Sydney train commuters face more disruptions amid uncertainty over ...

More than 200 Sydney train workers have stayed home and hundreds of services have been cancelled as industrial action causes chaos on the city's rail network.

The NSW government said 208 trains workers have not reported to their shift so far this morning, and 335 train services have been cancelled. 

Transport Minister John Graham told the ABC that while services would be running to the timetable, there will still be some delays and cancellations.

He has urged parents to find alternative travel options for children heading to school this morning. 

"Particularly for kids of school age, we're encouraging parents to find a different way to get them to school to move them around the city, that's the make sure that they do make it to their final destination," Mr Graham said.

"We're encouraging people to continue to check the apps and we'll update regularly update after."

It comes after the NSW government lost its latest bid at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Sunday to stop industrial action by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU).

The government accused the union of a "coordinated effort" to cripple the network and its members of using sick leave inappropriately, arguing that the no-shows amounted to unprotected industrial action, and were hence unlawful.

However, the commission found there was no evidence that Friday's actions were coordinated by the RTBU.

Union says one-off payment stands between parties

RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes told ABC Radio Sydney that the union and government nearly reached a deal last Thursday. 

He said a $4,500 one-off pay to workers was the only thing standing between the two parties. 

"We all but had a deal done last Thursday night. All but had a deal," Mr Warnes said. 

But Mr Graham told ABC Radio Sydney that the government could not afford a one-off payment but rather better pay.

"This has taken so many twists and turns over the course of this dispute. At one point it was about 50 cent fares, then it was about 24-hour running, now it's about a $4,500 one-off payment.

"What we can offer is fair pay and conditions and if we can get down to that issue … that is something we are prepared to offer, that's something we can get down to." 

On Sunday, NSW secretary Toby Warnes said they were happy with the result, but could not guarantee commuters that the trains would be back to normal on Monday.

Sydney Trains fails to stop industrial action

Sydney Trains has lost its bid to stop industrial action taken by members of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matthew Longland also warned that Monday could be "unpredictable" depending on how many staff attend work.

"We will be providing updates in the early morning depending on the staff that are absent from duty, and we will be managing the network in real time from the rail operations centre," Mr Longland said.

In a statement, NSW for Transport urged "employees to turn up to work tomorrow and help run a regular timetable. There is no 'lockout' in place and all staff undertaking their normal duties will be paid."

'471 notices' and staff no-show

On Friday, an unusually high number of staff did not turn up to work. At the height of the disruption, more than 800 services had been cancelled and 365 delayed.

And while the absentees declined over the weekend, to about 360 on Saturday, and about 260 on Sunday, the impacts were still being felt, with more than 500 services delayed or cancelled.

Mr Warnes blames the uncertainty on the government issuing a "471 notice" to employees on February 5, informing them they would not be paid for any work during a shift in which they took part in a partial work ban.

The "lockout", he said, was in place until Wednesday week.

"Any disruption that people see tomorrow, Tuesday or into the next week will be caused by the government.

"We call on the government to drop its lockout notices. Services will resume running pretty much as normal, albeit, but potentially a little bit slower in the outer suburban areas, but people will not notice the impact of the go-slows."

He argued that the union "were not going to encourage our members to show up or not show up".

The government has said it is prepared to withdraw the 471 notices, if the union cancels its go-slow action.

On Sunday, Transport Minister John Graham said that if impacts to the network increased, the government would not hesitate to again file the same application that was knocked down by the FWC, although he's setting his sights on Wednesday.

"The key next step in this dispute, really is the hearing on Wednesday of the Fair Work Commission— a full bench hearing — which will consider all these matters, and that is the hearing which could put a stop to this industrial action," Mr Graham said.

"This negotiation has been going on for 10 months. The government view is it's time to stop that industrial action, the impact it's having on commuters and businesses, and allow the parties to sort through the final details on this deal."