Queensland Rail is advising customers there may be significant disruptions to South East Queensland passenger, freight and regional travel rail services tomorrow (Thursday 2 April), due to new protected industrial action from the Electrical Trades Union (ETU).
Impacts from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union's (RTBU) decision to conduct protected industrial action today (Wednesday 1 April), and which continue to cause cancellations throughout the SEQ rail network, will conclude at midnight tonight.
Queensland Rail plans to resume full timetabled services across the network tomorrow, including the Cleveland and Ipswich/Rosewood lines, however, the ETU has advised unionised electricians will not repair any unplanned faults on the network, unless there is safety risk.
If there are unplanned disruptions on the SEQ network tomorrow, the ETU's decision to conduct protected industrial action could disrupt Queensland Rail's ability to safely repair and run timetabled services.
The safety of our network remains paramount, and Queensland Rail shares our customers' frustrations and is working had to minimise the impact to our services.
Queensland Rail CEO Kat Stapleton called on all unions to come back to the negotiating table and work together to reach a fair deal.
"We continue to urge the unions to work with us, negotiate with us in good faith and get back to delivering reliable passenger and freight rail services for Queenslanders," Ms Stapleton said.
"We are frustrated that protected industrial action by the RTBU affected so many of our customers today.
"Tomorrow's impacts are unknown at this stage, but if there are any unplanned faults, the ETU has advised its members may not repair them.
"We are ready to get a deal done, what happens next is up to the unions.
"We have been negotiating with unions to update six Enterprise Agreements, covering approximately 5,600 employees, since January.
"Since negotiations began, the combined unions have sought more than 500 items in their log of claims, many of which far exceed community norms or what would be considered reasonable, such as pet bereavement leave and birthday leave, a 32-hour work week, huge superannuation contribution increases, and extra annual leave.
"Queensland Rail is committed to investing in our people to ensure wages are fair, reflect our service to customers and keep pace with the rising cost of living."
These disruptions are in addition to planned track closures from 3 - 26 April for major project works, including the Cross River Rail project, which will also be impacted by this industrial action.
Customers can keep up to date on Queensland Rail's social media channels.
