At the sub-branch, it’s been a great pleasure to spend time with so many of you in yards, report back meetings, negotiating committees, game-changing roundtables and forums, and at actions.
At the sub-branch, it’s been a great pleasure to spend time with so many of you in yards, report back meetings, negotiating committees, game-changing roundtables and forums, and at actions.
Last week I joined hundreds of airport workers as they fought to end the Alan Joyce-era job insecurity that’s riddled jobs at Sydney Airport. Among them were many Certis workers who were taking strike action for the first time.
This came just weeks after our road day of action, where across the country thousands of transport workers stood up for better sector standards and better conditions in their own workplaces. With 200 EAs expiring this year – this is the 2026 campaign in action.
Elsewhere in the sub-branch, our bus members are grabbing the bull by the horns, and their relentless efforts over the last several years are coming to a head with the achievement of a historic ruling in favour of Multi-Employer Agreement (MEA) negotiations going ahead, and, importantly, a $200 million funding announcement from the NSW Government after hard-fought TWU advocacy.
Our member-led negotiating committee is now deep in MEA negotiations with the bus companies, and we look forward to sharing more details as we get further in. Bus Delegates from around NSW joined us this week for the latest round of updates. The remainder of these negotiations will be crucial as we take our claims to the wider public and prepare to hold the government accountable as the client in the bus industry. We’ve seen huge victories elsewhere in Transport, including reaching agreements with Toll and Linfox just to name a few, but I know there are more wins to come this year.
Across transport, we’re working to lift everyone’s pay and conditions and put everyone in the driver’s seat for 2029. That will take solidarity and relentless effort, but I know our members are more than capable – they’ve won victories before and can do so again.
Once again, I’m looking forward to continuing to work with you all as we hold employers and clients to account this year, and fight for Our Roads, Our Skies, Our Future.
Robert Rasmussen • Sydney Central West Sub-branch