Queensland rail unions cancel strike

Rail strikes planned for southeast Queensland on Monday and Wednesday have been
called off after a breakthrough in negotiations.

The strike action was averted after Queensland Rail agreed not to increase the
number of Sundays train crews must work.
The Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees said that instead of being
increased to 26, they would be left at 18 Sunday shifts per year.
"We will proceed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday into negotiations on a new
agreement ... based on the current 18 Sunday shifts," the union's state secretary
Greg Smith said late on Friday.
"We've agreed to have an Industrial Relations Commissioner conciliate those
meetings, and at the end of the three days we hope we can come out with an agreement
we can take to members.
"I also think it's a good outcome because commuters are not going to be
inconvenienced."
But Mr Smith warned that if talks bogged down in another stalemate unions would
reassess the situation.
"But I'm looking on the positive side of things," he said.
"I'm hoping come Wednesday we'll be able to come out of the negotiations and say to
our members 'well here's an agreement you can vote on'."