Analysis of Union’s Role in NSW Train Worker’s Dispute

This report analyses the role of the union in the NSW Train Worker’s Dispute of January 2018. It discusses the approaches of employment relations, the context and patterns of employment relations, the importance of employment relationship values, and the relational dynamics between management and union.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Analysis of Union’s Role in NSW Train Worker’s Dispute
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
1. Scope, Nature and Approaches of Employment Relations.............................................3
2. Context and Patterns of Employment Relations.............................................................4
3. Importance of Employment Relationship Values and its relevance in context of State
Regulation..............................................................................................................................5
4. The Relational Dynamics between Management and Union..........................................6
5. Critical Analysis of the role played by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union..........................7
6. In context of the Australian Laws, highlight the Implications of the Union’s role in the
NSW Train Dispute................................................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

2ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Introduction
Employment Relations encompass a much broader realm beyond the traditional
concerns of Employer Employee Disputes and Collective Bargaining (Poole, 2013). The
concept predominantly demonstrates how power and authority needs to be directed towards
maximising organisational productivity and improving the well-being of the workers. It also
advocates concepts such as creating large scale employment, introducing workplace reforms
through effective HRM strategies for enhancing the skill of workers. As recognised by the
Business Council of Australia, Trade Union forms an important element of Employment or
Industrial Relations (Roche, 2014). Their primary concern consist of protecting employee
rights by managing conflict between employers and employees so as to prevent overall
disruption in the economy which is essentially against public interest. The employee rights
typically correspond to the terms of commitment on behalf of the management during market
transaction, in return for service of the employees as per stated clauses of agreement. When
such circumstances arise that lead to major deviations from these terms and conditions like
untimely payment of wages or uncongenial working environment, industrial disputes get
triggered. In order to provide proper resolution, such disputes are addressed and discussed in
Industrial tribunals that are presided over by members State Judiciary in association with
employer and employee representatives (Poole, 2013).
A planned strike was organised by transport workers of Greater Sydney on Monday,
29th January, 2018, from 12:01 am onwards (Abc.net.au, 2018). Consequentially, the
commuters faced a huge meltdown from an unprecedented shortage of drivers across the
State’s Rail Network. As per reports submitted by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, the
disruptive operation took place as a result of the inaction of Sydney and NSW Trains
Management with respect to negotiating a six percent annual pay increase. The Government
had refused to go beyond 2.5 percent (Abc.net.au, 2018). This defiance to strike a reasonable
and fair enterprise agreement was highly criticized by the Union’s NSW Secretary, Alex
Claassens (Abc.net.au, 2018). His reproach was primarily aimed at NSW Transport Minister,
Andrew Constance who had publicly condemned the strike by describing it as a thoughtless
gesture of a Union Authority. He particularly focussed his disapproval on causing this
enormous inconvenience for the travellers and suggested the Union to call off this strike by
the transport workers in best interest of the daily commuters and railway customers.
Eventually, this agitation was terminated by the NSW Government by declaring a motion

3ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
against the twenty-four hours strike. It was deemed as unlawful and a serious threat to the
economy. The following report will be attempting to discuss the various approaches of
Employment relations along with critical analysis of the Union’s Role and how it was
implicative in the NSW Train Dispute of January, 2018.
Discussion
1. Scope, Nature and Approaches of Employment Relations
The economic efficiency of business enterprise, industries and the nation at large
is essentially determined by the dynamics of employment relations that aims to
achieve this purpose by maintaining welfare and equity among employees. The
concept of employment relationship is consistent with the social processes, lending an
impactful meaning by means of formal and informal regulatory measures.
The nature of Employment Relationship is objectively ambiguous. However, it is
the only option serving as a key point of reference that iterates the extent to which an
employer is liable to impose work-related regulations on the employees and also the
degree to which the employees can exercise their rights in understanding their
obligation towards the organisation and the economy, in general. In this respect, it
lays down various terms in compliance with the Labour laws, ascribes to the security
provisions and also defines agreement about the specifics of payment of wages,
statutory benefits, leave policies and other relevant working conditions.
The various approaches to employment relationship are as follows:
Neoclassical Economists’ Approach: According to this approach, each employee is
at discretion to negotiate the employment contract on mutually agreeable terms and
conditions. This approach also highlights the fact that employers and employees are
equal beneficiaries of economic power and legal protection (Pohler & Luchak, 2014).
Marxism Approach: As laid down by this approach, employment relationship is
significantly related to power politics and struggle against class distinction. It
discusses how capitalist take advantage of acquiring all the necessary raw materials
for production. It heavily criticises the concept of capitalism in light of employee
exploitation. The approach advocates radical steps against anti-management and
draws attention to the importance of rightful labour power (Eldridge, 2013).

4ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Human Resource Management Approach: It implies an amalgamation of
psychological principles applied in organisational setting to evaluate the behavioural
compliances of the employers and the employees. It mostly emphasise on a strategic
fit between organisational planning and procedures and business requirements with a
close attention to employer and employee accord. This approach takes care of the
individual employee needs such as well-defined interpersonal relations with their
employers, scope for intellectual stimulation and overall satisfaction at work. To
obtain such goals the HR Managers take various initiatives and formulate policies to
keep employee’s motivation intact.
2. Context and Patterns of Employment Relations
The system of employment relations consist of three main elements who act and
interact with one another to formulate policies and regulate them under legal
compliances to achieve organisational and economic goals. These three elements
consist of the State, the Employer or the Management and the Employees. They
integrate their roles and responsibilities within a larger environmental context which
determines what and how their operational activities would influence the formulation
and regulation of policies, which in turn is expected to impact every individual within
the organisation.
Even though the context is regarded as external, the interactive parameters are
known to be an integral part of the fundamentally dominant patterns of employment
relations. As suggested by Dunlop, the nature of the existing completion in the market
depends on the quality of products and their availability. One product can be
differentiated from the other on the basis of the nature of technology used in its
making and the degree to which it satisfies the needfulness which it claims to satisfy.
Similarly, employment relationship is maintained over time depending on the extent
of awareness among the employers regarding the well-being of their employees and
the competency and skill possessed by the employees by which they commit to
deliver services as expected of them. In maintaining this dynamics, the locus and
distribution of power is often channelized to affect the economy through the country’s
political system. The main parameters on which this relationship is maintained
include:

5ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
 The formal and informal rules regulating the progress of employment. For example,
the collective agreement in the form of Fair Work Act 2009.
 The technique employed to examine, evaluate and appreciate performances.
 Distinguishing and prioritizing the facts that needs to be reported.
3. Importance of Employment Relationship Values and its relevance in
context of State Regulation
Fox’s Taxonomy aims to recognise three definite sets of values corresponding
to the studies on employment relationship and industrial conflict. These values also
provide relevant guidelines on partnership between Union and management, strategies
that should ideally be implemented by the management and the nature of the State’s
public policies. These values are:
Unitarism: This value emphasises on the idea that the relationship between an
employer and the employees is ideally based on harmony and common interest. This
aspect gets reflected in human resource strategies that help in attaining organisational
goals (Gladstone, 2015).
Pluralism: This value contradicts the idea proposed in Unitarism by reflecting on the
fact that employers and employees essentially have different interest as a result of
which there is always a high potential for conflicts to arise within the organisational
framework (Sinha, Sinha & Shekhar, 2017).
Radicalism: This value typically has its roots in denouncing capitalism whereby the
means of production, income and power are unequally distributed between workers
and employers (Stephenson, 2013).
Policies formulated in a State are substantially determined by a network of
interrelated arrangements such as the statutory authorities, the regulatory agencies and
the Quasi-Governmental Organisation. So far in Australia, the employee’s wages and
their employment conditions were determined by the combined efforts of Arbitration
Tribunals and Judicial Courts. In addition to that, the industrial disputes and
grievances between employers and employees were also brought to these bodies for
reasonable resolution (Bray & Stewart, 2013). These independent operational bodies
could be divided into three broad criteria:

6ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Legislature: In Australia, the legislative division is composed of the House of
Representatives and the Senate which are more commonly known as the lower house
and the upper house. In the lower house, legislations generally originate and they are
subsequently reviewed in the upper house (Wunnava, 2016).
Executive: The executive division in Australia are further divided into Federal level
and State level where the key decision makers are the Prime Minister and his Cabinet
of ministers and the Chief Minister and his Cabinet of Ministers respectively. Along
with them, there are the Ministers of Employment such as the Fair Work Commission,
the Tribunals and Agencies of Commonwealth including the Australian Human
Rights Commission, Australian Public Service Commission, Remuneration Tribunal
and Safe Work Australia. All these executive bodies are responsible for conciliation
and arbitration functions (Das & Vijayalakshmi, 2013).
Judiciary: The Judicial system of Australia is engaged in interpreting and
implementing the legal terms in case of any dispute. The judges and their supporting
infrastructure have always played a pivotal role in the Employment relationships in
Australia (Langron, 2016).
4. The Relational Dynamics between Management and Union
The Management body of an organisation is responsible for outlining the
provisions for establishing favourable employment conditions. The fundamental
aspect of this responsibility consists of extracting the necessary level of supplying
effort as committed by the labour force. In discharging such prime responsibility, the
Management has to face certain limitations like making sure that ownership is not
perceived as control, properly plan the implication of the organisational goals,
reasserting the control of shareholders, align the policy structure of the trade unions
closely with the organisational objectives, prepare for policy implementation as per
the decision of labour tribunals, imposition of certain restriction by State and
technological advancement (Nissen, 2016).
In Australia, the Management system followed consist of an Anglo-American-
Australasian Outsider System which is characterised by a diverse connectivity in
shareholding, high level of ownership in control of institutional share, high incidence
of hostile takeovers and a lot of focus on short-term financial returns which are
supported intensive internal observation. The density of private enterprises is also

7ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
considerably more in this region. Such firms are primarily characterised by a separate
ownership with a large number of specialised managers leading to diversity in the
enterprise and also in their techniques of managing employment relationships (Wright
& Lansbury, 2014).
The forms of control exercised by managers in Australia are clearly
distinguished into four categories that include Personalised, Technical, Bureaucratic
and Commitment Based (Rosenfeld, 2014). Combining these control strategies with
employee management ones, the managers seek to build commitment based on
compliance. In recent years, Australia has witnessed managerial prerogatives whereby
managers were seen to play increasingly distinct roles in employment relationship
functions.
Unions comprise of a mechanism which help employees to participate actively
in the enforcement of rules and regulations and contribute effectively to the
authorship. The primary focus of union, however, consist of influencing the terms and
conditions of workplace management for the purpose of protecting and improving
member wellbeing. Australian Unions has been concentrating more on strategic
reorientation by prioritising the empowerment and participation of women in the
Union Bodies (Tattersall, 2013). The Union Bodies strive to serve its purpose by
means of three distinct methods:
• Raising the level of cohesiveness among employees to unite their individual
goals into one common purpose.
• Communicating employee issues to the employers.
• Perform important role modelled in terms of political ideologies and pursuing
them in interest of the members of Union.
5. Critical Analysis of the role played by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union
On 15th of January, 2018, the Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW had
proposed to engage in an indefinite ban on overtime from 12:01 am onwards (Abc.net.au,
2018). The members had resolved to go for a strike on 25th January, 2018. In lieu of this
aspect, the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia had
informed the authorities that Sydney and NSW Trains would cease to operate during the
period of strike. The reason for holding the strike was in compliance with Fair Work Act

8ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
2009 (Abc.net.au, 2018). In condemnation of this action, the employers had filed an
application to the Fair Work Commission on 24th January, 2018 (Abc.net.au, 2018). They
were backed by the Minister of Industrial Relations of NSW, Hon. Dominic Perrottet,
who had cited this agitation to be against the norms of protected action, hence requested
the commission to order a suspension of the 24 hours ban called by the RTBU and
APESMA Unions and terminate the strike (Abc.net.au, 2018).
Initially, the RTBU were in support of achieving their member’s interest of
fair work policy through less disruptive methods. To fulfil this purpose, they had sent
out flyers and organised a ballot vote to know what the majority intention was and
what could be the ways towards its fulfilment. The issue had been raised in interest of
the 9500 railway staff who had demanded a six percent hike in their payment that was
to be implemented by the arrival of the new financial year and should be covered
under a four year term agreement (Abc.net.au, 2018). However, even after six months
from the day it was proposed, the employment authority had not taken any significant
step to revise the payment schedule. Since then, the employer and the employees had
been in a state of conflict. The six percent hike that was proposed by the railway
employees had been reduced to a 2.5 percent which was not acceptable to the
employees (Abc.net.au, 2018). This had primarily triggered the strike on 24th of
January, 2018 (Abc.net.au, 2018). It turned out to be a successful vote as around 84%
of workers had expressed interest in favour of the proposed strike under protected
industrial action (Abc.net.au, 2018). As per the result, the members of RTBU, under
the guidance of Union’s NSW Secretary, Alex Claassens, decided to opt for the
radical measure as they considered it to be their last resort to get their demand
fulfilled. It is a known fact that Management always try to avoid industrial action such
as strike and ban, that too which raised the stakes at an already overstretched rail
network. Therefore, by resorting to such means, they would be compelled to initiate a
negotiation procedure with the Union in light of fair and reasonable offer.
The strike led to a widespread negative outbreak from the daily commuters,
although as per the reports by Alex Claassens, all citizens were given prior intimation,
much before the proposed action, regarding the possible occurrence of such disruption
so that they get enough time to arrange for an alternative means of commuting on the
day of the strike. The commuters as well as the Governing Authority had heavily
criticized this industrial agitation as the inconvenience was not only limited to

9ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
cancelled and delayed trains but also zero refund on the booked tickets. The Deputy
Commissioner of the Fair Work Commission had ruled out the proposal of indefinite
ban highlighting it as a massive threat to Sydney’s safety and economy. He had also
called off the 24 hours strike that was supposed to take place of 24th of January, 2018
(Abc.net.au, 2018). His order of suspension was based on the fact that such industrial
unrest endangered the welfare of the population and would cause an irreparable
damage to the Australian economy.
6. In context of the Australian Laws, highlight the Implications of the
Union’s role in the NSW Train Dispute
The Unions like RTBU, ACTU and APESMA had actively supported the
employee’s rights of fair pay and they had initially opted for a less disruptive
procedure to take the matter to the employing authority (Abc.net.au, 2018). However,
when no substantial measure was undertaken to recover the situation, they eventually
resorted to means of radical agitation. Though it could not fulfil the ultimate intention
of the railway workers and received widespread disapproval and criticism from both
the general citizens and the governing authorities, the agitation was able to shake the
very core of the management as they had now realised that employees can take up a
difficult route if they do not receive what they deserve. Therefore, it is expected that
in the coming days, they would be willing to sit for a negotiation with a reasonable
proposition.
Conclusion
To conclude the above report it can be stated that employment relations is a
very crucial element of organisational regulation that requires a positive interrelation
among the management, the employees and the State to function properly and achieve its
goals successfully. The economic efficiency of business enterprise, industries and the
nation at large is essentially determined by the dynamics of employment relations that
aims to achieve this purpose by maintaining welfare and equity among employees.
Unions comprise of a mechanism which help employees to participate actively in the
enforcement of rules and regulations and contribute effectively to the authorship. The
primary focus of union, however, consist of influencing the terms and conditions of
workplace management for the purpose of protecting and improving member wellbeing.
When such circumstances arise that lead to major deviations from these terms and

10ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
conditions like untimely payment of wages or uncongenial working environment,
industrial disputes get triggered. Australian Unions has been concentrating more on
strategic reorientation by However, in light of a conflicting situation it is the
responsibility of all parties to discuss the matter and undertake justifiable negotiations
such that a balance is struck between the demands and their fulfilment. In absence of
such, there is always a possibility of industrial unrest that lead to several unfavourable
circumstance like loss of productivity, labour and goodwill in the market. Hence, both
employer and employee representatives are required to take all points under careful
consideration before proposing a means to fulfil the demand such that these unwanted
consequences can be mostly avoided.

11ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
References
Eldridge, J. E. T. (2013). Industrial Disputes Ils 151. Routledge.
Poole, M. (2013). Industrial relations: origins and patterns of national diversity. Routledge.
Roche, W. K., Teague, P., & Colvin, A. J. (Eds.). (2014). The Oxford handbook of conflict
management in organizations. Oxford University Press.
Rosenfeld, J. (2014). What unions no longer do. Harvard University Press.
Nissen, B. (2016). Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational
Boundaries and Social Roles: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries and
Social Roles. Routledge.
Wright, C. F., & Lansbury, R. D. (2014). Trade unions and economic reform in Australia,
1983–2013. The Singapore Economic Review, 59(04), 1450033.
O’Sullivan, M., Turner, T., Kennedy, M., & Wallace, J. (2015). Is individual employment
law displacing the role of trade unions?. Industrial Law Journal, 44(2), 222-245.
Gladstone, A., Wheeler, H., Rojot, J., Eyraud, F., & Ben-Israel, R. (Eds.). (2015). Labour
Relations in a Changing Environment: A Publication of the International Industrial
Relations Association. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Tattersall, A. (2013). Power in coalition: Strategies for strong unions and social change.
Cornell University Press.
Pohler, D. M., & Luchak, A. A. (2014). Balancing efficiency, equity, and voice: The impact
of unions and high-involvement work practices on work outcomes. ILR Review, 67(4),
1063-1094.

12ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Sinha, P. R. N., Sinha, I. B., & Shekhar, S. P. (2017). Industrial Relations, Trade Unions and
Labour Legislation. Pearson Education India.
Wunnava, P. V. (2016). The Changing Role of Unions: New Forms of Representation: New
Forms of Representation. Routledge.
Das, T. V., & Vijayalakshmi, C. (2013). Quality of work life-A strategy for good industrial
relations. Advances in Management, 6(11), 8.
Bray, M., & Stewart, A. (2013). From the arbitration system to the Fair Work Act: the
changing approach in Australia to voice and representation at work. Adel. L. Rev., 34,
21.
Stephenson, S. (2013). “Ballot-Faking Crooks and a Tyrannical Executive”: The Australian
Workers Union Faction and the 1923 New South Wales Labor Party Annual
Conference. Labour History: A Journal of Labour and Social History, (105), 93-111.
Pekarek, A., & Gahan, P. (2016). Unions and collective bargaining in Australia in
2015. Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(3), 356-371.
Bailey, J., & Peetz, D. (2014). Australian unions and collective bargaining in 2013. Journal
of Industrial Relations, 56(3), 415-432.
Sheldon, P., & Thornthwaite, L. (2013). Employer and employer association matters in
Australia in 2012. Journal of Industrial Relations, 55(3), 386-402.
Nicholson, D., Pekarek, A., & Gahan, P. (2017). Unions and collective bargaining in
Australia in 2016. Journal of Industrial Relations, 59(3), 305-322.
Konishi, S., & Lui-Chivizhe, L. (2014). Working for the railways: Torres Strait Islander
labour and mobility in the 1960s. Journal of Australian Studies, 38(4), 445-456.

13ANALYSIS OF UNION’S ROLE IN NSW TRAIN WORKER’S DISPUTE
Jagnoor, J., Blyth, F., Gabbe, B., Derrett, S., Boufous, S., Dinh, M., ... & Nicholas, M.
(2014). Factors influencing social and health outcomes after motor vehicle crash
injury: an inception cohort study protocol. BMC public health, 14(1), 199.
Milner, L. (2014). Labour culture on screen and online: Union films as mobilisation
strategies. Labour History: A Journal of Labour and Social History, (107), 181-196.
Langron, J. W. (2016). Real staff engagement for a sustainable safety culture. CORE 2016:
Maintaining the Momentum, 364.
Abc.net.au. (2018). ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation. [online] Available at:
http://www.abc.net.au [Accessed 12 Sep. 2018].