03/09/2026
MEDIA RELEASE - CITY CATS
CityCat crews will stop work for 24 hours on Riverfire.
Members of the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) have notified of two 12-hour stoppages from 0400 on Saturday 5 September 2026, after RiverCity Ferries rejected the Unions’ offer to settle, and put an agreement out to ballot that is worse than one that was voted down by 95.1% of their employees earlier this year.
RCF’s proposed agreement:
• Has no real pay increase: RCF increased the first pay rise from 3.5% to 4.75%, but since they removed back pay from the expiry of the old agreement, employees would only be approximately $7 better off a week off over the whole first year, compared with what was proposed in the EA that was rejected by 95.1% of crews. This dollar figure will go down if the new proposed EA takes a long time to get approved and does not take into consideration the conditions that have been taken away.
• Allows employees’ 38 ordinary hours to be averaged over a roster cycle, making it less likely crew would get paid overtime. This is a change to conditions that was not discussed or agreed to during negotiations.
• Grandfathering clause allows new Casuals to be paid less than what current Casuals are paid.
• Allows RCF not to pay for revalidation of First Aid or Certificates of Competency if a Casual has not worked an average of at least two shifts per week over the preceding twelve months.
• Removes the ability to Salary Sacrifice superannuation.
• Ignores the crews’ log of claim items.
It’s clear to see why the MUA and AMOU recommend members vote NO to RCF’s proposed enterprise agreement.
Crews onboard the CityCats and KittyCats will stop work from 0400 on Saturday 5 September 2026, the morning of Riverfire, until 0359 on Sunday 6 September 2026.
The bans on overtime, operating the card payment systems on board vessels and unlocking gates have also been extended until 0800 on Friday, 11 September 2026.
“RCF has rejected our offer to settle and put a defective agreement out to ballot that leaves crews worse off,” AMOU Industrial Officer Tracey Ellis said. “If there was any chance the agreement was going to get voted up, RCF would have closed the ballot before Riverfire, and prevented protected industrial action. Instead, they decided to close the ballot on Sunday, leaving crews with no other option.”
“The crews love working Riverfire, and don’t want to let the public down, so this decision wasn’t made lightly,” said Tracey Ellis. “There is still plenty of time for RCF to come to the table with an offer that will get the ferries moving.”
Contact: Tracey Ellis 0427 204 738 or [email protected]
