Sydney Trains strike warning just before Christmas

Workers can resume industrial action on the country’s busiest rail network after a last-ditch attempt to thwart it failed in court.

Amid an escalating pay dispute heading into the festive season, the Federal Court previously halted planned work bans and strikes on the NSW train network hours before they started on December 9.

But the ban was withdrawn on Thursday after the state government’s technical argument to declare the industrial action invalid was rejected.

It opens the door to 8,000 workers taking disruptive action in the run-up to Christmas, ahead of several days of planned action from December 28.

Business groups have warned that even the threat of work bans and strikes will change consumer behavior and drive struggling companies out of business.

The court’s decision follows Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Transport Minister Jo Haylen facing the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday and weeks of intense negotiations to resolve the pay dispute.

“Yet another cheap and desperate stunt has failed, leaving NSW families to endure a Christmas and New Year celebration marred by rail chaos,” Opposition industrial relations spokesperson Damien Tudehope said after the court ruling.

“(Prime Minister) Chris Minns is not only out of his depth – he’s out of excuses.”

Immediately after the decision was made, leaders of the Rail Tram and Bus Union said they were considering their next steps.

The government abandoned an attempt to reinstate the ban pending the appeal after noting Judge Michael Wheelahan’s skepticism and union dissatisfaction.

Any appeal would likely not be heard for a week, the court was told.

“(That) would essentially rob the union of its success,” lawyer Leo Saunders for the combined rail unions told the court.

The court skirmish is the latest front in a wage war that started in April.

The combined unions representing 13,000 railway workers have refused to give in to their demands for four annual pay increases of eight percent despite extensive and protracted negotiations.

The Prime Minister has said such a claim is unaffordable and cannot happen as long as he denies nurses an equally expensive claim.

The Transport Minister said on Tuesday that industrial action was “intolerable” during Sydney’s famous fireworks display – the train network’s busiest day – with more than a million people expected to gather on the harbor waterfront.

Mr Mookhey urged the union to accept the offer on the table, but he would not announce it publicly.

“(It is) no time to play chicken with the NSW economy,” the treasurer said.

The government previously offered 11 percent over three years, including pension increases.