Unions feel excluded from railways agenda

Unions are unhappy about finding themselves on the outside of a reference group looking into future options for Dunedin Railways.

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union has repeated its claim bureaucrats are intent on closing the mothballed company, following a failed attempt by the union to get involved in the reference group exploring 15 expressions of interest on what to do with Dunedin Railways and its assets.

In a joint statement yesterday, Unions Otago and Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) Otago representatives said the unions had been "refused" the opportunity to join the reference group.

But Dunedin City Holdings Ltd chairman Keith Cooper rejected that characterisation of the issue, and noted RMTU had not stepped forward with ideas for Dunedin Railways’ assets last month when the expressions of interest were called for.

The Dunedin City Council-owned tourist and charter train company was put into hibernation on July 1 after forecast ongoing losses of about $500,000 a year were compounded by its main source of revenue, overseas visitors, being stopped by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In June, Rail and Maritime Transport Union South Island organiser John Kerr said "unelected bureaucrats" were intent on closing it.

Yesterday, RMTU secretary Dave Kearns, repeated the claim.

"It is a political issue, yet the elected councillors seem to be giving managers and board chairs the power to make political decisions they are not qualified or entitled to make," Mr Kearns said.

Mr Cooper said he was "absolutely" comfortable with the present make-up of the reference group.

It includes himself, city councillor Jim O’Malley, council group manager transport Jeanine Benson, rail specialist and former Dunedin Railways director Graeme Smart, Dunedin Host member Ralph Davies, and former trustee of the Taieri Gorge Railway, former city councillor and current Otago regional councillor Kate Wilson.

The group had met once and would meet again today.

The group was to advise on a strategy, which would be reported to the city council for its decision before the end of October.

It was not an appropriate forum for the union’s inclusion, Mr Cooper said.

The composition of the reference group was about "who’s got the best ideas about how the assets could be deployed".

"It’s totally different from union members and staff.

"It’s the old story, ‘strategy before structure’.

"Until we’ve got a strategy, there’s no need to delve into the structure."

A Dunedin City Holdings Ltd application to the Government’s tourism bailout, the strategic tourism assets protection programme, for $450,000 for exploring options for the company’s future had been denied, which had limited the reference group’s scope, Mr Cooper said.