Why has the Rail, Tram and Bus Union taken strike action against Metro Trains?

The industrial dispute is about power. The RTBU is locked in an arm wrestle with Metro about who controls the working conditions of staff. Metro's offer of a 17 per cent pay rise over four years might be generous enough for the union to agree to, if it weren't for the big changes to working conditions Metro insists must go with it. The union has vowed it will not give up hard-won protections of its members' work-life balance. The two sides are as far apart as ever on this, even though talks have been going for five months. Further strike action has not been ruled out.

Further strike action has not been ruled out in the dispute between the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and Metro.

So what does Metro want to change?

Metro wants control over when and where it rosters train drivers to work and it wants to reduce the number of weeks' training it takes to become a qualified driver. It says current arrangements get in the way of its ability to run a reliable railway, which has experienced a doubling of patronage since 2000.