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Industrial Relations weBLOG
Petition delivered to Kevin Rudd - 20/11/07 Today, at a meeting of a local Your Rights at Work group in Campbelltown, Kevin Rudd was presented with a petition signed by 90,000 people calling on the Labor Party to abolish WorkChoices. The petition organised by Unions NSW was circulated throughout the community in the last few months. Many teachers have signed this petition. Mr Rudd told the meeting it was humbling to see so many people working to improve fairness for workers. He said he wanted decency and fairness restored in the workplace and in the laws governing the workplace. Thanks to the many members who circulated and signed the petition. YR@W at Bennelong festival - 19/10/07 The Bennelong YR@W Group will be at the Granny Smith Festival Street Parade on Saturday 20 October. Federal election and the YR@W bus - 19/10/07 The Unions NSW Your Rights at Work bus will be visiting the following electorates during the Federal election campaign. MACARTHUR Tuesday 23 October - Wednesday 24 October 23.10 - Campbelltown/Camden Workplace visits 24.10 - Campbelltown/Camden Workplace visits GILMORE Wednesday 31 October - Friday 2 November 31.10 - Batemans Bay Rights at Work Campaign Launch 1.11 - Nowra workplace visits, Kiama Rights at Work Campaign Launch 2.11 - Kiama workplace visits HUGHES Wednesday 7 November 7.11 - Liverpool Workplace visits MACQUARIE Thursday 8 November 8.11 - Oberon Workplace visits PATERSON/COWPER Monday 12 November - Wednesday 14 November 12.11 - Forster Workplace visits Forster Rights at Work Campaign Launch 13.11 - Kempsey Workplace visits Kempsey Rights at Work Campaign Launch 14.11 - Coffs Harbour Workplace visits Nambucca Heads Rights at Work evening PAGE Monday 19 November - Tuesday 20 November 19.11 - Casino doorknocking/workplace visits 20.11 - Casino Workplace visits HUGHES WORKPLACE TOUR 2 Thursday 22 November Howard's IR plans after the election - 12/6/07 The Labor Party has obtained a secret Howard Government brief detailing its plans for Australian working families. The brief reveals the Howard Government's plan to destroy State industrial relations systems and force Australians onto Australian Workplace Agreements; asks a consultancy to model the economic impact of 20 per cent of the workforce being on AWAs, an increase of 15 per cent or 1.5 million Australians; asks a consultancy to model the economic impact of 100 per cent of the workforce being covered by the federal system, an increase of 15 per cent or 1.5 million working Australians; and asks a consultancy to model the economic impact of 10 per cent of employees being covered by an award, a decrease of 9 per cent. Tinkering with WorkChoices won't make it 'fair' - 29/5/07 Workers will not be guaranteed full financial compensation for award conditions lost under the Federal Government's industrial relations laws according to the details of the Government's new WorkChoices amendments introduced into Parliament on Monday 28 May. The ACTU has identified major holes in the so-called 'Fairness Test' with around 2.5 million workers who will not be covered by the 'test' because they are on already-registered AWAs and Agreements, earn more than $75,000 a year or are award-free. The legislation also shows that workers with family responsibilities are particularly at risk. Employees whose availability to work is restricted due to family responsibilities or other personal circumstances may be deemed to have no entitlement to penalty rates or shift pay under the WorkChoices changes. WorkChoices title ditched by Howard Government - 20/5/07 An amazing move by the Howard government. Public servants and Ministers are directed to get rid of the name "WorkChoices" in all publicity. This doesn't mean the draconian industrual relations system has been abolished, just the name. AWAs remain and unfair dismissal rights are still removed from four million Australians. There is no safety net or decent set of minimum conditions to assist people struggling to keep their heads above water. However, the success of the unions and community campaign has made the term "Workchoices" on the nose. But the Government will still spend millions of dollars promoting its proposed changes to the laws on the so-called fairness test. This is blatant political advertising in an election year.
Secret report confirms AWAs cut conditions - 2/5/07 Secret figures that the Howard government has previously refused to release confirm that AWAs registered under the new IR laws are cutting the pay and conditions of Australian workers at an alarming rate says the ACTU. * Almost half (45%) of AWA individual contracts abolish all of the award conditions that the Federal Government spent $55 million on TV advertising to claim would be 'protected by law'. * A third of the AWA individual contracts registered under the new laws over a six month period provide no pay rise for the life of the contract - some for up to five years. * Award conditions were abolished from the vast majority of the AWA individual contracts examined, including overtime pay (cut in 52% of AWAs), penalty rates (68%), shift loadings (76%), annual leave loading (59%), incentive payments and bonuses (70%), declared public holidays (22.5%), allowances for expenses, skills or disabilities (57%), rest breaks (30%). * Staff at the Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA) believe that more than one in four (27.8%) of the AWA individual contracts they examined may have broken the law by undercutting one of the minimum legal employment conditions. Other official Government data shows that more than 1,000 Australian workers are now being put onto AWA individual contracts every day under the new IR laws - with 94,513 new AWAs registered in the three months to March 2007 and 306,393 in the 12 months to the end of March 2007.
Rockin for Rights - 23/4/07 Tens of thousands of people joined the Rock for Rights rally and concert in Sydney. The march filled the Oxford Street from Taylor Square back into College Street. Performers at the concert included
Some media reports attempted to downplay the success of the event but those who were there know that the massive crowd numbered in the tens of thousands. UnionsNSW aims to protect young workers - 4/4/07 The NSW Industrial Relations Commission will today be asked to safeguard conditions for young workers minimum breaks and maximum hours, in a case that aims to lessen the impact of the Howard Government's industrial laws on the state's lowest wage earners. Unions NSW will today challenge the federal IR laws by lodging a Youth Protection Clause that recommends an expansion of minimum workplace safety conditions and wages for young workers in NSW on Australian Workplace Agreements. The submission, which would apply to all young workers under the age of 18 years in NSW employed by a corporation, recommends the inclusion of basic state award conditions, such as minimum hours, basic allowances, penalty rates and paid overtime.
Union membership declines - 3/4/07 New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a fall in trade union members of 6.6 per cent in the 12 months to August last year. Only one in five employees belongs to a union related to his or her main job. ACTU secretary Greg Combet says the results are very disappointing for unions but not surprising. Greg says one of the aims of the Howard government's draconian industrial laws was to make it very difficult for people to be a part of the union movement. He said: "It's very difficult for people to make the choice to be a member of the union under WorkChoices. "We're already aware of people being victimised for choosing to be a union member and putting their hand up to oppose some of things that happen in workplaces. "It's also very hard for people to have effective union representation."
Community protest on WorkChoices 22 April in Hyde Park - 23/3/07 Join thousands of workers on Sunday 22 April at 11 am at Hyde Park, Sydney to defend your rights as a teacher at work. Join the march to Sydney Cricket Ground where there will be a rock concert. For further information click on the link Rockin' for Rights Concert
ACTU launches new ads - 5/3/07 The ACTU launched its new TV ads this week. The ads use data from the Office of the Employment Advocate(OEA) showing that most AWA individual contracts being made under the new IR laws are cutting important work conditions. The OEA evidence shows that of the AWAs surveyed: 51% cut overtime loadings 63% cut penalty rates 64% cut annual leave loading 46% cut public holidays payment 52% cut shift work loadings 40% cut rest breaks 46% cut incentive based payments and bonuses 48% cut monetary allowances (for employment expenses, skills, disabilities) 36% cut declared public holidays 44% cut days to be substituted for public holidays or a procedure for such substitution.
ACTU supports Federation's stand on performance pay - 22/2/07 The Howard government's push for performance pay in schools is an attack on the professionalism of Australia's teachers that will not improve our education system says ACTU President Sharan Burrow. "This issue is a smokescreen to cover up for ten years of neglect by the Federal government. The Howard government has done nothing for the educational needs of the majority of Australia's children except lead an attack on the teaching profession and divert funds to private schools. The Howard Government doesn't care about more money for teachers or more money for public schools. If they did, they would not have slashed the share of public school funding over the last ten years. Now, 70 per cent of Australian kids go to schools that get only 35 per cent of federal funds. The Howard Government and Julie Bishop are simply attacking teachers to distract from the issue that public schools are now getting $1 billion less per year because of federal funding share cuts. "The Australian Education Union and the ACTU support accountability and standards and better pay for teachers. There are processes that have been negotiated by teacher unions to deal with underperforming teachers in every State and Territory. We don't support this thinly disguised attempt to bring in AWA individual contracts in schools and the government's extreme IR laws that will pit teacher against teacher and exacerbate inequality. But instead of addressing the really important issues for Australian students like class sizes, Minister Bishop is trying to push teachers onto individual contracts that will cut conditions and force teachers to compete against each other in the workplace."
Union campaign wins justice for James Hardie victims - 8/2/07 ACTU Secretary Greg Combet has expressed great pride in the role of unions and union members in achieving justice for the victims of James Hardie asbestos products. Greg said today: "After six years of struggle, unions are pleased to see James Hardie now taking responsibility for its Australian asbestos victims. What unions have helped secure is a final, open ended, tax-office and now shareholder-approved funding agreement from James Hardie which will see Australian victims of its asbestos products properly compensated now and into the future. Following the 99.6% vote of support from James Hardie shareholders the company will make an initial payment of around $185 million into the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund with further regular payments to be made over the minimum 40 year life of the agreement. The pressure of unions, along with the NSW Government and the tireless work of the victim support groups, and the community has been crucial to the success of this campaign. I would also like to thank Bernie Banton for his courage and tenacity. The health and safety of working Australians is a bread and butter issue for unions and will continue to be despite the Federal Government's best efforts to nobble our role. Without unions whom can the victims of corporate wrongdoing turn to?"
Stand up for Australian jobs - 7/2/07 Our national airline Qantas is about to be sold off, and Treasurer Peter Costello refuses to guarantee that the jobs of Australian workers won't be sent offshore. Use the Rights at Work website to send the Treasurer an email at Stand up for Australian jobs A group of local and foreign owned private equity interests have put in a bid for Qantas, which employs over 37,000 Australian staff. It is the backbone of our aviation and tourism industry. Peter Costello said in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, "the board and the management are responsible for jobs." But the Treasurer can and must impose strict and enforceable conditions on the takeover or stop the proposed sale of Qantas. The Howard Government needs to act to prevent aircraft maintenance services jobs going off-shore; protect airline routes and services to regional Australia and stop Qantas customer service jobs from being sent overseas. Don't let the Government turn its back on Australian jobs, services and standards. Send the Treasurer an email now.
Tristar proves IR laws inadequate - 25/1/07 Australian Manufacturer's Workers Union (AMWU) spokesman Paul Bastian says the fact that it took Commonwealth intervention to force Tristar to change its position shows that industrial relations laws are inadequate. Voters reject IR changes- 3/1/07 JOHN Howard's workplace reforms have failed to win the backing of the majority of voters, with many still believing they are bad for the economy and jobs, giving Labor a handy election-year boost. Full story from the Australian
IR reforms backlash- 31/12/06 JOHN Howard is facing a voter backlash over his industrial relations laws, with 41 per cent of NSW residents saying they know a friend or family member adversely affected by the reforms. Full story from the Sunday Telegraph
Finally justice for James Hardie asbestos victims - 21/11/06 After six years of campaigning and two and a half years of intensive negotiations with James Hardie, unions and asbestos victims groups today secured a final deal from the company to compensate Australian victims of its asbestos products. James Hardie and the New South Wales Government today signed a tax office approved, Amended Final Funding Agreement which will see James Hardie make its first payment to the asbestos compensation fund as soon as February next year. Bosses Strike Fair Deals - 21/11/06 Unions have opened a new front in the Rights at Work campaign, offering to support 'fair employers' who turn their backs on Australian Workplace Agreements. Businesses ranging from florists to bookshops, bottle shops to cafes have already signed up to the scheme, which will be promoted by more than 40 Rights at Work committees across NSW. Average weekly earnings falling under Howard - 18/11/06 New ABS data released on 16 November shows the IR changes are starting to bite into workers' take home pay with average weekly earnings falling further behind the cost of living for full time workers. ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said: "Many working families are struggling to keep their heads above water and the last thing they can afford is a drop in the value of their take home pay. "Average earnings in the year to September 2006 dropped in real terms by 1.2%, that is, working Australians have experienced a fall in the value of average weekly earnings of $13 a week as a result of downward pressure on wages and rising living costs. "This is the second quarter in a row since the new IR laws came in that has seen real average earnings for full time workers drop below the cost of living for the previous 12 month period."
High Court finds in favour of Howard Government - 14/11/06 Unions have vowed to intensify their campaign against the Howard Government's industrial relations laws following today's decision by the High Court which has accepted the Federal Government's argument that the industrial relations laws are legal. ACTU Secretary, Greg Combet, said: "Today's decision by the High Court means that millions of Australian workers have lost their rights at work. "Workers in small companies, workers in large companies, workers who were previously protected by State systems and awards - all have lost their rights. "The only way now for Australian working families to get some justice and to create a fairer system of industrial relations is by voting the Howard Government out."
High Court decision being handed down on Tuesday - 12/11/06 On Tuesday 14 November, the High Court is handing down its decision on the landmark challenge to Howard's industrial relations laws by unions and state governments. $650k Workers' underpayment is proof that problems are rife with 457 visas - 1/11/06 The announcement by the OWS today that temporary workers have been underpaid $650,000 is conclusive proof that exploitation of overseas workers is rife under the Federal Government's 457 visa program says the ACTU. The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs admitted in its annual report released last week that less than two thirds of employers sponsoring migrants on the visas were monitored last year, down from almost 100 per cent in the previous two years. The Government has also admitted that site checks were conducted on only 18 per cent of employers hiring migrants on the visas - short of the Department's own target of 25 per cent. Classifieds the New IR Attack Dog - 23/10/06 A Sydney electrical company has taken out advertisements in the employment pages of newspapers to threaten workers before they vote on industrial action. In a new and ingenuous form of intimidation, Wilken Electrical Services is placing ads to employ workers on AWAs, while its current workforce bargains for a collective agreement. China moves to protect workers, American Chamber of Commerce objects - 14/10/06 The American Chamber of Commerce is complaining about moves by China to increase the power of unions. The American Chamber of Commerce represents companies like Ford, Nike, General Motors and Microsoft. What will John Howard do? Tassie Plunder - 9/10/06 John Howard's Office of Workplace Services is endorsing an oil company's move to strip up to $200 a week off Tasmanian employees. United Petroleum, owned by Victorians Avil Silver and Eddie Hirsch, used WorkChoices to drastically undercut award minimums without giving workers at 13 gas stations any say. Their weapon of choice was an Employer Greenfields Agreement, invented by the Howard Government. Office of Workplace Services spin doctor, Leo D'angelo Fisher, said Norvac, "as new operators of the Bridgewater service station, had lawfully established an Employer Greenfields Agreement." ACTU to campaign against Telstra management - 8/10/06 The ACTU is launching a campaign against Telstra's management this week to coincide with the T3 public float. ACTU president Sharan Burrow said that under the current Telstra management, Telstra workers are treated poorly and the company is no longer a good corporate citizen. Sharan said: "Profit first, people second, doesn't work for us, doesn't work for Australian workers who are Telstra employees and it won't work for the community."
Howard welcomes one million AWAs- 5/10/06 Today Howard went to Adelaide specifically to welcome the signing of the millionth AWA at a local factory. Since the new IR laws came into effect, the ACTU points out that: * 63% of new AWAs have cut workers' penalty rates * 31% have cut workers' overtime pay * 52% get rid of workers' shift penalties * 40% reduce workers' public holiday entitlements * 64% cut workers annual leave entitlements * 22% provide no pay rise for workers, some for five years. (Source: Office of the Employment Advocate) ABS Average Weekly Earnings data also show that, for the first time in five years, increases in Average Weekly Earnings for full time adult workers are not keeping up with inflation.(Source: ABS 6302.0 - Average Weekly Earnings, Trend, May 2006)
Qantas plans to export jobs to India - 1/10/06 The Australian Services Union today called on Qantas to abandon plans to send 400 IT jobs to India. ASU Assistant National Secretary Linda White said it understood the plans were well advanced, with two Indian companies short-listed to take over the jobs of local programmers, website developers and application support staff. Temporary visas undercut salaries - 28/9/06
There are reports today that the Howard Government is to allow American Express to bring in 160 overseas workers to staff its Australian call centres at wage rates that substantially undercut the current minimum standard for temporary skilled migrants. Commenting on the issue today, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said: "What the Government is doing is allowing employers to abuse the overseas worker visa program to create a group of second-class workers in Australia. Temporary overseas workers should not be exploited and they should not be used by the Government and big business to drive down the wages and conditions of Australian workers." New data shows IR laws are pushing down take-home pay - 27/9/06 A new ACTU analysis of ABS data shows the IR changes are starting to bite into workers' take home pay with the latest data showing that in the last twelve months average earnings failed to keep pace with inflation for the first time in five years. Jenny Macklin attacks Libs IR policy for teachers - 25/9/06 The Howard Government is now trying to force its extreme Industrial Relations reforms onto Australian teachers. Julie Bishop let the cat out of the bag by telling today's Age newspaper that she wants to put Australian teachers on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). The Education Minister has now admitted that her lightweight plan for performance based pay for teachers is just a disguise for introducing AWAs in Australian schools. Julie Bishop told the Age "There are a range of options, from a bonus paid to salary packages, to teachers being employed under AWAs, which provide flexibility for performance-based incentives." Source - Media Release Deputy Leader of the Opposition Shadow Minister for Education, Training, Science & Research New enterprise agreement at Qantas - 20/9/06 Qantas maintenance engineers have agreed in principle to a new enterprise agreement. The agreement provides for a 9 per cent pay increase and preserves current entitlements. The agreement follows 11 months of negotiations. Skills shortage - 18/9/06
The Australian Education Union (AEU) has welcomed the acknowledgement by the business sector of the Howard Government's failure to adequately address the current skills shortage. TAFE has been forced to turn away over 40,000 students a year at the same time employers are desperate for skilled workers. Cowra abattoir - 13/9/06 The ACTU has today called on Prime Minister John Howard to apologise to 200 sacked workers at the Cowra Abattoir following revelations that abattoir boss David Mulligan loaned almost $2 million to a related company under his control in the period before the abattoir's collapse. The Cowra abattoir workers are owed over $2 million in unpaid entitlements. Boss refuses to pay - 7/9/06 A Melbourne electrical parts manufacturer, Heinemann Electric, is refusing to pay employees for a full week of work that they have already completed because the workers have banned extra overtime in an effort to secure their employee entitlements under a new enterprise agreement. Freehills - the legal firm that helped write the Federal Government's new IR laws - have advised the company that the Federal Government's IR laws actually prohibit the workers being paid for the 38 hours of work they did last week. National protest - 6/9/06 The ACTU and Victorian Trades Hall Council today confirmed that they will host a major community event to protest against the Federal Government's IR laws at the 'people's ground', the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Thursday 30 November. The union event will take place from 8am to 10am (AEST) and will be broadcast by satellite to meetings of workers and community members in all capital cities and in more than three hundred regional centres across Australia. Second class workers - 5/9/06 Reports today of around 50 temporary workers from China working in unsafe conditions on a major construction site without workers' compensation and being wrongly paid raise further fears that the Federal Govt is using its temporary visa program to create a new tier of second-class workers in Australia says the ACTU. With more than 100 visas a day being issued to guest workers, the ACTU fears the Federal Government's temporary overseas worker program is out of control and is undermining Australian working conditions and taking away job opportunities for local young people. Resistance to WorkChoices - 3/9/06 In a blow to the Howard Government's anti-worker agenda, shopping centre chain Westfield has become the first non-state owned company to use NSW law to dodge WorkChoices. The NSW Industrial Relations Commission last week approved a project award that will see 400 construction workers at a Newcastle site receive an average $80 a week productivity payment, as well as industry standard super and redundancy. Project agreements, banned under the Howard Government's industrial relations laws, are allowed in NSW if the employer and employees agree. Workers face fines - 26/8/06 107 Western Australian building workers face jail and personal fines of up to $28,600. Their crime? Participating in a stoppage in support of a sacked workmate and refusing to accept persistent safety breaches in their workplace. This is the largest prosecution to date of individual workers under the Federal Government's harsh new laws for building workers, part of its radical industrial relations changes. The workers have their first court appearance on Tuesday. Send a message of support to the workers at the Rights at Work website now. NSW IRC being strengthened - 24/8/06 The Minister for Industrial Relations, John Della Bosca, has announced new legislation would be introduced to State Parliament next month to strengthen the powers of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. The Minister said the legislation would lead the way for the NSW Industrial Relations Commission along with other State and Territory tribunals, to take over the roles and functions that the Howard Government's industrial relations legislation had stripped from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Solidarity rally for building workers - 24/8/06 On Tuesday 29 August 107 building workers from Mandura railway project in WA go to court where they are facing fines of $28600 plus legal fees following industrial action after the site safety delegate was sacked. Another safety delegate has since been sacked as well. A solidarity rally is being held on the same day in Sydney. Details are 10 am at Trades Hall, 377 Sussex Street, Sydney. Call to end AWAs - 22/8/06 University of Sydney staff are tomorrow (August 23) expected to call for an end to Government interference in the University sector and for University management to cease its attempts to push staff onto Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). Radio Rentals Introduces AWAs, Sacks Workers - 21/8/06
Radio Rentals sacked three union activists on the spot, last week, and tried to impose sub-standard AWAs on anyone left standing. Stunned AMWU officials say the company has lied, torn up negotiated conditions, and employed a dodgy corporate restructure to further its income-slashing agenda. They handed them cheques and walked them out the door. As a result of the collective contract being terminated, an AMWU delegate lost $86,000 in redundancy pay as well as his job Fair Pay Commission Farce - 18/8/06
The Australian Fair Pay Commission hearing in Wollongong last night turned into farce when none of the 5 Commissioners turned up to hear the submissions of the people of the Illawarra and South Coast. The meeting was conducted by a PR Consultant who flatly refused the requests by the South Coast Labour Council on behalf thousands of working families directly affected by minimum wage levels to address the hearing and make a public submission. AWAs at University of Sydney - 17/8/06 Management at the University of Sydney have joined the Howard Government's ideological obsession with Australian Workplace Agreements by today launching an aggressive push of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) onto its 5500 staff. One of the most galling aspects of this announcement is that the University put out a press release and has yet to even inform staff. The first that most staff will hear about this is when they read about it in the newspaper" he said. Staff will be sent AWAs in the next week. Related story in the Sydney Morning Herald Minimum wages need $30 a week increase - 16/8/06 ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said that wages data released today shows that the Federal Government's new Pay Commission must increase minimum wages by at least $30 a week or risk leaving low paid workers and their families behind. Today's ABS data shows that average rates of pay for Australian workers have risen by 4.1% over the past 12 months. The ACTU has called on the Howard Government's new Pay Commission to increase minimum wages for Australia's million plus award wage workers by at least 4% on an annual basis or $30 a week - this includes $10 a week backpay for the delay caused by the new Industrial Relations laws. The new Pay Commission is set to rule on minimum wages pay increase in November or December this year following a 6 month pay freeze for low-paid workers caused by the Government's new IR laws. Cowra Abattoir closes - 15/8/06 About 200 workers at Cowra Abattoir are losing their jobs as the abattoir closes. They won't know till Friday the fate of their entitlements. Jetstar forces all international cabin crew to sign AWAs - 15/8/06 Jetstar has announced that all international cabin crew staff will be forced to sign pay cutting individual contracts. Under the new Jetstar AWA that all Jetstar international cabin staff will be forced to sign to get a job, workers will be paid between $2,600 and $8,200 a year (or up to $160 a week) less than other Australian cabin crews on international flights. Reduced allowances will also mean that the incomes of many workers on the individual contracts will be reduced by considerably more than this amount. The AWAs also provide for a major potential increase in working hours for cabin crew. Liberal staffer appointed as magistrate - 10/8/06 John O'Sullivan, a staffer in Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews's office, has been appointed to a $240,000 job as a federal magistrate. Mr O'Sullivan previously worked as an industrial officer for the Metal Trades Industry Association and the NSW Farmers Association. Mr. Sullivan is likely to deal with IR issues in his new role. More information from the Australian
Lufthansa workers in Melbourne face pay cuts - 9/8/06 Eighty workers employed at Lufthansa's GTS Melbourne call centre face pay cuts, reduced penalty rates and a potentially discriminatory bonus scheme under 'non-negotiable' AWAs made under the Federal Government's industrial relations laws, the Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate found today. Workers who do not sign the 'non-negotiable' contract also face the removal of staff benefits cards. While the Workplace Rights Advocate found the AWA individual contract may 'be found to be unfair' to workers, it also concluded that in most aspects it was probably legal under the Federal Government's IR laws. 14,800 AWAs in Australian public service - 9/8/06 As of August 4, there were 14,800 AWAs and 102 certified and collective agreements operating in the Australian Public Service and Parliamentary Service. The AWAS covered 2,167 senior executive service (SES) and equivalent employees and 12,633 non-SES employees.
Newington blues - 9/8/06 A story in the Sydney Morning Herald has reported morale at Newington College is at "rock bottom."The principal of the private school attempted to force 40 senior teachers to reapply for their positions on lower wages with shorter holidays. New radio ads - 7/8/06 The ACTU has launched a new series of IR radio ads aimed at highlighting the winners and losers in the new IR system, and the impact of the laws on young people and families.Download Union Radio Ads: ACTU launches Community Forum - 5/8/06 The NEW Rights at Work Community Forum is now open! Discuss work, unions, policies, parties and politics with other Australians who care about the future of our country.
ACTU submits a $30 wage increase for workers on the minimum wage - 31/7/06 The ACTU has filed a claim with the Australian Fair Pay Commission for a 4% a year ($30 a week) increase for workers on minimum award wages. ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said:"It's time to end the wage freeze on low-paid workers imposed by the Federal Government through its new IR laws. By the time the Federal Government's new pay commission decides whether minimum wage rates will increase, it will be 18 months since these workers and their families received a pay rise." Your rights at work at the City to Surf - 31/7/06 The PSA is organising a Your Rights at Work contingent to enter the Sydney City to Surf run on Sunday 13 August. Anyone interested should contact the PSA on (02)92901555.
Secret government talks - 20/7/06 The Howard Govt is secretly discussing with the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) big business plans for a new wave of IR reforms that may see more workers denied overtime pay when working more than 38 hours a week, and widen employers' ability to stand down workers without pay. An employer group document also states that big business wants further cuts to the legal minimum standards for all Australian workers so that sick leave entitlements could be halved to only five days a year and all annual leave could be 'cashed out', leaving workers without any annual holidays. WorkChoices in private schools - 18/7/06 Moves to push private school teachers onto second-rate contracts have been hailed as an example of WorkChoices by a former elite private school head. Judith Wheeldon, AM, former principal of Sydney girls schools, Abbotsleigh and Queenwood, described the offer by the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) as "Work Choices Contracts" in The Australian this week. The Independent Education Union says the move will fundamentally erode the working conditions of teachers. The agreement, secretly circulated to school principals last week, has been developed without negotiation or consultation with teachers.
Lufthansa e-mail protest - 14/7/06 HELP Australian call centre workers at Lufthansa Airlines' subsidiary, Global Tele Sales, forced out of collective agreement which does not expire until December 2006. The workers forced onto these individual agreements would have to accept:
SEND AN E-MAIL PROTEST TODAYLegal for Cowra Abattoir to propose sacking workers - 9/7/06 The Office of Workplace Services has released a report that confirms it was legal for the Cowra Abattoir to, as it did in early April, propose sacking 29 meatworkers and re-employ them on wages that involved pay cuts of around 30% or up to $180 week lower. ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said "The Office of Workplace Services report clearly confirms what the ACTU and unions have being saying about these laws all along - they leave Australian workers exposed to the threat of being legally sacked and offered their jobs back on lower wages." NSW Labor's Advisory Service takes 55,000 calls - 9/7/06 The State Government's Fair Go Advisory Service had taken more than 55,000 calls since the laws came into effect in late March. According to the government, a number of those calling the advice line had been sacked without notice or explanation, and many more were facing the sack if they complained about AWAs to their employers that stripped away basic award conditions. Tasmania - Ship's crew faces sack - 9/7/06 The crew of Australia's only remaining flagged and operated tanker carrying chemicals have refused to load the vessel in dock at Hobart in protest of the operator's decision to abandon the Australian flag and replace Australian workers with foreign seafarers. Under the new industrial laws there is a risk of savage penalties for industrial action. Telstra AWAs - 7/7/06 More than 130 Parramatta dispatch centre operators, who direct technicians to repair work, have been asked to re-apply for 63 positions in Newcastle. Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) organiser Shane Murphy said the Howard Government's industrial relations changes was behind the move. "It is outrageous for Telstra to offer $10,000 less for the same job while at the same time slashing 70 positions - and it's all because of John Howard's work laws," Mr Murphy said. Melbourne call centre - 5/7/06 Around 80 staff at a Melbourne call centre operated by Global Tele Sales - a subsidiary of the giant German airline Lufthansa - have been offered AWA individual contracts that cut their take home pay by up to $80 a week. The AWA contracts cut evening and weekend penalty rates and penalise staff for taking sick leave or leave to care for a family member. Hunter Valley worker sacked for refusing AWA - 5/7/06 Lorissa Stevens was sacked by a Hunter Valley mining contractor when she refused to sign a AWA that allowed her boss to fine her $200 if she took a day off sick, without giving at least 12 hours notice, plus losing a day's pay. Lorissa spoke at the NSW Teachers Federation Annual Conference yesterday. She is receiving support from the ACTU. NSW Government can't ban AWAs - 25/6/06 Despite the union movement's push for the NSW government to ban companies that use AWAs from winning government contracts, the Premier ruled out such a move saying it could "offend" the ACCC or federal legislation. Apparently, the state government is close to finalising its procurement policy and will make an announcement soon. A spokesperson for the Industrial Relations Minister, John Della Bosca, said: "We are committed to ensuring companies that tender for work with the NSW government treat their employees with the fairness that has been a feature of Australian life for a century." Spotlight restores award conditions for worker at Coffs Harbour - 20/6/06 Spotlight has restored worker Annette Harris's status as a part time worker along with her previous award conditions. This followed Spotlight's attempts last month to make her a casual employed under an AWA. Operational reasons already undermine unfair dismissal claim - 19/6/06 There is little chance of an unfair dismissal claim getting to the hearing stage where an employer claims the termination was based on operational reasons, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission has ruled. Deputy President Ken Ives said in a ruling on an unfair dismissal claim that, in practice, "few applications where a respondent employer claims such genuine operational reasons will be able to be dealt with beyond a jurisdictional hearing". This was because an employee's ability to produce evidence challenging the claim of operational reasons will be "beyond most employees' capabilities and resources". Your Rights at Work Bus in Hunter next week - 17/6/06 The big orange and black Unions NSW bus is in the Hunter next week. A rally will be held at Raymond Terrace on Friday 23 June at noon at Bob Baldwin's Office in Raymond Terrace. Picnic Day at Port Macquarie on 25 June - 17/6/06 At the beginning of the National Week of Action there will be a picnic day in Port Macquarie on Sunday 25 June. It will start at 11.00 am at Kooloonbung Creek Reserve. There will be a free sausage sizzle; Unions Hastings and Macleay information table; a "Jam for Jobs" by local musicians and a banner captioned "I think John Howard's Industrial Laws......." on which members of the public can record their thoughts. Protest against Spotlight at Bondi Junction - 16/6/06 A protest rally will be held outside Spotlight's Bondi Junction store, 65 Ebley Road, Bondi Junction, at 10.00am on Saturday 17 June. Cowra meatworks dispute settled - 16/6/06 Earlier this year, Cowra abattoir dismissed a number of employees, offering their jobs back at a much lower pay rates, under Howard's draconian industrial relations laws. After a public outcry, the company reinstated the employees under their previous award, while pay negotiations took place. Negotiations have been successful. State Meatworkers Union secretary, Charlie Donzow, says while some workers will receive less money, the pay is much higher than the dismissed workers had been offered. "Their base rates have remained the same as to what they were earning previously, so they haven't lost as far as that is concerned, but where they will drop is in relation to when they do do production levels over and above those minimums," he said AWAs erase working conditions across the board - 13/6/06 The Head of the Office of the Employment Advocate Mr McIlwain reported to a Senate Estimates Committee that: * Annual leave loading has been erased in almost two thirds (64%) of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) lodged under the new laws. * Penalty rates have disappeared in almost two out of three agreements (63%). * Shift allowances have been removed in more than half of all new agreements (52%). * One in six (16%) agreements have dropped all award conditions - replacing them with just the Government's five minimum conditions. * Four out of ten (40%) agreements have dropped gazetted public holidays. * More than one in five new individual contracts (22%) contain no pay increases over the life of the agreement (AWA). Penrith Your Rights at Work Big Day Out - 12/6/06 Today, June 12, the YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK FAMILY AND FRIENDS BIG DAY OUT will be held at Penrith Lakes at 12.30 pm. ACTU launches new TV ads campaign - 11/6/06 The ACTU and Australian unions launched the next phase of the Your Rights at Work advertising campaign portraying the actual costs to families as a result of the Howard Government's industrial relations laws. The ads highlight the effects of the laws in taking away protection from unfair dismissal for more than three million employees and allowing employers to cut the pay and conditions of working Australians. ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said at the launch: "John Howard's IR laws have led to a rash of unfair sackings and changes to work contracts that have substantially cut the take home pay and employment conditions of many workers. "The Howard Government's IR laws are not just an attack on unions, they are an attack on the living standards of every Australian worker and their families." The ads will run in all capital cities and regional areas and include two new themes. The first series of ads are true stories, not actors, telling their experiences. The second series of ads focuses on a working family and the financial pressures they face, caused by rising petrol prices, interest rates, food and other basic living costs while their income is threatened by a new employment contract at work. ILO Committee finds serious concerns on impact of Howard's IR laws - 9/6/06 The ILO Committee for the Application of Standards called on the Australian Government to 'please explain' how the new IR laws comply with international labour conventions. The Committee observed 'with regret' that the Australian Government had failed to comply with a previous request to transmit copies of all draft laws to the ILO and noted there had been a lack of prior consultation on the new Australian laws. The Committee also found there were serious concerns regarding the impact that the laws would have on the application of the provision of key international conventions (Nos 87 and 98), in particular, the effect the laws would have on the right to collective bargaining. The Committee requested the Australian Government provide a detailed report to the ILO Committee of Experts for examination this year on the impact of the Work Choices Act in terms of the obligation to ensure respect for freedom from association, in particular, the promotion of the right to collective bargaining in Australia. ILO lists Australia's IR laws for hearing - 5/6/06 The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has listed Australia's IR laws for an immediate hearing this week alongside cases from Libya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Guatemala and other countries that are known as the world's worst violators of labour rights. Speaking from the ILO's main annual conference in Geneva, Switzerland, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said: "Australia's IR laws breach fundamental human rights by infringing on the right of working people to join a union and to bargain collectively. ILO members are very concerned that as an advanced nation, Australia is increasingly out of step with its international obligations and has placed the Federal government's laws on a list of labour rights violations cases for immediate examination on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Australian government representatives at the ILO are expected to be questioned about the legal and practical aspects of the government's adherence to international labour rights conventions in particular, The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, number 98. The ILO has previously stated that the Federal government's Workplace Relations Act does not provide workers with adequate protection against discrimination if they choose to have their employment conditions governed by collective agreements. Howard's laws confirmed to leave workers worse off - 31/5/06 Australian workers will continue to be exposed to Cowra-style dismissals (where workers are sacked and moved onto lower wages or replaced with cheaper contract, casual or foreign 'guest' workers) unless the Federal Government repeals the controversial 'Cowra clauses' from its new industrial relations laws the ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said today. Greg Combet said: "A leaked Office of Workplace Services report has now confirmed what the ACTU and unions have being saying about these laws all along - they leave Australian workers exposed to the threat of being legally sacked and offered their jobs back on lower wages. "The Government and Kevin Andrews cannot hide from this issue any longer. They must now immediately repeal these 'Cowra Clauses' from the new industrial relations laws." Spotlight slashes working conditions of employees - 26/5/06 Retail giant, Spotlight, this week has used the Howard Government's industrial relations laws to offer individual contracts to all new workers that remove penalty rates and overtime, and undercut workers' pay up to $90 a week. The AWA also removes paid rest breaks; breaks between shifts; maximum and minimum shift lengths and a cap on the number of consecutive days worked. Childcare workers being denied pay rises - 23/5/06 The LHMU says operators of Childs Family Kindergartens, which run 37 centres across NSW, are offering employees contracts cutting between $138 and $313 from their weekly paypackets. Jim Lloyd, NSW LHMU president, said the childcare operator was attempting to rob childcare workers. Just two months ago, about 15,000 childcare workers won a minimum pay rise of $86 a week after the NSW Industrial Relations Commission found workers in the female-dominated industry were undervalued. Mr Lloyd said since the Federal Government's new workplace laws were introduced, some private sector childcare operators were offering employees Australian Workplace Agreements that effectively denied workers the promised pay rises and other entitlements, including sick leave. Penrith Your Rights at Work Big Day Out - 10/5/06 On Monday June 12, a public holiday, a YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK FAMILY AND FRIENDS BIG DAY OUT will be held at Penrith Lakes at 12.30 pm. Thousands participate in May Day march - 7/5/06 Thousands of unionists, political parties and community groups marched in Sydney today. The key theme was opposition to the Howard Government's industrial relations laws. Sharan Burrow, ACTU President, lead the march and spoke to the crowd afterwards. She said: "We're in a struggle now for the very heart and soul of a decent and democratic Australia, because all of the rights have been handed to the employers." May Day march this year must be huge - 2/5/06 Under the slogan, Unite - Mobilise - Fight - Together we can win, the Sydney May Day march will be held on Sunday 7 May. Community and labour movement participants will assemble at Hyde Park North at 11am and march at 12 noon. The Howard Government's workplace relations laws threaten the wages, conditions of work and job security of all Australian workers. May Day this year is an appropriate forum to express mass opposition to these new laws. The May Day Committee has catered for families and there will be amusements for children at Hyde Park North on Sunday. The International Day of Mourning Service in Sydney - 27/4/06 This year's International Day of Mourning Service to remember workers who are killed or injured at work or who become ill due to unsustainable forms of work and production, is to be held on Friday 28 April at 12:00 noon, Reflection Park, Little Pier Street, Darling Harbour (opposite Sydney Entertainment Centre). State Government advice line overwhelmed - 24/4/06 The State Government advice line received 15,000 calls in the first month of the new workplace relations laws. Many of these calls were from workers who had either lost pay and conditions or been dismissed. No surprise that the IMF has praised WorkChoices - 21/4/06 In its latest report on the global economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised Australia's workplace relations laws and changes to the tax and benefits system. The IMF says the changes will set the stage for continued employment growth. Separately this week, the Independent Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) released a report detailing cases of successful trade union resistance to the policies of the IMF and the World Bank. The ICFTU website states that in country after country, the IMF and the World Bank have imposed conditions on their lending that force indebted governments to propose programs that are based not on domestic needs but on the IMF and World Bank's allegiance to the ideology of free markets and privatisation. Over the past five years, labour unions and their civil society allies in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia have successfully organised to win important victories over the private interests that depend on IMF and World Bank loans to set the conditions for corporate control over water, electric power and other basic services. The ICFTU paper can be found on its website at www.icftu.org. Clean Start - Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign - 20/4/06 Religious and community leaders joined hundreds of cleaners from across Australia and New Zealand to help launch the Clean Start - Fair Deal for Cleaners campaign. In Australia these workers were set to be the first victims of Workchoices. They stand to lose up to 30% of their income - despite the fact that they earn on average far less than a poverty line income. Your Rights at Work stall at Surfing NSW World Qualifying Event - 20/4/06 The Central Coast Your Rights at Work Campaign Committee will have a stall at the Surfing NSW event from Thursday 20 April to Sunday 23 April at Soldiers Beach, Toukley.
QANTAS ordered to delay sacking maintenance workers - 14/4/06 The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has ordered QANTAS to delay the sacking of 500 maintenance engineers until it has consulted with unions about what has been done to minimise job losses and to provide information on the international productivity benchmarks QANTAS claims the Sydney maintenance operation failed to meet. The unions lodged the dispute before the new workplace relations laws commenced.
Marginal electorates campaign in full swing - 13/4/06 On 5 April, a workshop day for local teachers was conducted in Greenway, a marginal electorate in the western suburbs of Sydney. The day was intended to develop materials for teachers to use in campaigning about "Your Rights at Work". The members developed several "scripts" designed to engage various parts of their school community in dialogue about the Howard government's industrial relations laws, and to create an opportunity for school community members to get involved in the campaign. The second target group is the considerable number of Federation members who live in the electorate, many of whom don't teach in the area. The purpose here is to engage them in considering the issues and impact of these draconian laws on the local community, as well as themselves; to consider how they can play a part in undoing the damage through the electoral process and to consider voting at the next Federal election on a policy of "Your Rights at Work". The campaigns group will follow up with an afternoon seminar on (local) Media in Term 2, with an invitation extended to other Blacktown TA members to join them. The Lindsay Unions NSW electorate campaign committee newsletter advertises seminars on WorkChoices at the Penrith Panthers on 22 May from 5.30pm-8.30pm and 15 June 2006 from 5.30-8.30pm. Retired workers including teachers have also set up the Penrith Retirees Campaign Committee. Their next meeting is at Nepean Rowing Club from 12 noon on 8 May. John Robertson is the guest speaker. Contact 47396121 for more information.
State Wage Case to go ahead - 12/4/06 The NSW Industrial Relations Commission will begin hearing the state wage case tomorrow. The NSW government is making a submission for a $20 per week increase. The Commonwealth Government is seeking to intervene in the proceedings.
Plan to save holidays - 12/4/06 The NSW government is considering the introduction of an additional public holiday to restore the union picnic days lost under the federal government's IR legislation. Employers have expressed outrage at the proposal.
Optus rally - 12/4/06 Sharan Burrow addressed a rally in support of 70 workers made redundant by Optus. Workers have been told to re-apply for their jobs as private contractors. Pay docked for charity collection - 11/4/06 Victorian building workers were docked half a day's pay for taking a 20 minute break to collect money for a fellow worker's widow. The employers says that under the new IR laws it had to dock their pay because the union did not get written permission for the meeting. Sacked by text message - 6/4/06 A Brisbane women employed by a waste collection company has been sacked by SMS. No reason was given for the sacking. A spokesperson for her union, the TWU said, "that's what we'll be seeing under the new workplace relations that are in place in Australia at the present time." Cowra Abattoir workers case - 30/3/06 Twenty-nine workers were issued with termination notices at Cowra Abattoir on Thursday 30 March. They were told their services were no longer required after 5 May. However, following major media attention and agitation from the union movement, the company has withdrawn the termination notices and negotiations are now occurring between the union and management. It appears though that management are still pushing for the Federal award rates, which are significantly lower than the State award rates the abattoir workers are now being paid. Of great interest is that Kevin Andrews refuses to confirm or deny that the Cowra Abattoir had the right to issue the termination notices under the new workplace relations laws. As Greg Combet, Secretary of the ACTU, said in the Sydney Morning Herald on April 5, "These people would have been lost without being members of a union. I'd say all that has happened here is the Government has got into a panic about adverse media and it's brought some pressure to bear on the company to back away." Child care worker sacked in Canberra - 29/3/06 Emily Connor was sacked on Wednesday 29 March from her job at the Blinky Bill Early Childhood Centre in Gowrie. She had worked at the centre for nearly five years and is a sole parent with an 18 month old child. The Childcare Centre Manager used the new laws to sack Emily with no warning and no reason, simply calling her in to a meeting and stating: "Your services are no longer required and you have ten minutes to leave the premises." John Howard and Kevin Andrews have asserted that the new laws and regulations will not have a negative impact on the workforce. But what of workers who cannot get media attention if they are sacked or forced to negotiate for lower pay and reduced entitlements? This campaign has a long way to travel yet. National Week of Action - 28/3/06 The ACTU is organising a National Week of Action in the week beginning 26 June. Events will be posted on this campaign site when confirmed. The 'Your Rights at Work' float at the Mardi Gras parade in February won one of the 'best in parade' prizes.
NSW Teachers Federation Rights@Work campaign siteACTU Rights@Work campaign site
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