The threat to Sydney's new Years Eve fireworks has been averted, after a deal was struck between the state government and the transport union.
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00:00The NSW State Government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union have come to an 11th hour deal
00:06to avert what the government was saying would be a crisis over the Christmas and New Year's
00:12Eve period due to rolling industrial action by the union, which was resulting in delays
00:19and cancellations on Sydney's heavy rail system.
00:23The union had written to its members late yesterday to scrap the harshest parts of that
00:28industrial action, including a rule that was limiting the kilometres that each staff
00:32member could work across on a given shift.
00:35That was being blamed for a lot of the transport delays that were going on, and it was one
00:38of the reasons that the government was expressing concerns about the New Year's Eve fireworks
00:43going ahead.
00:44The government had commenced proceedings in the Fair Work Commission prior to that announcement
00:49to attempt to essentially block all of the industrial action by the union, but in light
00:54of that cancellation, they had meetings with the union groups overnight and into the morning
01:00to come to an agreement, and they did so.
01:03The Fair Work Commission heard this morning some undertakings by the Rail, Tram and Bus
01:07Unions that essentially they wouldn't commence any new industrial action over the festive
01:11period, and that they would do whatever they can to guarantee safety and reliability of
01:16the system over that period.
01:18The union spoke outside the Fair Work Commission this morning.
01:22We call on the Minsk government to now stop talking to their lawyers and start talking
01:28to their workers.
01:30The Minsk government should be back at the bargaining table on Boxing Day, and they should
01:35be trying to get resolution for this agreement before New Year's Eve.
01:39Let's get this done.
01:40Come back to the bargaining table.
01:42We're here.
01:43We're ready.
01:44We're ready to bargain.
01:45Stop talking to your lawyers, start talking to your workers, and do better.
01:49While the union says that the government backed down by discontinuing its action in
01:53the commission, the government says that the unions backed down by discontinuing the harshest
01:57parts of its industrial action.
01:59We have absolute confidence now that we can provide the travelling public with the services
02:04that they need and that they deserve.
02:06We want business to have confidence.
02:08We want staff to be able to get to work.
02:10We want people to be able to celebrate together, and that's what we are now able to confirm.
02:16We are able to say today that passengers will be able to use public transport services
02:22to get where they need to go this Christmas, New Year's, and the Sydney test as well.
02:27These are really important events for community.
02:30These are really important events for our economy, and I'm pleased that we have confidence
02:35today that they can go ahead in the way that we had planned.
02:39While the Christmas and New Year's period has been resolved for this matter, the question
02:44that remains on the table is this underpinning pay deal between the union and the government.
02:51The union says that it's lost a lot of good faith with the government, and the government
02:56hasn't set a timeline for when those negotiations will commence.