The 48-hour stoppage is drawing closer, and there are a few things that members should be aware of before Friday.
Once again, only members can participate in the industrial action. If you’re not a member, you must go to work as rostered, or you can JOIN the union. No adverse action can be taken against anyone who is a member. MTC does not know who is and is not a union member, and if you are asked you are well within your rights to not advise them of your membership status or intentions for the weekend if you don’t want to.
The union is encouraging all members to participate in the stoppage. Members turning up to work will undermine our collective strength and almost guarantee that no further increases are offered. We will be meeting at the Blacktown Leisure Car Park (on the corner of Sentry Drive and Ponytail Drive, Stanhope Gardens) at 10:45am on Friday for an 11:00am start, after which we will go to the King’s Park Tavern (from 12:30pm onwards). If you’re driving, you can park here: tinyurl.com/msesbew7. Members do not need to turn up for shift on Friday if you’re rostered from 6:00am onwards, nor do you need to advise MTC that you’re not turning up to work. Members who are rostered on the Thursday night shift can walk off the job at 6:00am on Friday.
Casuals who are members of the union are able to participate in protected action this weekend. The union will be in touch with all casuals over the next few days to advise you of your rights during this period.
Similarly, if you are a new recruit who is graduating on Thursday and you are a union member, you are also protected by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and able to participate in the stoppage. It is important that you get involved in this campaign, and it will affect your wages and conditions, too. If you feel pressured to work, please contact the union and we will support you. If you do decide to go to work and at any point feel unsafe, please contact Jess on 0401 521 561 or Kim on 0408 249 277.
All members are advised that any employee, member or non-member, has the right to cease work under s 84 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) if you have a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose you to a serious risk to your health or safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard. This could include, for example, unlocking with not enough staff.
The union would like to take this opportunity to remind members that shift lengths are eight and 12 hours under the Enterprise Agreement, with a minimum rest break of 10 hours between shifts. If you’re a non-member who is working on the weekend and have been rostered (or asked) to work excessive hours without a break, you should contact the union immediately. Excessive shift lengths are a breach of the Enterprise Agreement and are a major safety concern, which we will deal with accordingly.
We look forward to seeing you all on Friday. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please call Jess (0401 521 561) or Kim (0408 249 277), or send an email to or .
