{"id":118,"date":"2026-04-28T12:38:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/118\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:38:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:38:22","slug":"queensland-commuters-warned-rail-chaos-could-worsen-ahead-of-magic-round-as-wage-disputes-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/118\/","title":{"rendered":"Queensland commuters warned rail chaos could worsen ahead of Magic Round as wage disputes continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

South-east Queensland commuters are being warned that disruptions to train lines could worsen, as the Queensland government and unions remain at loggerheads over wage disputes.<\/p>\n

Queensland Rail says it put a “new and improved” offer to the Fair Work Commission on Monday night, which the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has called “pitiful”.<\/p>\n

What you need to know as Qld track closures extended<\/a><\/p>\n

After a week of “chaotic” disruptions, passengers should prepare for further impacts with the extended April track closures to get into full swing.<\/p>\n

The RTBU says it will “create minor disruptions” in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Branch secretary Peter Allen said some workers would refuse to work overtime, and others would institute a ban on some paperwork.<\/p>\n

“Let me give you an example of what one group are going to do shortly to send a message back to their employer, they’re going to refuse to work through their lunch break and have a barbecue instead,” Mr Allen said.<\/p>\n

“Instead of what they normally do, which is work through their unpaid lunch break and keep the trains running, they’re going to pull up and have something to eat.”<\/p>\n

The unions had been in pay negotiations with the government for several months, which \u2014 combined with a number of planned upgrade works \u2014 have caused disturbances for south-east Queensland commuters.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Services were clogged at peak hour on Tuesday evening, with some trains arriving with only three carriages and already at capacity by the time they reached Roma Street Station. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)<\/p>\n

Bargaining disagreements<\/p>\n

Head of corporate affairs at Queensland Rail, Nev Conway, said the organisation tabled a “new and improved” offer at the Fair Work Commission on Monday.<\/p>\n

“We are increasing cost-of-living allowances, we’re also adding increases to general allowances,” he said.<\/p>\n

The offer tabled was an 8 per cent base pay increase over three years, and a cost-of-living adjustment if inflation goes above that rate.<\/p>\n

But Mr Allen said the offer was “basically a carbon copy” of previous agreements.<\/p>\n

“Yesterday, I said the agreements were disappointing. I take that back; they are pitiful agreements,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Queensland Rail \u2026 and the Queensland government who set the rules here, made absolutely no movement, despite the fact they were going to turn up in good faith and negotiate.”<\/p>\n

The RTBU also called for trauma leave for staff, and better management for safety and fatigue.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rail services have been disrupted due to ongoing industrial action by unions. (ABC News: Liz Pickering)<\/p>\n

“Yesterday’s offer means we need to escalate beyond where we were prior to Easter,” Mr Allen said.<\/p>\n

Industrial action taken over Easter caused delays to planned rail maintenance works,<\/a> which Queensland Rail said was still affecting the network.<\/p>\n

“The impacts are now, and they are real,” said Mr Conway.<\/p>\n

“We have downgraded services; we are running three-car shorter trains around the network at the moment.<\/p>\n

“That is a result of maintenance work not being done.”<\/p>\n

\"Transport<\/p>\n

Brent Mickelberg says the unions should end protected industrial action and make a deal. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)<\/p>\n

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg urged the union to return to the bargaining table.<\/p>\n

“I accept on face value that the unions don’t wish to impact commuters, but their actions are already impacting commuters in the south-east,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The unions are required to come back to Fair Work with a response to the offer by the 7th of May, and in the meantime, we want to remove any impact to passenger services.”<\/p>\n

Potential Magic Round disruption<\/p>\n

Both the RTBU and Queensland Rail said they hoped to resolve the matter before more than 100,000 people descend upon Lang Park in the heart of Brisbane between Thursday, May 14, and Sunday, May 17, for the Magic Round fixture of footy games.<\/p>\n

But if an agreement could not be reached, Mr Allen urged footy goers to factor in disruptions to their travel plans.<\/p>\n

“It might take a little longer [for commuters], it might look like a Sunday schedule when Magic Round is on, people will get there,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Reece<\/p>\n

The NRL’s Magic Round will be held in Brisbane from May 14 to 17. (AAP: Jason O’Brien)<\/p>\n

“There will be some disruption; Queensland Rail and the government need to know we’re serious.<\/p>\n

“We would say to people, maybe come in a bit earlier, maybe come to one of the local establishments and enjoy the hospitality a little earlier \u2026 because there might be some disruptions on the day.”<\/p>\n

Mr Conway said Queensland Rail hoped to reach an agreement by May 7.<\/p>\n

“If the impacts of protected industrial action continue, yes, Magic Round may be interrupted. We don’t want that, we want Magic Round to stay magical,” Mr Conway said.<\/p>\n

“What we will endeavour to do is let commuters know as soon as possible when there is a disruption to services.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South-east Queensland commuters are being warned that disruptions to train lines could worsen, as the Queensland government and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,214,217,218,219,211,212,213,215,216],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-brent-mickelberg","tag-fair-work-commission","tag-industrial-action","tag-protected-industrial-action","tag-qld","tag-queensland","tag-queensland-rail","tag-queensland-rail-tram-and-bus-union","tag-rail-tram-and-bus-union"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}