An industrial dispute between Sydney’s wire-drawn ferry operators and private operator Birdon has escalated with strikes to strand drivers in peak travel times on Thursday.
Key points:
- The maritime union and the ferries’ private operator Birdon have been in pay negotiations for six months
- The union is calling for workers to be paid $46 an hour, to match traffic controllers
- Last week a series of one-hour strikes affected several river crossings
The Maritime Union of Australia says the Mortlake Creek and Webbs Creek services will cease operations between 6:30am and 9:30am.
The Berowra Waters and Sackville services will stop between 2:00pm and 5:00pm.
The industrial action comes after a series of one-hour strikes affected services last week.
According to the union Birdon Management said it would pay not a cent more than the legal minimum.
“To not offer workers any wage increase at all in a cost-of-living crisis is unacceptable and leaves the workers with no choice but to escalate,” union organiser Shane Reside said.
“The best outcome for the community is for the Government to fix this mess by getting rid of these bottom-feeding contractors scavenging the public purse for profit and take responsibility for the workers directly,” the maritime union’s Sydney branch secretary Paul Keating said.
A spokesperson for Birdon said they were unable to comment.
“Contracted cable drawn ferry operators are paid in accordance with the applicable award rates as in the Ports, Harbours and Enclosed Water Vessels Award,” said a spokesperson for Transport for NSW.
“Those ferry operators received a pay increase of about 5.7% in July 2023 in line with increases to the award rates set by Fair Work, with an additional pay increase to award rates forecast for July 2024.”
Mr Reside said the wage increases barely met the rising cost of living.
“Even though those increases have come through these workers in effect got a pay cut against the cost of living,” Mr Reside said.
The union is calling for ferry operators to be paid $46 an hour, up from $29 an hour, bringing them into line with traffic controllers who often assist operations.
Transport for NSW advised motorists to take alternative routes during the industrial action.
The transport authority said emergency services would not be affected by the disruption and would still be able to cross.
Taking an alternative southbound route instead of the Webbs Creek ferry will add an estimated 50 minutes to journeys.
The Sackville Ferry stoppage will add 20 minutes to journey times
Closure of the Mortlake Ferry will force commuters into traffic on the Ryde Bridge 10 minutes away. The Mortlake-Putney service doesn’t operate between 9:30 am and 2:55pm, meaning the strike effectively stops all services until the afternoon.
The Sackville and Berowra Waters ferries can carry 15 vehicles, while the Mortlake service takes 18 and the Webbs Creek ferry takes can take 24 in one crossing.
