Employees also offered rise in super contribution
The New South Wales government is offering employees of Sydney Trains a 13% salary hike over four years in a bid to resolve the dragging pay dispute affecting the services of its train services, according to reports.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the offer would also include a one per cent increase in superannuation contributions and one per cent rise from mutual gains bargaining.
Haylen attributed the increase to an agreement to merge Sydney Trains and NSW Trains into one entity over the next four years, The Guardian reported.
"This offer is reflective of the government's value of them and the role that they play each and every day here in Sydney and across New South Wales," she said as quoted by ABC News.
According to the minister, the offer included improved conditions for workers that would be paid through productivity gains.
"The process of negotiation is give and take. You don't get something for free," she said as quoted by ABC. "There are amendments proposed to the enterprise agreement that would assist us to pay for these conditions."
The government's offered pay hike is slightly higher than the 9.5% increase over three years that it initially suggested, and fulfills the one per cent increase in super contributions requested by unions.
However, the new offer still falls short of the 32% over four years demanded by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), according to the reports.
It also doesn't touch on the requested 35-hour work weeks for rail employees.
Toby Warnes, RTBU NSW branch secretary, told ABC that they have yet to receive a draft document on the offer that they could consider.
Warnes also claimed the one per cent rise in pay hike would be from the job losses for combining Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.
"We have heard the government is putting the agreement to a vote. We're not sure how the government plans to do that," Warnes said as quoted by ABC.
The pay dispute between the two parties has stretched for months, leading to threats of scrapping the New Year's Eve fireworks earlier this year.
The disagreement has also led to industrial action planned for this week, which will see train speed reductions starting on Wednesday, 9News reported.
