Hundreds of train services across Sydney, the capital city of Australia’s state of New South Wales (NSW), have been delayed or cancelled as workers struck on Wednesday.
Commuters into the city were told to expect major delays on Wednesday as work bans put in place by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) took effect.
Australia’s 9News network reported that 200 train services had been cancelled across the network by 8 a.m. local time while hundreds more trains were delayed.
Every line has been impacted by the disruption, with waits of almost 50 minutes between trains at some stations.
The work bans represented an escalation in a long-running pay dispute between the combined rail unions and the NSW state government.
The RTBU has asked for a 32-percent pay increase over four years for Sydney Trains employees.
During negotiations on Tuesday, the government offered a 15-percent pay rise over four years and gave the union until Thursday to respond to the proposal.
Under the work bans, train drivers have reduced speeds by 23 km per hour on sections of track where trains can usually travel faster than 80 km per hour.
“We always try and do things that ensure that people can still get from A to B, but have at least some impact to open the government’s eyes up,” RTBU secretary Toby Warnes told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Additionally, the ETU refused to carry out critical maintenance work overnight.
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said that the lack of maintenance work had caused the worst of the delays.
Government agency Transport for NSW said that some buses were being organized to replace trains but asked commuters to avoid travel and stay home if possible.
It said it expected the disruptions to get worse as the week goes on.
The unions previously threatened a major industrial action in December, which culminated in threats to cancel Sydney’s iconic New Year’s Eve fireworks display.
