Rail union backs down on Pope strike

Transport go-ahead: Pope Benedict will tour the Sydney CBD. (Reuters, file photo: Erin Siegal) New South Wales's Rail, Tram and Bus Union has called off a rail strike which threatened to throw next week's World Youth Day event into chaos. The decision to cancel the strike came after a three-hour meeting with the state Transport Minister, John Watkins. Rail workers were planning to strike over the Government's 2.5 per cent capped pay rise offer on Pope Benedict's busiest day during the World Youth Day event. Up to 750,000 Sydneysiders and Catholic pilgrims could have been stranded during the Pope's official welcome to Sydney. John Robertson from Unions NSW says during the meeting the Government agreed to drop its proposal to slash around 400 jobs, in exchange for a pay increase for rail workers. "The workers have had a win,... [read full story]