Will strike action derail New Year’s Eve?

By Editor on December 23, 2024

The biggest night of the year for Sydney’s hospitality industry, New Year’s Eve, hangs in the balance with fears the city’s iconic fireworks display will be cancelled due to strike action.

The state government has joined with hospitality stakeholders including Luna Park Sydney, Merival, Ryan’s Hotel Goup and Laundy Hotels to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to limit the impact of the strike action by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, with the next hearing to take place on Christmas Eve.

Restaurant owners and yacht and private boat companies have echoed the call the save New Year’s Eve from strike action.

The news couldn’t come at a worse time – business failures have hit their highest level since October 2020, with Creditor Watch reporting the hospitality and construction sectors are seeing the most insolvencies.

Sydney is one of the first cities in the world to welcome the new year, with its celebrations highlighted in news bulletins and social media channels around the world. Its New Year’s Eve plays live to more than one million spectators along the Sydney Harbour foreshore alone and reaches a global audience of more than 425 million.

Research conducted by City of Sydney has found that Sydney New Year’s Eve has a direct economic impact of more than $280 million to the city.

Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter said it would “take years to recover” Sydney’s international reputation if the fireworks were cancelled.

“This is the time when small and medium business owners, especially mum and dad business owners, make their money. This may push many businesses into bankruptcy – and we’ve seen enough bankruptcies this year as it is,” Hunter said.

Business Sydney’s Paul Nicolaou shared similar fears in an interview with the ABC: “We’re calling on the unions to call off this industrial action because it’s going to have a big impact on small to medium sized businesses and the community’s wellbeing.

“And if these fireworks are cancelled, millions of dollars are going to be lost.

“And remember, Sydney is the first city that brings in the new year, and it will affect our global reputation.”

He said that “anything we can do to call off this industrial action is really, really important”.

However, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has warned she may recommend the Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve fireworks be cancelled as a result of a train strikes.

An additional 1000 train services have been scheduled to operate during New Year’s Eve, which is the state’s busiest public transport period.

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said the industrial action could impact approximately 50 per cent of train services across Sydney.

“I haven’t ruled out that I will recommend to government that we cancel the fireworks,” she said.

“It’s that serious because 250,000 people … come in during the day, they spend all day in the city but when it’s time to go, when the fireworks are over, the job is to get them out safely and quickly and if there’s no transport, we can’t do that.”

Transport and Acting Night-time Economy and Tourism Minister Jo Haylen said: “This is significant industrial action and that’s why the government is taking every legal step available to us to protect passengers and businesses on New Year’s Eve,” Ms Haylen said.

“It’s unfair on passengers that this is occurring at this time of year.”

More than 500 services were cancelled over the weekend, with some lines replaced with bus services due to wait times of up to two hours. The cancellations wrecked havoc on pre-Christmas events across the city.

Among concessions sought by the RTBU are a 32% pay rise over four years, or an 8% annual increase, and a 35-hour work week without a reduction in remuneration.

Union bans include a limit to the number of kilometres workers will travel and a ban on part of their signalling system.

The union’s secretary Toby Warnes said the NSW Government was overreacting.

“At most it would have minimal impact … yes crew can work less kilometres but with 40 per cent extra staff on, the impact would be absolutely nowhere near … visible to the public,” Warnes said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Friday that the government could not afford to pay what the union was demanding.

NYE celebrations shaping up to dazzle the world

New Year’s Eve excitement in Sydney went to the next level last week when Robbie Williams was confirmed to headline the ABC’s annual concert at the Sydney Opera House.