Melbourne commuters are urged to plan ahead as two Metro rail strikes have been confirmed for next month.
On Friday, October 6 and Wednesday October 11, four-hour stoppages will be held across the entire Melbourne train network.
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The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) told Metro Trains on Thursday of the decision to strike as workers push for a pay deal of about 17 per cent over four years.
It comes after an overwhelming 96 per cent of the union’s members voted in favour of the strike.
Employees walking off the job at 10am on both days include station and customer service staff, authorised officers and signallers.
“Operations staff including stations and customer service staff, authorised officers, signallers, and train controllers who are RTBU members will walk off the job at the announced times which will bring the network to a halt. At this stage only non-driving grades will participate in the action, a statement from RTBU read.
The strikes will avoid major events including school holidays, footy finals, and the Royal Melbourne Show, however commuters to and from work are expected to be heavily impacted.
RTBU secretary Vik Sharma told the Herald Sun workers are fighting for a deal deserved in the uncertain economy.
“We understand that in the past four reporting years, Metro reported profits of over $200m.”
Vik Sharma
“It’s time they recognised the hard work of frontline staff getting commuters home safely each day.’’
Next month’s strikes are the first major train strikes in Melbourne since 2015.