The NSW government has dropped its case against the rail workers' union in the Fair Work Commission and says it hopes the rail network can continue to run on a "COVID timetable" for the rest of the week before returning to full weekday services on Monday.
The decision to withdraw the case followed what Transport Minister David Elliott described as a "full and frank" meeting with union officials today.
Transport for NSW yesterday suspended train services across Sydney, citing safety concerns due to industrial action being planned by the union.
The decision plunged the rail network into chaos, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
The NSW Rail, Bus and Tram Union said today's decision to abandon the Fair Work case came after the union asked to see the "risk assessment" used to justify the decision to shut down the rail network on Monday.
"The risk assessment hasn't been forthcoming," union state secretary Alex Claassens said.
"But just moments after we issued a subpoena for it, the NSW government dropped all of its claims against the union in the Fair Work Commission."
Minister 'comfortable' there was a safety risk
The Transport Minister revealed he personally had not seen the risk assessment by Transport NSW that triggered the shutdown of services.
"They had advised the Premier and I [that] they believed the welfare and safety of communities was in danger," he said.
"I'm comfortable that there was enough risk to safety and welfare of commuters to justify the decision."
Mr Elliott said the government case in the Fair Work Commission had been withdrawn on legal advice, with enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations set to resume.
"Senior counsel have given that recommendation which the government accepts in the interests of not only transparency but also goodwill," he said.
"That will see us working with the union to ensure that we provide them with the certainty they require.
"It is also my hope — and I've put it to the union that with that act of good faith — they will as quickly as possible return to the COVID timetable — that is the enhanced weekend timetable."
Normal services could resume next week
Rail union secretary Alex Claassens said, while planned industrial action would continue, the challenge now was to get the train network back up and running again.
"We've got announcements from the government saying that next week, by Monday, we're going to run a normal timetable — we're fairly confident we can do that even with our protected actions in place.
"I'm not going to make any promises that tomorrow will be any better than today."
Talks between the Transport Minister and the union are set to resume on Thursday.
