Media Releases

30 July 2008

Building workers should have the same rights as the rest of the workforce

It is unacceptable in a modern democracy that workers in the construction industry have fewer rights than the broader workforce, says the ACTU.

Standing with construction unions in a campaign to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission, ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence says it is fundamental that all workers have the same rights to hold meetings and organise without fear or intimidation.

But under the Howard Government’s ABCC, construction workers’ rights have been stripped away.

“Of all the Howard government’s workplace laws, the ABCC is the most anti-worker,” Mr Lawrence says.

“It has more powers than the police to investigate construction workers, drag them in for secret interrogation and jail them if they refuse to answer questions.

“These are ordinary workers seeking simply the rights to hold a meeting, to organise, and to protect their health and safety. This is an issue for all workers that we should have one system for everyone, no matter what industry you work in.”

Mr Lawrence says several recent serious workplace accidents have again shown that construction is an industry in which safety, rather than a misguided attack on workers’ rights, should be a priority.

A recent meeting of the ACTU Executive unanimously supported a campaign by construction workers for equal rights under law and has pledged resources to the push to abolish the ABCC before 2010.

The issue has been brought to a head by the prosecution of Noel Washington, an official of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union in Victoria who faces up to six months jail after he refused to answer questions from the ABCC.

“Noel has done nothing illegal, yet he’s being treated like a common criminal” says CFMEU construction division national secretary, Dave Noonan.

“He has been accused of being a witness to an off-site, lunchtime meeting of workers, who has refused to dob in his mates.

“We won’t stand by and allow construction workers to be treated with fewer rights than other workers.”

Unions are also calling for changes to the Howard Government’s Building Code, which has also been used by employers to reduce workers’ rights beyond the construction industry.

29 July 2008

Employers are taking advantage of restrictions on union entry to cut rights at work

Unions have called for workers’ rights to meet with union officials to be strengthened following reports that access to workplaces has been prevented by over-zealous employers.

Employers are taking advantage of restrictions on union rights to enter workplaces to make it virtually impossible for workers to discuss industrial issues with union organisers

In the latest case, a union meeting at a Brisbane printing factory was forced to be held in an open-air car park adjacent to a loading dock under the unblinking eye of a surveillance camera.

Not surprisingly, only one worker braved the onerous restrictions to meet with two union organisers.

Unions are calling for an overhaul of the right to entry rules established under Work Choices.

Work Choices grants unprecedented powers to bosses to determine where and when union meetings can be held, and even what route union officials can take through a building.

“It is every worker’s democratic right to be represented by a union, and to meet with union organisers in their workplace,” says ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence.

“But Work Choices has imposed immense barriers between workers and their unions which employers have taken advantage of to prevent proper representation.

“Labor’s pledge to scrap Work Choices and restore rights to collective bargaining should also include strengthening the rights to entry to workplaces for union officials.”

In the case of Geon Australia, officials from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union gave 24 hours notice to management requesting the right to hold a lunch time meeting in the staff meal of its Geebung plant to conduct an information session on changes to Work Choices.

Management was initially evasive about the time that lunch breaks were held, and when two union organisers arrived at 12pm insisted that the meeting would have to be held outside in the car park/loading zone rather than the meal room.

The union officials expressed their concerns that the location for the meeting was dangerous and inappropriate, but management refused to budge.

The Geon Australia case is not unique. Last month, male and female workers at a Melbourne carpet factory were forced by their employer to hold two union meetings in the women’s toilet area.

“Unions do not expect unfettered access to a work site, but employers should treat their workforce with some respect,” Mr Lawrence says. “The balance under Work Choices has tipped too far in favour of employers, and this has diminished rights at work.

“We will be highlighting this issue during meetings with the federal government as it prepares its legislation to abolish Work Choices.”

18 July 2008

Qantas job cuts a sign of tough economic times

The decision by Qantas to shed 1500 jobs in Australia and overseas is disappointing and unions will seek to work with the airline to minimise compulsory redundancies for the workforce.

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence says:

“Qantas’ decision in response to rising fuel prices is a harsh reminder that we are living in tough economic times.

 “We are concerned at any job losses, and will be looking closely at the detail of what is proposed by Qantas.

“Qantas has said there will be some compulsory redundancies, and unions will be ensuring they are consulted closely to minimise their impact.

“Qantas workers should also be consulted about the impact of other changes announced today on work loads and job practices.”

The ACTU welcomed an in-principle agreement between Qantas engineers and the company’s management from enterprise bargaining negotiations.

While details of the engineers’ agreement are confidential at this stage, if accepted by the members it will deliver higher pay for the airline’s 1500 licensed engineers.

The proposed agreement will be considered by the engineers over the next few weeks.

16 July 2008

Unions welcome Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme as urgent and necessary

Unions strongly welcome the Rudd Government’s plan for a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

“The alarm bells have been ringing for years, and we finally now have a government prepared to listen and to act to safeguard future generations,” says ACTU President Sharan Burrow.

The scheme is urgent and necessary to deal with a global crisis that will be disastrous for Australia if we do not take action on climate change.

Ms Burrow says the proposed scheme announced today by Climate Change and Water Minister Penny Wong will provide greater certainty for business and working families and sets out a sensible framework to manage Australia’s response to climate change.

She says all Australians should now support the government’s proposed introduction of emissions targets and a carbon trading scheme in 2010.

The ACTU welcomes the government’s proposed measures to ensure low and middle income earners will be supported by the tax system to maintain their living standards in the face of rising energy costs.

Unions believe that if carefully managed, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme should avoid major job losses and provide a pathway for Australian industry to take up opportunities in the new low-carbon global economy.

While discounts and partial exemptions for some carbon-intensive, trade-exposed industries in the scheme’s first years will protect jobs, we support and will want to strengthen the benchmarks required to ensure these companies change their work and production practices.

‘’This green paper gives greater certainty for business and households – but we must all do our bit,” Ms Burrow says.

“Working Australians want to work with business to find solutions to climate change.

 “But we will also be looking very closely to ensure that in any compensation to business there is also an obligation to change their work practices to adjust to a low carbon economy, or we risk seeing jobs in many industries going off shore.”

15 July 2008 

Voters losing patience with business push for delay in restoring workers’ rights: new poll

In a clear warning that the public is losing patience with the demands of business lobby groups who want to keep major aspects of Work Choices, a major new national poll shows Australians want to get rid of WorkChoices as soon as possible.

The Galaxy poll of 1009 respondents nationally shows the public strongly rejects big business proposals to delay restoring workers' protection from unfair dismissal and collective bargaining rights until at least 2010.

The poll finds almost three-quarters of voters (73%) believe there should be no delay in improving workers' protection from unfair dismissal and nearly seven in ten voters (69%) oppose a delay in restoring workers' rights to bargain collectively.

The poll shows overwhelming support for the immediate scrapping of Work Choices and the implementation of Labor’s IR policy among people who voted in the Rudd Government last year. Almost nine in ten (89%) ALP voters oppose a delay in laws to improve protection from unfair dismissal and 85% of ALP voters oppose a delay in restoring workers’ rights to collective bargaining.

Unions acknowledge the Rudd Government has started dismantling Work Choices, including by banning new Australian Workplace Agreements.

But ACTU President Sharan Burrow says it is worrying that key elements of WorkChoices remain in place so long after last year’s election. She says business and employer groups are taking advantage of the confusion over the timing of the introduction of new IR laws.

Major retailer Harvey Norman has this week been exposed defying a ban on new AWAs, offering a new employee a contract that cuts the worker’s take home pay by up to $146 a week, depending on commissions.

“This poll contains an important message from the Australian public to the business community: there can be no delay in getting rid of WorkChoices & restoring a fair go in the workplace,” Ms Burrow says.

 “This is what most Australians voted for last year, and they clearly expect action as soon as possible. Business needs to listen to these voters and stop lobbying the Government to delay or undermine what was promised last year.”

The on-line poll conducted this month also found that:

• 77 per cent (82 per cent of ALP voters) agree that an independent umpire should be able to step in and finalise an agreement in situations where differences cannot be resolved —  a role that business lobby group Ai Group has also opposed.
• There is strong support for Labor’s policy of allowing issues currently deemed to be ‘prohibited content’ to be included in workplace agreements, despite business opposition to these changes to Work Choices. The poll shows 77% of respondents saying the new IR laws should allow employers and employees to agree to include measures to tackle climate change, and 62% saying they should allow provisions restricting use of contractors and labour hire that undercut employees’ wages and conditions.
• 64 per cent (68 per cent of ALP voters) disagree with the policy of making workers in small businesses wait 12 months before they have protection from unfair dismissal.

14 July 2008

Harvey Norman using IR confusion to rip off sales staff

Retail giant Harvey Norman has been caught red-handed using an unfair AWA months after they were banned to cut the take home pay of a sales worker by up to $146 a week, a press report reveals today.

This shows a major employer is taking advantage of confusion over the IR laws and the fact that Work Choices has not yet been fully scrapped to rip off a worker, say unions.

The Harvey Norman AWA pays just $15.29 an hour with no penalty rates for evening or weekend work - cutting the worker’s pay by up to $146.49 a week less than the award for a typical roster, depending on the sales commission.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"It is shocking to see a major highly profitable retailer like Harvey Norman taking advantage of the confusing remnants of WorkChoices by using AWAs.

"This AWA contains draconian clauses allowing the company to sack a worker without notice for minor misconduct and a demand to keep the rates of pay ‘confidential’ ”.

“This is the kind of thing that voters rejected at last year’s election.

"Business needs to wake up to the fact that AWAs have been scrapped and they need to overhaul their employment practices to reflect the move to fairer and more balanced IR laws.  It is disappointing to see a major employer still not understanding that these kinds of job contracts are not only unfair for workers but are misleading,” said Ms Burrow.  

In 2007, Harvey Norman retail empire had 192 franchise outlets, the company net profit jumped 77% from $229m (2006) to $407m (2007) (Harvey Norman Annual Report, 2007, p 3).

7 July 2008 

Research underlines need for universal paid maternity leave for women and job security

New research released today about how women use maternity leave, underlines the need for a universal, national paid maternity leave scheme says the ACTU.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said: “We believe this study and other research supports the view of unions that women need a government and business-funded national scheme of paid maternity leave.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies study of more than 3573 mothers reported the worrying finding that many women returned to work early if they had no access to paid or unpaid leave.

The study also explored the link between job insecurity and early return to work by mothers.

“The current mish-mash of maternity leave entitlements creates a confusing picture for both employers and employees. 

“A universal paid maternity leave scheme would give all women greater certainty and income security. It would take the financial pressure of parents and allow families to spend longer at home with a newborn child,” said Ms Burrow.

“Increasingly, we are seeing more and more women return to work too early because of the financial strain imposed by mortgages, petrol and food prices,” she said.

“Universal paid maternity leave will have across the board benefits not just for individual families but for the wellbeing of whole communities.

“Paid leave after the birth of a baby is still mainly available to permanent employees in high income jobs leaving many women out in the cold, particularly low income, contract, casual and self employed women workers.

The ACTU is pushing for a national scheme of at least 14 weeks paid maternity leave that is funded by government and business.

Click here to open the study

6 July 2008

New powerful climate alliance to drive tough and fair solutions

For the first time peak social, union, research and environmental organisations have formed an historic and powerful alliance to tackle climate change.

The Southern Cross Climate Coalition – launching today, is pushing for climate policy to be fairly implemented and maximise the opportunities for investment and jobs growth whilst emphasising that all sections of society have an urgent responsibility to act.

The Southern Cross Climate Coalition is an alliance of the Climate Institute, The Australian Conservation Foundation, The Australian Council of Social Service, and the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said “Our groups share a platform that seeks to ensure climate policies are broadly based and everyone does their fair bit at time when we know the Rudd Government faces a legion of corporate lobbyists pushing for special deals.’

“We need to protect vulnerable families and trade exposed industries but we also need to recognise that green jobs and climate friendly industries provide Australia with economic opportunities,” she continued.

The SCCC platform recommends realistic actions based on four pillars of urgency, fairness, investment and jobs growth and is urging the Prime Minister to:

• Stand his ground against special pleading from certain sections of industry
• Take the call for urgent action from Garnaut to the G8 next week
• Do everything possible to get a broadly based emissions trading scheme fully implemented by 2010

John Connor, Director of the Climate Institute said “Switching the global economy to a low carbon pathway will create multi-trillion dollar markets for low carbon and clean energy technologies and infrastructure.  Australia needs to ensure that it is competitive in this global low carbon economy. The reality is that every year we don’t act, the economic opportunity cost grows.”

Gregor Macfie, Acting CEO, ACOSS said "Climate change will affect low income households disproportionately. In shaping our responses we must ensure that low-income households are able to benefit from new opportunities and are shielded from price hikes for essential goods and services. We must ensure that low income households are a real part of our solution to this serious issue."
 
Don Henry, Director of the Australian Conservation Foundation said “The time we have for an orderly transition is running out, climate change is occurring more rapidly than anticipated and every day of delay will make the job of cutting emissions harder.”

Click here to read the joint statement

4 July 2008

Climate change will cut the wages of working Australians: urgent action needed says ACTU

Working Australians will be hit hard by inaction on climate change and urgent action is needed says the ACTU.

Professor Garnaut’s report released today estimates working Australians will face job losses in key industries, including agriculture and tourism, as well as wage cuts of between 7.8% and 14.8% depending on the severity of climate change-induced drought.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

“Climate change is the social and economic challenge of our times and the ACTU calls on business to accept a share of the responsibility along with the rest of the community.

“Doing nothing is not an option. Urgent action is needed to avert the impending disaster of climate change.

“Everyone will be affected and all of us must pull our weight.

“Working Australians and families need support to make our workplaces and our homes more climate-friendly.

“Business also needs to pull its weight and do its share to reduce greenhouse emissions and deal with climate change.

“It is inevitable that the costs of petrol and energy will rise but we must soften the blow on working households and those on low incomes.

“We need to protect vulnerable families and trade-exposed industries but we also need to recognise that green jobs and climate-friendly industries provide Australia with economic opportunities.

“If European nations can reduce emissions, plan for deep emission cuts by 2020 and grow their economy so can Australia.

“Unions call on responsible sectors of business to support Professor Garnaut’s report and work with governments, unions and the community to grow green jobs, green our workplaces and put measures in place to ensure a just transition for families and industry to a low-carbon future.

“The ACTU supports a broadly based emissions trading scheme. We urge governments to ensure industry support is based on transparent evidence-based benchmarks with requirements to ensure emission reductions are met over time,” said Ms Burrow.

2 July 2008 

ACTU calls for investment in “shared equity” housing affordability solution

In a speech given to a private seminar for super funds, sovereign wealth funds, and their advisors in Melbourne today, ACTU President, Sharan Burrow, made strong calls for Australian super funds to support and invest in the emerging private sector “shared equity” market.

“Australia today faces a serious housing affordability problem. It is not going to go away any time soon and super funds have a key role to play in these solutions.

‘Key workers’ in major metropolitan markets are increasingly priced out of home ownership, and their aspirations disappointed. These same workers are a key constituency of our super funds.” said ACTU President Sharan Burrow.

“Ingenious initiatives and creative responses to the housing affordability problem are on the radar right now with Australia at the forefront of research and new product development in this arena.

“The ACTU has been supportive of shared equity schemes for several years now.

“We welcome the first mass market, private sector shared equity products that came out in March 2007.

“In the public sector, the SA and WA governments have introduced fully-fledged shared equity programs over the last 12 – 18 months.

“The appeal of shared equity products is real and immediate:

• A shared equity loan delivers borrowers with an instantaneous benefit.  With the currently available Bendigo/Adelaide Bank loans for example, borrowers can reduce their current mortgage repayments by 30% or more, which is a tangible thing in the current and prospective interest rate environment
• Many people can move out of the rental market and purchase their first home sooner
• The housing market is stabilized if demand among home buyers is maintained.

“I urge the super funds to play a role in developing and promoting shared equity options for home-buyers.”