To: Federal Transport Minister Catherine King MP and State Counterparts
Respect for Rail Workers
Dear Minister,
Rail safety cannot be delivered unless workers who do the jobs every day are properly engaged and consulted before safety decisions are made. Poor safety decisions in heavy rail can lead to catastrophe, including loss of life. Rail safety workers have a crisis of confidence in ONRSR, made worse by ONRSR developing guidance on consultation without consulting workers.
I call on you to make the changes needed within ONRSR to:
- stop its disregard for its functions under the Rail Safety National Law, including its responsibility to work with rail safety workers; and
- ensure it follows its own strategic direction by cultivating strong, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders.
ONRSR’s actions send a clear message to rail safety workers that they are not respected or regarded as stakeholders worthy of engagement. I call on your leadership to fix this approach and ensure workers’ insights are genuinely considered in decisions about rail safety.
Why is this important?
Australia’s rail industry is 195 years old, beginning with the country’s first railway in Newcastle, NSW, in 1831. It has grown into a national passenger and freight network that keeps people, communities and the economy moving. Yet rail safety workers are too often ignored, disregarded and disrespected by industry, ONRSR and governments.
Recently, ONRSR developed guidelines on safety consultation without consulting or even advising the AMWU, the principal manufacturing and maintenance union in rail, representing workers directly affected by these decisions. The irony is not lost on members.
The AMWU wrote to ONRSR requesting a reset and proper engagement. Instead, the regulator published its consultation guidance.
The AMWU wrote to ONRSR requesting a reset and proper engagement. Instead, the regulator published its consultation guidance.
Enough is enough. Australia’s rail workers deserve respect. They should not rely on an unaccountable regulator that fails to properly engage with the people most affected by rail safety decisions. ADD YOUR NAME TO THIS PETITON calling on Transport Ministers to make changes within ONRSR that deliver transparency, meaningful engagement, and respect for rail safety workers and their unions.