Page 17 - ETU Journal Autumn 2017

We have about 60 shop stewards in rail, including 32 who represent our
550 members at Metro.
Q How have you found working with different governments and their different approaches over the years?
I’ve been lucky that there has been
a Labor government for all but four of the years I have been the rail organiser. When the Liberals were in power they never bothered to talk to us and were even prepared to shut the rail system down for weeks if we took protected industrial action.
ANDREW TARANTO
Shop Steward
Meet Andrew Taranto, a 36-year veteran of the rail industry. As
a shop steward, he represents members in overhead and
is an ETU State Councillor. Andrew was responsible for training former ETU Assistant Secretary Wes Hayes during his apprenticeship and first crossed paths with Secretary Troy Gray in 2000, during Troy’s first major dispute. He has a wealth of experience in the rail industry and the union and shares some of his wisdom and insight with us in this Q&A.
Now under Daniel Andrews we have
a government that campaigned on investing in the rail system and has delivered. One of the best things Daniel Andrews has done is to appoint Jacinta Allen as transport minister. She is
very approachable, has delivered on the government’s promises and is doing a magnificent job.
This is the first government I’ve seen that has been so pro-public transport. Since the Andrews Government
was elected we’ve seen investment
in level crossing removals, rail duplications, rail extensions, 65 new next-generation trains to be built
at Newport, $750 million for a new rolling stock maintenance depot
at Pakenham East, a new satellite maintenance centre at Calder Park and preparations for the introduction of new high-capacity signalling. Our membership will grow to well over 1,000 in projects and construction over the next few years because of all this new work.
One of the best things Daniel Andrews has done is to appoint Jacinta Allen as transport
minister.
RAIL > MOVING FORWARD Q Tell us a bit about your shop
stewards network in the rail
industry.
We have about 60 shop stewards in rail, including 32 who represent our 550 members at Metro. They are all very well trained and about half of them can solve issues themselves at the workplace level. We also have shop stewards at VLine, Yarra Trams and the Ballarat and Bendigo Rail Workshops.
Q
How do you see the future of the
rail industry?
Q What’s your role at Metro all about?
I started out as a traction lineworker in the overhead
section of the rail network, working on the tools for 25 years after I finished my apprenticeship. I’m now the project coordinator for the overhead section.
It’s the relationships you have with management and the ability to circumvent issues before they become apparent that I find most
satisfying.
It’s very positive. The infrastructure investment coming down the pipeline will bring Melbourne into the 21st century. It will be a very modern rail system when the work is complete.
In the future I would love to see a fast rail link between Melbourne and Sydney. It will be expensive ($18 billion is the figure I’ve heard), but it would cut travel time to three hours, which is competitive with flying. n
Q How long have you been a shop steward and what do like about the role?
I’ve been the shop steward for about 16 years now. I first got involved
in 2000 when we had a blue over privatisation. It was the first blue
that Troy Gray was involved in. Upon privatisation a handful of guys went into the private sector as linies and were paid $4 an hour extra. We said we want parity and the company said ‘keep dreaming’. So we stacked on a turn and things came to a head. The guys then realised they had a bit of clout, which was very satisfying.
I’m an experienced shoppie now,
and it’s the relationships you have with management and the ability to circumvent issues before they become apparent that I find most satisfying. Blokes will ask a question and you can get an immediate response from management, which comes from the rapport you have with them. That comes with time in the job and time as a shop steward. (cont...)
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THE ETU > AUTUMN 2017
17