Advanced Studies in Industrial Relations: Role of RTB Union in Sydney Rail Workers' Pay Rise Dispute

This report critically analyses the role played by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union in the Sydney rail workers' pay rise dispute. It examines what they did well and what they could have done better, with reference to relevant theory and scholarly research literature on the role of unions and union behaviour. The report also discusses the implications of the RTB Union's role for the continuing relevance of unions in contemporary Australian society.

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Advanced Studies in Industrial Relations
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Table of Contents
Advanced Studies in Industrial Relations........................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
What RTB Union did well...............................................................................................................7
What the RTB Union Should Have Done Better.............................................................................8
Implications of RTB union’s role in this dispute for the continuing relevance of unions in
contemporary Australian society.....................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Advanced Studies in Industrial Relations
Introduction
Critically analyse the role played by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union. From a tactical
perspective, what do you believe they did well and what could they have done better. Justify
your perspective, with reference to relevant theory and scholarly research literature on the role of
unions and union behaviour.
The Rail, Tram and Bus union caused chaos in the streets of Sydney demanding for a pay
rise in their salaries. The chaos temporarily interrupted the commuters of the train from using the
trains to move to different places in Sydney. The aim of the report is critically analyse the roles
which had been played by the RTB Union and the implications such roles had in Australia. The
union is entrusted to cover all the employees in the rail, tram and bus industry. It was formed due
to the consolidation of the Australian Federation union of Locomotive Enginemen, a small union
of Railway Workers, Australian Railways Union and the Australian Tramways and Motors
Omnibus Employees Association (Pelling, 2016). The Rail, Tram, and Bus union were primarily
formed to protect and hence defend the rights of the members of the union, and it, therefore,
acted as one strong, unified voice in their dealings with the private operators and the
government. Further, the union is affiliated to a variety of other unions such as the Transport
Unions Federation, Australian Labor Party, International Transport Workers Federation and the
Australian Council of Trade Unions. The fundamental role played by the Rail, Tram and Bus
Union is to represent and provide support to the members by protecting their interests through
the services they offer.

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Overview of What Caused Chaos
The NSW rail workers had caused chaos in Sydney demanding for a pay rise in their
salaries, and this affected the transport sector for about six weeks. However, on a Thursday, the
Fair Work commission ordered all the rail workers to return to work and suspend their strike.
The commission claimed that the strike would typically affect the different individuals who
relied on the train for transport and also that there would be increased congestion on the roads.
The RTB union was involved in the negotiation with the government on strike for a pay rise in
the rail workers salaries for six weeks (Hunter, 2017). However, during the negotiations, the two
parties only reached on the deal relating the working conditions of the workers. According to the
secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, he also agreed with the governments' package and
that of the umpire's decision.
It was claimed that the dispute was all about the working conditions of the rail workers
and not a pay rise as made in the media. The rail workers initially were working overtime and
hence demanded high pay. The package offered to the seven unions by the Sydney Trains
constituted an extension of free travel using the opal cards, one-off $1000 payment and a 2.75
percent annual pay rise. The total package was now about 3.45 percent a year increase. The
workers, however, rejected the package and demanded a six percent pay rise and an improved
working condition (Edelstein, 2017). The suspension of the industrial action according to the
union would do very little in resolving the problem at hand. After the union members had
refused to take the offer, the NSW and Sydney Trains management tabled an offer for the Rail,
Tram, and Bus Union to stop the industrial action. However, they rejected again, and the
secretary of the union claimed that their members had overwhelmingly voted against the offer
and hence the industrial action would continue as planned.

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After consultation with the government, the leaders of the RTB Union declared that it
will always comply with the rulings of the Fair Work Commission and this was however against
their roles as a union which was to protect the interests of the members. The rail workers put
numerous angry comments on the Facebook page of the union. They felt that they had been
betrayed by their leaders and most of them were compelled to resign as members of the union.
Additionally, the members wanted a new organization to be formed to help fight for the interests
of the rail workers (Hunter, 2017). The main role of RTB Union was to protect the rights and
interests of the workers typically. In a bid to achieve such a goal, the members signed a deal to
the right for better pay and good working conditions. Such a bid was supported by other unions
such as the Electrical Trades union and the affiliates of CRU.
According to the EA agreement, all the rail workers would be forced to leave without pay
in a crackdown on sick leave, the contract and casual labor in all the networks would be
expanded and this would be done forcefully. The agreement also advocated for the closure of
operational facilities of the rail workers. The workers, therefore, had to break up with the RTB
Union since it was in no position to fight for their rights (Edelstein, 2017). Also, a variety of new
organizations of struggle had to be formed which would constitute the file and independent rank
committees. Such committees would help in the unified control and coordination of the political
and industrial campaign for the workers. Also, there was the need to oppose the corporatism of
the unions which had previously failed in the fight for fairness and interests of the rail workers.
The opposition of the unions was considered as a new political vehicle whose aim was to refuse
the subordination of the public transport by a section of financial elites.
Roles Played by RTB Union

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Based on the scenario, the RTB Union played the role of betrayal in the fight against low
pay and harsh working conditions for the rail workers. The workers had initially voted against
the 2.75 percent offered by the government on claims that it was small and they needed a 6
percent pay rise and good working conditions (Hassel, 2014). Instead of RTB rejecting the offer,
the leaders of the union went ahead to negotiate with the government and later accepted the
package offered to them, and this was against the objective of the union. They also played the
role of protecting the interests of the members at some point of the industrial action. For
instance, when the government first offered the package, they had to mobilise their members
through voting to reject the deal.
Another role was on negotiating on behalf of the members of the union with the
government. However, it turned out that they did not have the interests of the rail workers at
heart. The RTB Union also played a fundamental role in looking into the suspected breaches of
the discrimination laws and the workplace safety laws. The union played such a role through the
organization of industrial action for 24 hours, and this, therefore, paralyzed the transport sector
in the New South Wales.
Further, the union played the role of being in a position to resolve workplace matters
such as the poor working conditions and low pay to the rail workers. Such a role was done by
being the voice of the employees and acting as the bargaining representative during the
negotiations for the pay rise (Benassi & Dorigatti, 2015). During the negotiation with the
government and the fair work commission, they negotiated for change and other matters
affecting the workers on behalf of them, and this formed their primary role during the industrial
action. Besides the above mentioned roles by RTB Union, they also saved the time for the rail

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workers through collective bargaining. The above role was played by saving the workers from
using their time and money to negotiate for better working conditions and pay rise.
According to Reinecke & Donaghey (2015), RTB Union additionally played a role of
aiding the union members, and this was to ensure that the rail workers would be protected from
sacking by the employers and being treated fairly. The reduction in the turnover rate was
typically aimed at enabling the union members to secure a guaranteed pension and also to keep
the members contented with the pay to be in a position of doing their jobs satisfactorily.
However, in as much as the Union played their part during the industrial actions, there
are certain roles which they failed to display (Okamoto, 2017). For instance, they failed to work
with their employers who are the union members to resolve some of the labor issues which had
been raised by the members.Initially, the union leaders had rejected a pay rise which they
considered very low, but later when they were negotiating for the second time, they unanimously
accepted the offer. In the above instance, the members were never involved. The deal they
secured was not a win-win for everyone in the union.
What RTB Union did well
Lawrence (2016), argues that as a union, RTB union did well by acting as a bargaining
representative during the bargaining negotiations on behalf of the rail workers. They negotiated
on better working conditions and pay rise for the workers and this they did well up to some point
when they gave in to the demands of the government which was also fighting in favor of the
public wage policy. Another key thing which the union performed well was on being an advocate
for the rail workers and this achieved by calling for an industrial action to fight for the protection
of the interests and concerns which were relating to pay rise and proper working conditions
(Greene & Kirton, 2015). When the government first offered the union a 2.75 percent pay rise
package, they rejected, and this was a good sign that they were indeed advocating or the

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demands of the rail workers even though they later complied with the pressure from the fair work
commission and the government.
The union also did well by bowing to the pressure from the government for the 2.75
percent pay rise. A pay rise above that which had been offered by the government and fair
workers commission would have led to going against the wages public policy (Culpepper &
Regan, 2014). The other workers in the other sectors would have also called for industrial action
demanding for high pays, and this would have further resulted in inflation and hence the high
cost of living for the ordinary citizens of New South Wales.
What the RTB Union Should Have Done Better
Based on the scenario, the Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union should have involved all the
members of the union by seeking their opinions before making the decision of accepting the
offer provided by the government. That way, there would have been no resentment and nasty
Facebook comments on their made (Thompson, 2017). Additionally, the members would have
not resigned from the union to form certain new organizations. Apart from the above mentioned
thing which they should have done, the union should have also ensured the employers of the rail
workers meet the minimum obligations as stipulated in the Australian employment law. To
achieve such an objective, they should have rejected the package offered to them by the
government until the demands and issues raised by the members have been taken into account.
That way the interests and hence welfare of the rail workers would have been protected from
violation by both the fair workers commission and the government in place (Galbraith, 2015).
According to Waterman (2016), before the acceptance of the package which had been offered by
the government, the union should have first of all looked into some of the suspected violations of
the laws such as workplace safety laws, discrimination laws, and the workplace laws. By
checking the breaches of such laws, the union would have made better negotiations on behalf of

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the members, and hence they would have satisfied the interests of union members. Another thing
that the RTB Union should have done better should have been to work together with the
management of the union to assist in resolving the workplace issues which had been raised by
the members such as pay rise and good working conditions (Mayo, 2014). In the case, the union
did not work with the management as is expected of them and this is attributed to the fact that
there was disunity on whether to accept the 2.75 percent package which had been offered by the
government. They, therefore, failed to protect the interests of the members.
Implications of RTB union’s role in this dispute for the continuing relevance of unions in
contemporary Australian society
According to Toubøl & Jensen (2014), one of the critical implications of the role which
had been played by the RTB Union was the formation of strong organizations which could fight
vastly for the rights of the members. Unlike the RTB Union whose leaders failed to negotiate
properly on behalf of the rail workers, there has been the formation of different unions with
leaders of integrity who accepted to fight for the rights of the workers in Australia. The other
implication was on the management policy (Gall, 2017). The implication is divided into three
categories that are the absence of flexibility in union systems, and this was witnessed in the RTB
Union where the management was seen to be conservative and hence could not see the sense of a
high pay rise and good working conditions.
In most of the workplaces which have unions acting on behalf of the workers, there exists
fixed wages and wage compression unlike in the workplaces without the unions, and there are
more chances that there is like to be the adoption of various contingent and incentive pay
systems. The other category is which typically put a lot of focus on the efficiency that comes due
to the existence of a union and hence there is usually the formalization and standardization of
management policy (Nissen, 2016). A lot of unions have therefore been formed in the country

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due to the benefits attributed to them such ass efficiency in the performance of different tasks in
most of the organizations.
The other implication has been on the recruitment and selection practices by firms in Australia,
and the focus has been on the roles played by the unions (Gereffi & Lee, 2016). For instance, the
organizations which have unions fighting for the interests of the employee have been seen to
adopt just a few recruitment techniques such as the referrals and agencies. This is unlike the
companies without the unions who use many methods of recruitment while hiring their workers.
According to Lange, Ross & Vannicelli (2016), the employment tests form the
fundamental method which the unionised firms use during their recruitment of new staff, and this
has the effect of formalization of the management decision making. The workers are involved in
decision making by the management to avoid cases of industrial action which had been
witnessed earlier. The effect of the role which was played by RTB Union was, therefore, the
formation of the workers union n most of the organizations in Australia since they played a key
role in the decision making by the top level management.
There has also been the positive impact on the workplace training and development in
most of the organizations. For instance, the workers have obtained a lot of benefits from the
training which are conducted by the unions, and this is unlike in the firms without unions where
training is done through favoritism and nepotism (Tóth, Hermann, Da Silva & Montanarella,
2016). The unions have been considered to be playing certain key roles in training decisions.
Further, the role which had been played by RTB Union during the industrial action has
had an implication in the performance appraisals and promotion such that the promotion
procedures have become more formalized unlike in the past where it was informal, and
individuals would just be picked up without following the proper channel (Tapia, Ibsen &

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Kochan, 2015). A lot of the organizations in Australia have adopted a formalized method of
promotion, and this has been on the basis of good performance by the workers.
There have also been the implications on the labor management relations such that in all
the human resource management, an individual who understands the labor-management relations
is appointed to spearhead for the rights and the interests of their fellow workers. Also,
organizations have joined various unions to comprehend certain issues pertaining to the labour
management relations (Connolly, Marino & Lucio, 2014). Another effect based on the roles
which had been played by RTB Union has been on the creation of divisiveness in the labour
unions, and this has been attributed to the fact that leaders tend to be selfish thus fight to get their
share of the package leaving the workers without protecting their interests.
Payton & Woo (2014), argues that there has been the implication on the pay and
incentive system in most of the organizations such that there has been a reduced possibility of
workers being paid variable. A lot of the employees now have their wages raised based on the
level of performance and the also the overtime work done. It is therefore concluded that the
unions formed have helped secure a fair pay and good working conditions for the members in
Australia. Arguably, workers interest have now been protected by the newly formed unions.
The change in the organizational climate and culture is another implication of the roles
which had been played by the union during the industrial action. Such a change in the
organizational climate has resulted in a more structured communication between the workers and
the management at the top level (Australia, 2017). The structured communication has enhanced
performance and the rise in satisfaction of the employees who carry out their tasks effectively.
The safety and health of the workers have been at the forefront of the unions, and this has widely
contributed to the conducive environment in the workplaces for a variety of organizations.

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According to Saundry, Latreille & Ashman (2016), there has been an implication on the
amount of voice and communication of the unions in Australia, and hence they are still relevant
in the nation. The voice of most of the unions has been the desire to enhance workers satisfaction
and also to improve on the level of efficiency of the workers. Noticeably, unions have had the
desire to prevent unnecessary lawsuits which are considered to be costly and results in employee
discipline and hence the sacking typically without the presence of the workers' voice in every
particular organizations in the country (Chan & Hui, 2014).
Conclusion
In summary, the Rail, Tram and Bus Industry played a certain significant role during the
industrial action while demanding for a pay rise and good working conditions. For instance, they
negotiated during the collective bargain agreement on behalf of the members of the union and
this resulted in an increase in their pay rise to a percentage of 2.75 percent. Additionally, they
played a key role in fighting for the interests and the rights of the rail workers even though they
never attained what was demanded by the members and this can be attributed to the fact that they
saw the sense that such a pay rise was against the public wages policy.
The role which was played by the union had certain implications, and this has made
unions relevant in most of the organizations in Australia. For instance, there was an implication
on the management policies such that most of the management in various organizations saw the
significance of good working conditions and pay rise to enable the employees to perform better.
Another implication was on the labor-management relations in the firms, and a person was
appointed to step up for the rights and interests of the workers. Other implications revolved
around management flexibility, working climate and culture, pay and incentive systems and
recruitment and selection criteria.

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