Premier Roger Cook urges West Aussies to pay for the train even if transit officers refuse to check tickets

Premier Roger Cook has urged West Australians to “do the right thing” and continue to pay for train rides even if transit officers refuse to check fares as part of planned industrial action. Members for the Rail, Tram and Bus Union will meet next Thursday to vote on a proposal to “exercise discretion” when dealing with “fare evasion” on a designated day. The shot across the bows for the Cook Government comes with transit officers nine months into negotiations for a new pay deal, with their current agreement expiring last October. RTBU state secretary Joshua Dekuyer told The West Australian directives against checking fares could be in place as soon as next Friday, and would be repeated as often as required to secure an acceptable offer. Responding to the threatened industrial action, Mr Cook said he valued the work of all public sector workers — describing them as the “backbone” of the community — but that “fiscal responsibilities” had to be balanced against the “aspirations” of unions. “These negotiations are very large, they’re very important and they’re all part of the process of reaching good outcomes,” he said. Asked how commuters should respond to transit officers deciding not to check fares, Mr Cook said he hoped they would not try to take advantage of the situation. “Well, look, everyone should buy a ticket. (They) should do the right thing… when they’re utilising public transport,” he said. Industrial Relations Minister Simone McGurk acknowledged the “frustration” of transit officers — who have now gone 17 months without a pay rise — while blaming the delay on the Cook Government’s December decision to remove a longstanding one-size-fits-all approach to deal-making. “It’s a significant departure from previous policies, which essentially really opened the doors for a lot more flexibility in bargaining,” she said. “And while that’s an opportunity for unions and for government and government agencies to bargain in a more meaningful way, it’s also a challenge because there’s expectations.” Ms McGurk said an offer would be handed to the RTBU “as soon as possible” but could not say whether it would arrive in time to prevent industrial action. She also downplayed the consequences of the proposed ban on checking fares. “The advice that I’m given is that it’s not expected to have a massive impact on operations or on income,” Ms McGurk said. “But really, our focus is on costing up and working through the Government’s response back to the union.” The RTBU has joined other public sector unions in campaigning for wage increases of 12 per cent over the next two years: a 7 per cent hike followed by 5 per cent. Mr Dekuyer said the catalyst for the industrial action was an offer made to public school teachers — who have not been in bargaining as long as transit officers — earlier this week. That offer, which has already been knocked back, amounted to a 10.75 per cent wage increase over three years. The Public Transport Authority employs around 370 transit officers who essentially police the rail network, including being empowered to perform arrests on trains and in stations. “People sometimes tend to think transit officers are just ticket checkers,” Mr Dekuyer said. “That is a part of the job but it is not the whole job. Our guys deal with assaults, domestics, fatalities, overdoses, people with mental health issues, drug and alcohol-affected people.”