| This has been another very active week at your union. Over the last several days, we’ve spent time with members from Aviation, Majors & Retail as well as Waste, advancing the mission of 2026 – Our Roads, Our Skies, Our Future, and working to stop the race to the bottom. Firstly, as I write to you, we are carefully monitoring the situation at Victoria Pass on the Great Western Highway, which the NSW Government has now confirmed will be closed for some months. We’ve consulted with the Government and understand that Transport Staff are already placed at the bottom of Bells Line of Road at Lithgow to provide assistance to trucks returning to Sydney, including a heavy tow if necessary. This has been used over 30 times to date. We know what conditions can be like at that end, so please continue to prioritise your safety. All-in-all, the closure will likely impact freight delivery times by roughly 30 minutes. This morning, big news came out of Team Global Express Bungarribee, where members moved to endorse their wages claim as we move further into the depths of the year. The trailer fleet joined them this afternoon. With over 200 Enterprise Agreements expiring across transport this year, members across transport are working in lockstep to support each other and fight for fair agreements. |
Also today, we welcomed many of our Waste Delegates to TWU Minchinbury where we discussed developments in the industry and recent outcomes from bargaining, such as the great outcome recently seen at Remondis St Marys.
Assistant Secretary Marija Marsic also joined us to discuss safety in depth, particularly the actions of Cleanaway.
Waste Delegates have stood together and rejected any attempts to sew division as we fight to stop the fragmentation in this sector. In waste, like elsewhere, we’re fighting to arrest the race to the bottom with minimum sector standards in 2026 and 2029.
Earlier this week, I also joined Aviation Delegates from NSW and across the nation as we went to Canberra and spoke directly to leaders about the urgent need for a Safe & Secure Skies Commission.
More on this is below.
In unity,
Richard Olsen
TWU NSW Secretary
TWU Aviation Delegates from Around the Nation Speak Truth to Power in Canberra.
This week, Aviation Delegates from NSW and across Australia descended on Canberra with TWU Aviation officials and Leadership for a series of meetings in Parliament about the future of the aviation sector, and the crucial need to implement a Safe & Secure Skies Commission in order to make it sustainable.
Delegates from Certis Security, dnata and more spoke to Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum about the realities of their experiences in a sector that has been brutally supressed by fragmentation and a race to the bottom, delivering markedly worse outcomes for workers and passengers alike over the last decade.
The TWU’s series of recent wins in aviation are the momentum members are using to continue fighting for minimum standards in the sector.
Secretary Richard Olsen said:
“It was a privilege to join members from all over the aviation sector in Canberra this week, and to secure the support of many politicians for a Safe & Secure Skies Commission. We have fought giants, and will continue to fight, until this sector becomes sustainable for everyone. Workers, and the general public, deserve nothing less.”
