Between 3am and 4pm, conductors, train controllers, stations, customer service staff and authorised officers engaging in the industrial action will stop work.
No train services will run on the Seymour, Shepparton, Swan Hill, Echuca or Maryborough lines for the entire day on Friday.
With the dispute now into its ninth month of bargaining, this strike will mark the seventh day of industrial action taken by RBTU members since December due to the inability of both parties to reach an agreement.
RTBU secured a 17 per cent salary increase deal for Metro workers and has been advocating for job security, fair pay and favourable working conditions for its regional members since June last year.
RTBU branch secretary Vik Sharma called upon the government “to get serious” at the bargaining table to resolve this matter:
“This industrial action will regrettably impact regional commuters and cause significant service disruptions. As such, we encourage commuters to make alternative travel arrangements,” he said.
“Regional workers and their communities deserve to be treated with respect, but instead they are being treated like second-class citizens.
“V/Line workers are seeking a fair and reasonable enterprise agreement that reflects the conditions already accepted by other employers across the industry.
“The Allan Labor Government must be accountable to regional workers and work constructively to resolve this dispute.”
Regional passengers are strongly advised to rethink their travel plans that day and limit journeys to essential ones.
Motorists travelling on key routes between regional centres and Melbourne should allow extra travel time due to predicted increased traffic.
Real-time traffic conditions can be found at traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au, while the latest public transport information is available at ptv.vic.gov.au, the PTV app, or the V/Line website or app. Passengers are urged to check these sources before embarking on their journeys.
