V\/LINE workers will strike again next week after union and company representatives failed to find common ground in enterprise agreement negotiations.<\/p>\n
The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) notified V\/Line of its intention to take industrial action on Thursday, January 25.<\/p>\n
Operations staff will walk off the job for four hours between 3am and 7am, bringing the network to a halt.<\/p>\n
It is expected the strike will have a flow-on-effect impacting all services throughout the day.<\/p>\n
RTBU branch secretary Vik Sharma said the industrial action was about security and conditions.<\/p>\n
“In the current climate of automation, major changes and an uncertain economy, members are fighting for what all workers across Victoria deserve \u2013 job security and decent conditions.<\/p>\n
“V\/Line continues to drag their feet and seems to be in no rush to reach an agreement.<\/p>\n
“The RTBU will continue to meet with V\/Line and negotiate in good faith as members would prefer to avoid industrial action if their concerns are addressed.”<\/p>\n
The enterprise bargaining began in June, and the union says V\/Line has not yet addressed the key concerns raised in negotiations.<\/p>\n
The decision to strike was made after RTBU representatives met with V\/Line on January 10, where they say no progress was made on key issues.<\/p>\n
V\/Line chief executive officer Matt Carrick said some progress towards an agreement had been made.<\/p>\n
“We have been continuing to negotiate in good faith and have made progress towards reaching an agreement.<\/p>\n
“We strongly encourage the union to work collaboratively with us to reach a fair and reasonable agreement.”<\/p>\n
The RTBU said in a statement that the entire V\/Line network across the state would be impacted by the strike.<\/p>\n
“We make no apologies in our fight to secure decent conditions for our members.<\/p>\n
“V\/Line needs to respect the frontline workers and stop treating them like numbers on a spreadsheet.”<\/p>\n
Mr Carrick said passengers could keep up to date with the latest information on the<\/p>\n
V\/Line website and social media channels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
V\/LINE workers will strike again next week after union and company representatives failed to find common ground in enterprise agreement negotiations. The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) notified V\/Line of its intention to take industrial action on Thursday, January 25. Operations staff will walk off the job for four hours between 3am and 7am, […]<\/p>\n