Geelong commuters have been hit again after V/Line workers walked off the job early Monday – the fifth walkout over pay and conditions since December.
And the train pain is far from over, with yet another stoppage planned for the Geelong line on Friday morning.
On each occasion the four-hour walkouts have commenced at 3am and ended at 7am, with services then slowly resuming.
However the knock-on affect means timetables are affected for much of the day.
Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) boss Vik Sharma says the Allen state government is ignoring workers in regional areas.
“The reason we are taking industrial action is because the state government has stopped listening to regional workers, they have stopped valuing regional workers,” Mr Sharma said.
“The strikes will continue until the Labor government starts recognising that country workers and their jobs are as important as city jobs.”
The Department of Transport said passengers should consider avoiding travelling on mornings when strikes were taking place.
It warned passengers to expect delays of up to two hours, and said replacement coaches would not stop at all Metro train stations.
The department said motorists travelling between regional centres and Melbourne should also allow extra time due to increased traffic related to West Gate Tunnel works including freeway lane closures between the M80 Ring Road and Millers Road, a closure of Wurundjeri Way, and staged closures of Footscray Road.
