:29Commission claiming the no-shows were part of a secret union campaign.
00:34Its evidence included a text message from a union convener saying let's f**k the network
00:39up.
00:40The commission found that the government's case didn't stack up in any way, shape or
00:43form.
00:44Last week, the government told workers it wouldn't pay them if they took part in a union
00:49go slow, which involves driving trains at reduced speeds.
00:53The commission found that threat may have prompted staff to take illegitimate sick leave
00:58because they feared they'd lose a day's pay despite showing up for work.
01:02They can guarantee trains running tomorrow by withdrawing the notices of no pay directed
01:10to the union.
01:11The government says it's willing to withdraw the threat to dock wages, but it wants the
01:14union to cancel the go slow, and at the moment that's not on the cards.
01:19Caught in the middle of this back and forth are commuters, and the success or failure
01:23of the network tomorrow will largely depend on the number of rail employees who show up
01:28to work.
01:29We're not going to encourage our members to show up or not show up.
01:33The full bench of the Fair Work Commission will hear the dispute on Wednesday.
01:37That is the hearing which could put a stop to this industrial action.
01:42It's less of a promise, more of a possibility, but it's one commuters have heard before.