The long-running stoush between the NSW government and the rail union could drag on until the new year after an application for an urgent hearing was dismissed.

Federal Court hearings across two days have been proposed for February or March, taking the dispute much closer to the state election.

Justice Elizabeth Raper on Tuesday refused an application by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) to expedite a hearing on whether its proposed deactivation of Opal readers was legal and protected.

She had earlier refused the union’s application to recuse herself from the case on Monday.

Finance Minister Damien Tudehope and Transport Minister David Elliott called on the union to have members vote on an enterprise agreement offered previously, in a joint statement issued on Tuesday night.

“The government’s priority is allowing rail workers to access a fair and reasonable increase in pay and conditions by taking its offer to a vote.

“It is entirely unnecessary for the union to be in this position,” the pair said.

The court case came after the NSW government sought damages over industrial action taken in recent months when Opal gates were left open at train stations, as the RTBU planned to deactivate readers.

The union responded by taking the government to court, seeking an urgent ruling on whether its industrial action was protected.

The deactivation was slated to begin last Thursday but was postponed while the union waited for the now delayed court decision.

The union and government are locked in a protracted stoush over a new enterprise agreement, and are also at loggerheads over a Korean-built fleet of intercity trains, in storage since 2019.

The union argues the trains are not safe to operate in NSW yet while the government insists they are.

The RTBU has been contacted for comment.

– AAP

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