Sydney bus driver saves passenger’s life

A Sydney bus driver performed CPR on a passenger for 12 minutes to keep her alive after she collapsed on his bus, Channel Nine news reports.

Amar Wahid kept an eye on the out-of-breath woman after she struggled to get on board the bus at Burwood at 9.10am last month.

Mr Wahid rushed to her side after she collapsed and she started turning blue.

Paramedics have praised Mr Wahid for his calmness in a life-threatening situation. But Mr Wahid claims he’s not a hero and that any other drivers would have done the same thing in his situation.

Watch the full story here.

May Day parade

Join the May Day parade on Sunday May 5 and celebrate the achievements of workers over the decades.

The annual Sydney May Day parade will begin at midday from near Parliament House in Macquarie Street and finish at Belmore Park near Central Station. Participants are asked to assemble at 11.30am ahead of the march at 12 noon.

This year’s theme for the parade is ‘A proud past, a fighting future’. You can watch the trailer for the parade here.

International Day of Mourning

Transport workers have marked an International Day of Mourning to remember workers whose lives have been lost as a result of workplace incidents or disease.

The International Day of Mourning is recognised worldwide as a time to remember and recognise the need for a culture of safety in our workplaces.

With a number of rail workers tragically losing their lives on the job over the years, it was a particularly poignant day for those in the rail industry.

Workers held services on services on Sunday at Sydney’s Darling Harbour and at Ourimbah on the Central Coast.

Drivers demand better safety in light of abuse

The Tram & Bus Division has called for greater security for bus drivers amid continued risk of abuse from unruly passengers.

The union has demanded the Government introduce three-quarter security screens currently being trialled in Newcastle after dark to protect drivers.

Read more »

Union victory in Commission for part-time members

When STA announced that they were intending to force some of our part-time members to transfer to another depot, the Union filed a dispute in the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission where we argued that part-time employees are contracted to a particular depot.

During the course of the conciliation process, Commissioner Tabba sought compromise from STA with the end result being that, not one part-time member was forcibly transferred.

Speaking for the Union, Gary Way said that this outcome was a truly remarkable result where the need for arbitration and all the risks attached were successfully avoided.

The Commissioner diligently took into account the circumstances of our members.  In the courtroom in front of the Commission STA chose to abandon their heavy-handed tactics in this matter and come to the table, Mr Way said.

The Union would like to thank all the work place delegates whose time and effort helped make this win possible.

Our safety or public relations exercise?

The NSW Government has announced another ‘blitz’ on our transport network – targeting ticket evasion, crime and graffiti. See the story here.

But these blitzes mostly just seem to be short lived public relations exercises. What the transport system really needs is a highly visible security presence throughout the network every day.

Physical and verbal abuse of drivers is all too frequent and many passengers feel threatened when drunk or unsavoury patrons behave badly on the bus. Drivers want to feel safe in their work environment and passengers want to get home in one piece.

Let’s stop the spin and start making the safety of drivers and passengers our number one priority.

Bus driver praised for ejecting drunk, racist passengers

A Sydney bus driver has won praise for showing the door to a group of drunk, racist teenagers on Saturday night.

The driver ejected the group of teenagers who had reportedly been racially abusing another passenger and drinking alcohol on a service from the city to Maroubra.

A witness was full of praise for the driver who “did a fantastic job in negotiating with these girls, later insisting on their leaving, and the whole time communicating with us, the other passengers.”

Read the full Sydney Morning Herald story here.

Changing of the guard at Willoughby

The RTBU is pleased to announce a changing of the guard at the Willoughby bus depot. Popular delegate Alan Bourke has unfortunately been forced to resign his post due to ill health but has handed the baton to Andy West.

Understanding Alan’s situation, the RTBU had called for nominations at the depot. Andy put forward his name and was elected unopposed.

Andy West                                  Alan Burke

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Election results

The results for the recent Union Elections have been declared and published.

The results of ballots involving the NSW Tram & Bus Division are as follows:

Read more »

Union fights for tram drivers’ shoes

The Tram and Bus Division is standing up for shoes to be issued to Sydney tram drivers.

The union has taken Veolia Transport Sydney to the Fair Work Commission claiming the company is obligated to offer appropriate footwear as part of the uniform.

The matter is ongoing and the union will notify members of the outcome.