Commuters are poised for rail chaos to intensify as a union plea to restart pay negotiations looks set to be ignored.
A fresh batch of industrial action taken across the NSW train network has been scheduled, with reduced speed limits and bans on working with contractors set to start on January 15 and last for three days.
The rail union says it is part of a bid to resume negotiations that broke down as workers threatened to upend New Year's Eve festivities in Sydney.
It came as a key Unions NSW figure wrote to Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray asking that the parties resume negotiations with two fresh faces pivotal in signing their last pay deal.
But the government moved to knock back that request on Tuesday morning, again suggesting the best way to sort a new deal was to resume mediation at the Fair Work Commission.
“The government has made a fair and reasonable pay offer to the rail unions,” a government spokesman said.
“At the end of the day, we can’t say yes to the rail unions whilst at the same time say no to the nurses union and other unions who reached reasonable settlements over the course of 2024.”
Workers continue to demand four annual wage increases of eight per cent but that's been dismissed by the Minns government as unaffordable.
The government has not formally budged from its original offer of 11 per cent over three years including superannuation increases.
The new actions did not involve high-level strikes or bans on using certain trains, Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Toby Warnes said.
"There are no massive disruptions," he told ABC Radio.
"But there might be some flow-on effects to try and get management to wake up and come back to the bargaining table."
Unions NSW assistant secretary Thomas Costa had asked that Transport for NSW co-ordinator general Howard Collins steer a series of "condensed, intensive meetings" to get negotiations back on track.
Mr Costa said quickly resuming constructive discussions was critical as the parties had previously been close to reaching an agreement.
“However, recent developments - including cancelled meetings, legal challenges, and divisive media commentary - have caused both sides to drift further apart,” he wrote in a letter on January 3, since circulated to media.
“Current business representatives lack the necessary industrial maturity and expertise to progress this matter to conclusion ... their inability to navigate complex negotiations effectively is hindering progress and risks prolonging this dispute unnecessarily.”
The months-long battle flared in the days before Christmas as pub and bar operators, a casino, Luna Park and the NSW Labor government railed against train driver work bans planned for New Year's Eve.
NSW Police earlier warned of "grave concerns" for public safety if the one million people expected to line Sydney Harbour on the night struggled to leave after the fireworks.
The union backed down on the eve of a Fair Work Commission hearing as the opposition warned that "chaos (had been) kicked down the road".
