Members, as I write to you, we are now well into the depths of Winter, and we have passed the halfway point for the year.
The Our Roads, Our Skies, Our Future campaign is well and truly underway, and many of you are already amongst it – as part of negotiating teams fighting for a better future, or taking part in your yard meetings or delegates meetings, discussing ongoing negotiations or plans to stand together.
Every week we are cataloguing negotiation progress in our weekly E-newsletter via email, or on our TWU NSW Facebook and Instagram pages, so you likely already know this: That negotiations across road and aviation are ongoing, many several rounds in.
Some employers are being more reasonable than others, but members have stood firm on their core demands for better pay, conditions and expiry dates – reasonable requests that we will stick by.
Over these recent journals, I’ve spoken to you all about the years of relentless, deliberate effort that has gone into aligning over 200 EAs for this year, and shared our core statement with you all. As we get deeper into this year’s negotiations, it’s worth sharing again:
“Transport Workers have aligned over 200 Enterprise Agreements to expire in 2026, so we can take action across road transport and aviation, fighting to lift everyone’s pay and conditions and set better sector standards.”
Our goals:
1. Make Clients Pay
2. Set Better Sector Standards
3. Become More Member-Led
As I said before, 2024 and ’25, as well as the countless legislative reforms, legal wins, and member triumphs that went with them, are now in the rearview mirror. That is not to say that our countless achievements were not historic, and will not be remembered for years to come. Quite the contrary, those victories have helped spur the momentum that we will use to ensure that this year is as successful for transport workers as it can be.
Next month, we will be looking forward to our 2026 Delegates Conference, one taking place at a historic time. And on the topic of time, this year’s conference is built around the following message: Our Time is Now.
Our time is now because after decades of fragmentation, and a race to the bottom across every sector in our industry, this year is the turning point that, through the relentless effort of transport workers, will see us in prime position for 2029, 2032, and beyond – which is why it is critical that we continue to stand together as Winter progresses.
Our time is now because the groundwork that has been laid over years and decades is taking centre stage. Our Roads, Our Skies, and Our Future are all in the spotlight this year.
When the TWU talks, people listen. Why else would the Union have achieved the historic fuel order in the Fair Work Commission that holds clients accountable and makes the industry more sustainable during this time of global fuel uncertainty?
We have earnt that respect over years of fighting together, making the right calls, and standing up for what’s right. And in 2026, we’re doing it again.
Our time is now.
Richard Olsen TWU Secretary