Sydney Trains staff and their relatives are circumnavigating a media ban on employees talking to reporters by using social media to respond to criticism from the state government.
As commuters in Australia's most populous city faced more uncertainty over rail services, Sydney Trains staff went to work on Monday instead of participating in a planned 24-hour strike that was deemed unlawful by the Fair Work Commission.
The first large-scale use of social media occurred before the union's "soft" industrial action – overtime bans and workers calling in sick – began. A Reddit user claiming to be a Sydney train driver published a post on January 11 with a warning: "this is not going to get better."
People claiming to be relatives of Sydney Trains staff have also taken to Twitter to defend the workers, who they say are unable to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.
BuzzFeed News spoke with multiple staff who said they were wary of talking to media because of threats from senior Sydney Trains staff.
A person who says they are a former rail employee created the Twitter account @SydneyRailUser after NSW minister for transport Andrew Constance blamed frontline staff for the network meltdown. The person behind the account – who asked to remain anonymous – said there had been a lack of accurate or honest communication from officials to the public.
#SydneyTrains bosses are making calls to drivers who've said they’re not available for overtime on certain days, as… https://t.co/xNGPnxGnJx
"Everyone is very disillusioned and the leadership team is destroying staff morale more and more as time goes on," they told BuzzFeed News.
Email from #SydneyTrains CEO to all staff: "You must work as usual tomorrow."
@SydneyRailUser has been amplifying the issues facing Sydney Trains, as well as the voices of current and former staff on Twitter who are outraged with what's transpiring.
#SydneyTrains drivers on @TrainLinkWest yesterday were told to take 4 car trains when 8 car sets were available. So… https://t.co/mxY9LpPAdY
They said years of underinvestment and mismanagement had led the network to this point.
"The new timetable cannot run unless drivers are working overtime," said @SydneyRailUser. "The overtime is now impacting mental health and general wellbeing."
Constance has said overtime will always be part of a train driver's roster.
Elsewhere, Twitter threads have gone viral from people saying they are distressed family members of trains staff. Marina says her brother has worked for Sydney Trains for almost a decade, and that its shrinking staff had led to a stressful working environment, as drivers and other employees left to work in Melbourne or Brisbane, "lured by better pay and conditions".
The drivers, the crew, the staff, need to know the people are behind them. This is NOT about money. It's about cond… https://t.co/tC9afIdgSd
"Since this new timetable, the network has only been running due to the goodwill of staff," she told BuzzFeed News.
One of Marina's Twitter threads went exceptionally viral last week.
@slsandpet @YaThinkN My brother is a Sydney Trains driver (on top of that he looks after me while I’m battling a ch… https://t.co/ZHdyJq3XcO
"Overtime in the Rails is not the same everywhere else," she said. "Overtime for them means working longer than Rail Safety allows and on their days off. But they're now exhausted – literally fatigued and exhausted."
Cath, who tweets from @Cat41968, has been venting for her husband. She says that after more than 30 years working on the railways, he is fed up.
@YaThinkN @davidr8203 Totally support everything @HappyNacho73 says. My husband is a guard and the hours expected o… https://t.co/w80svqiV8I
"Workers shouldn't have to live with the fear of losing jobs when they go above and beyond," she told BuzzFeed News.
"These guys are responsible for the public and safety yet they are treated with complete disdain.
"It hurts even more when information comes about huge tax cuts for big business courtesy of NSW government and they can't afford a pay rise that is halfway decent."