By ANEEKA SIMONIS
TRAIN services on Thursday and Friday will be halted across the city – including Pakenham – as a union-planned strike gets the green light.
Commuters are being urged to consider transport alternatives on Thursday morning and midday on Friday as workers walk off the job following ongoing pay disputes.
Early morning services will be cancelled or altered on Thursday morning – affecting Pakenham services from 4am until 8am – while all services will cease from 10am until 2pm on Friday.
Metro attempted to overturn the action, arguing concerns about transport users’ welfare and safety during the planned strike action.
However, they were not successful, with the Fair Work Commission rejecting their appeal against the action led by the Metro and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU).
According to RTBU branch secretary Luba Grigorovitch, the State Government joined with Metro in filing to terminate the strike application.
“This was a disgraceful move,” she wrote in a statement.
Metro said the planned strike action was “disappointing”, indicating it will cause further disruptions on the trains.
“On Friday there will be no trains running between 10am and 2pm due to a stop-work action however, there will be significant disruption to services on either side of these times, from 8.30am until at least 3.30pm as trains need to return to safe locations before the stop work action,” a statement read.
For service updates, visit http://ptv.vic.gov.au/
