The long and the short of it is that the union wanted to do a partial shutdown and the government said “screw you, if you're partially shutting it down, we're going to lock you out.”
Here is a press article on the issue that seems reasonably accurate:
My friend, who is more involved and knowledgeable than me, made this summary of events:
“NSW Government goes on a snap strike.
Wait… what?? The Government striking, but not the Unions???
Friends, Transport for NSW have unilaterally decided they will NOT be running ANY Sydney Trains or NSW Trains services today, Monday 21/2.
I have no doubt that they’re going to go to the media and blame the rail unions. If they do, they are LYING!
The RTBU gave notice 2 weeks ago of planned Industrial Action to begin this Monday, including a number of items such as a ban on Overtime shifts, enforcing that we work our master roster, and not accept daily changes to our agreed standard set of rostered jobs (which do capture every train service on the network).
The Government took the RTBU back to the Fair Work Commission with the argument these actions would lose the state too much money and endanger public safety. Wanting to come to a mediated position without arbitration by the FWC, the RTBU agreed to withdraw the ban on Overtime, the enforcement of the master roster, and if a specific instance occurs that the ban of daily changed standard working (amended working) could cause a public safety issue, then it that too would be temporarily lifted to solve that specific issue and that issue only – for public safety.
This all parties agreed to.
However, it seems the State Government did not understand what they just agreed to. Upon realisation, on Sunday they appealed again to the FWC to again have it overturned to which their claim was rejected as THEY were the ones to agree to it just the day previous.
And now at 1:30am they have unilaterally decided they can’t run ANY trains. All because we won’t accept amended working to our agreed standardised jobs. Every 6 months, we agree to changes to the standard working to be able to capture any minuscule changes to the timetable. They are agreed and formalised which then forms our master roster. And now the Government are saying they cannot run a railway at all unless they are able to change our agreed jobs every single day!!
Who here is the complete failure??
You will no doubt hear on the news today that the unions have caused all of this. That is the complete opposite of the truth.
We are 9 months late on a new Enterprise Agreement, in which time the Government has agreed to changes and then reneged months later. They spent an estimated almost HALF A MILLION DOLLARS just this weekend alone to take the RTBU to court! Agreed to a compromise before the court, however a day afterwards, THEY are the ones who reneged and tried to take us back to court – which they duly lost! And now in a last ditch effort, rather than work around the (no doubt) difficult rostering position, they’ve unilaterally decided to pull the pin completely.
We didn’t choose that, they did. We are all turning up to work today, even some on Overtime shifts, as they wanted! We haven’t pulled the pin on the people of NSW, this Government has.
THIS GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED THE PEOPLE OF NSW.”