I recently attended the 2023 RTBU National Council where I had the pleasure of meeting other Delegates and Organiser from across Australia. I took the opportunity to discuss how we organise the across Victoria and share knowledge with other states to improve how we represent members across the country.
Over the next 12 months I will be working closely with both Queensland and Western Australia Branches where other major projects are underway or ramping up to help better understand how we all work and adopt new ideas to improve the project space here too.
The last few weeks we have seen a lot of media focus on ballooning project costs across the state. With a number of road projects scrapped and some rail projects delayed the RTBU is continuing to push the government to ensure all rail infrastructure works in Victoria, including Airport Rail, the Suburban Rail loop and critical ongoing Level Crossing Removals. These jobs not only secure employment for our members but also deliver much needed infrastructure for the state.
The V/Line Infrastructure EA is currently being negotiated. We are now about 6 meetings in and will continue negotiating to get a great agreement for RTBU members. Regular notices are sent out to members as well as online meetings with delegates and members to keep everyone updated on where the negotiations are.
If you require any information please look out for the meeting invites as these meeting will be held on Teams due to the remote locations of V/Line workers throughout Victoria. You can also contact your delegate or myself for an update or to request on onsite visit.
While many projects are preparing for the Christmas break, we will be back in full swing in January. I look forward to working in 2024 and look forward to what will be a busy year for projects/ Infrastructure.
