MARITIME UNIONS will continue protected industrial action against the leading operator of Brisbane River ferries after the parties failed to reach agreement during negotiations earlier this week.
CityCat and KittyCat services, operated by Kelsian Group’s RiverCity Ferries, will be halted for two hours from 0800 tomorrow [7 August] as members of the MUA and AMOU withdraw their labour again. The unions have also notified of an extension to the partial work bans already in place.
The ban on the performance of overtime and ban on operating the Go Card ticketing system onboard vessels was set to expire tomorrow but has been extended until 0800 on Friday, 14 August 2026.
“RCF’s revised wage offer does not take into consideration the fact that the workload of the crews has increased dramatically since 50 cent fares were introduced by Translink,” AMOU industrial officer Tracey Ellis.
“Or that most of the employee claims have not been sufficiently addressed.
“It’s disappointing to hear that the Lord Mayor thinks that this is an ‘issue between the employees and their own company’ when Council signed a contract that pays the ferry operator a 2.5% per year increase for wages,” Ms Ellis said. “It’s hardly surprising that we are at a point where industrial action is necessary.”
RiverCity Ferries stood down its employees in response to last week’s protected action notice which meant there were no ferries operating for the two hours between 0800 and 1000 on Friday 31 July 2026.
“RiverCity Ferries would prefer to shut down the ferries for two hours rather than operate a skeleton timetable. That shows the contempt they have for their employees and the passengers relying on the service to get to work,” Ms Ellis said.
“You can expect the free rides onboard the ferries to continue until RiverCity Ferries come back to the table with a better offer."
DCN has sought comment from Kelsian but received no response.