In state news, thousands of NSW rail workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting a new two-year pay deal.
It brings to an end a protracted industrial dispute between the state government and unions. The vote also clears the way for the government to ramp up work on safety modifications for a fleet of new intercity trains which were at the centre of the dispute.
The results of the ballot show 93 per cent of rail workers voted in favour of accepting the enterprise agreement, which includes a $4500 cash payment and minimum annual pay rises of 3.03 per cent and 3.53 per cent. The wage rises include superannuation increases.
The Fair Work Commission will also decide in the coming weeks whether workers should receive wage increases greater than the minimum pay rises. Arbitration hearings are scheduled for early February.
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About 80 per cent of the 13,000 rail workers in NSW covered by the agreement voted in the ballot.
Unions NSW assistant secretary Thomas Costa said the outcome of the vote drew a line under what was a “very difficult” dispute which he says should have been resolved much earlier.
“We could have saved the community and our members so much pain if we had a government more willing to negotiate with its workforce,” he said.
“Hopefully this is a lesson for future governments and management.”
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