Public Passenger Services staff stage walk out to protest lack of staff and risks to public safety
Staff at Public Passenger Services at Parramatta have walked off the job at 10.30am today to highlight their growing concern with ongoing staff vacancy and the threat of permanent job losses, according to the Public Service Association of NSW (PSA).
The office has an annual budget of $12.5m but brings in $29m of revenue annually.
Public Passenger Services staff at Parramatta help provide and regulate safe, reliable and efficient public passenger services in NSW.
Staff vacancy rates at the Parramatta office are affecting the agency鈥檚 ability to conduct vital services such as taxi and hire car driver background checks and medical assessments.
Today, staff were told about a proposed job cut of 12 positions, despite the transfer of additional bus safety duties previously handled by Transport NSW.
General Secretary Anne Gardiner said staff fear ongoing vacancies and now job cuts will compromise the safety of community members who use taxis, public and private buses and hire cars in NSW.
鈥淧ublic Passenger Services staff hope the strike today will highlight how job cuts at their office will place community safety at risk, with less resources to conduct data matching with NSW police and a loss of assessment expertise,鈥 Ms Gardiner said.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 afford compromises that allow drivers without the proper accreditation, medical conditions that impair their performance or a criminal record behind the wheel of our transport services.
鈥淭hese short-sighted job cuts will result in increased costs to the community.
鈥淭he O鈥橣arrell government continues to cut public sector jobs, without appropriate concern and consideration of the impacts on services in NSW,鈥 Ms Gardiner said.
The 色狼社区will hold an emergency meeting on these and other public service job cuts in Parramatta tomorrow. Details here