Somerton workers defeat AWAs & Yallourn's stuggle on : Melbourne Indymedia

Direct Action Beats AWAs In Somerton
by Union Solidarity Wednesday May 16, 2007 at 12:15 PM
contact@unionsolidarity.org

Workers in Somerton (a northern suburb of Melbourne) have proved that it's possible to get off an AWA and onto award rates and an EBA. How did they do it? By resigning en masse and setting up a community assembly out the front of the work site.

How to get out of an AWA.

A group of construction workers in Somerton have proved that it is
possible to get off an AWA and onto award rates and an EBA. Metal
construction workers building the new Coles distribution centre in
Somerton were forced on AWAs that dramatically undercut their wages. $18 an hour casual rate was all they were being paid and ripped off on penalty rates as well.

Some of the workers were referred to the job through a Centrelink Job
Network member. Under the ‘Welfare to Work’ breaching system,
they were threatened they’d lose their benefits for 8 weeks
if they refused this position. In addition, some of the workers were
asked to sign a 20 page AWA which they had only seen on a computer screen.

The AWAs might have been a clever device for their employer not to pay the building industry award but the workers weren’t going to put up with being ripped off. Striking outside a bargaining period is illegal and aren’t AWAs binding contracts? The answer in the end was rather simple. All the workers affected resigned en masse and protested outside the distribution centre gates.

In response their employer sought legal sanctions against the workers
claiming the union [AMWU] was organising an illegal strike. The case was thrown out. The workers weren’t on strike, but resigned and were
protesting against their rotten conditions. What they hoped to achieve was to be re-employed on the industry standard rate of pay.

Still the company refused to budge. Coles was not the direct employer of the construction workers but were happy to allow a contractor to rip
workers off who were building the Coles distribution centre. Ironically at 6am on Friday the 13th a community assembly magically materialized, literally from the early morning fog, outside the main gate of the distribution centre. Security and amazed truck drivers were informed that nothing would be going in or out until 10am and nothing in fact did move in or out for four hours.

Protesting by the metals construction workers and the community assembly had the desired effect. After some argy bargy with the union, Coles and the contractor agreed to pay the correct rates and the workers were re-employed. Workers on the site have scored a $10 an hour increase and a host of other benefits that come with working on a union EBA linked to the correct award, it doesn’t get much sweeter than this, they won!

Power to the union.

Union Solidarity

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Successful Community Assembly outside Elliot Engineering
About 60 supporters gathered outside Elliot Engineering* on Friday May 11 between 6 am and 12 noon. Delivery trucks were turned away by the peaceful Community Assembly.

* Elliot Engineering is part of a group of companies behind the outrageous lockout of union members in the La trobe Valley

48 workers from Mechanical Engineering Services have been locked out for 34 weeks from the Yallourn Workshop in the Latrobe Valley. According to Gippsland Trades & Labour Council, the company has used Howard’s Treacherous IR laws against these workers and is refusing to negotiate on a new enterprise agreement.

The peaceful community action was halted at midday when the police intervened on behalf of management to allow a truck to exit the premises. Numbers on the Community Assembly had dwindled by this point, making it difficult to maintain an effective presence.

http://www.unionsolidarity.org

BACKGROUND:

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/05/144557.php
Friday May 4th Union Solidarity folks at a community protest were run down by a crane-truck out at Kilsyth by a psycho Boss named Anthony Elliott. for backgrond see:
http://www.unionsolidarity.org

AE has locked out his workers for 33 weeks at Yallourn in La Trobe Valley, set up dodgy shell companies MEC etc but finally after yesterdays little effort where he also crashed the cop car has been charged (at last!) AE drove along Canterbury Road with the deliberate intention of removing those still attached to his crane truck on bushes he swerved into.

Will be interesting to see how the "Fair' legislation updated by backfooting Howard and proposed by Another Liberal party will be relevant to this case of classic unfair Bossy boots behaviour !

Later yesterday the UnionSoli folks went to confront Howard at a Scout Hall being fitted with a water tank.....
When one of the Union Soli crew pointed out that the roof which would collect the water was asbestos.... and that it would be better to fund removing the hazardous material roof and replace it with a safer material for the kids
Howard's minders got a bit unsettled and Howard was moved on.

Howard showed up in the City to announce his nicer fairer masked workplace laws for the Election and once again UnionSoli and a large contingent of Nurses heckled him in a community building and celebrating effort -well done to all who rocked up.

Finally last night at the Atherton Gardens estate in Fitzroy an anti-fascist festival was celebrated with music food and community building after recent attacks on the resident's community by thugs, politicians and media hyped shock horror exposes.

Today Saturday there is a local UnionSoli event with locals out at Altona where a proposed heliport will be set to land 100 metres from residents backyards and fly the damned things across a wetland with heaps of birds and an endangered butterfly habitat - if people and birds struggle with the wind off the helicopter what would a butterfly be blown about like ?

Source of above news Solidarity Breakfast show on Radio 3CR talk-back 8.30am today. 3CR's annual fundraiser is on again in June and we need to consolidate this great community resource where else can you hear unionists and community activists speaking up for themselves and not cut up by Corporate and Government interests (if ever heard at all!) see http://www.3cr.org.au

Now for a song kids:

New Legislation

A Song by Catherine O'Brien and Allan Caswell©Catherine O'Brien and Allan Caswell 2007

http://bmuc.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-legislation-song-by-catherine.html

chorus:
freedom of choice with a gun to your head
your right to work hard until you drop dead
or we'll get some other fool in here instead
'cos we got this new legislation

the secretary's future doesn't look great
the boss says she showed up for work an hour late
besides she refused to go out on a date
and he's got this new legislation

the 4th year apprentice he's done well at tafe
he's worked real hard to make his future safe
but we've got to downsize son so you're on your way
cos we got this new legislation

your union card won't do you favours round here
cos we've smelt your breath and we think we smelt beer
and if you discuss it son you're outa here
cos we got this new legislation

we wouldn't say darlin' that you're overweight
we think you're lovely your work has been great
but we're all out of uniforms except for size eight
cos we got this new legislation

overtime's over the contract is signed
penalty rates mate are all in your mind
cos we've got your arse now on our bottom line
cos we got this new legislation

your right to life's over as soon as you're born
24 seven we've got you on call
your time's now our time that's no crime at all
cos we got this new legislation

what we said last year mate we can't recall
and that mutual agreement wasn't mutual at all
cos we made the small print incredibly small
and we got this new legislation
______________________________________

Employer violence at community protest
by taken from SP website Saturday May 05, 2007 at 12:41 PM

Protesters were lucky to escape with their lives this morning as two trucks driven by an aggressive employer rammed a community protest in the Melbourne suburb of Kilsyth. In full view of the police, a senior manger of the Elliott Group drove a semi trailer through the crowd.

The semi trailer side swiped a police car causing minor damage. But four protesters were left clinging to the front of the truck fearing for their life. Unable to either move out of the way, or get off the truck, they were forced to hold on whilst the driver took off reaching speeds of up to 60 km per hour. The frightening ride was only stopped by pursuing cars that stopped the truck over 2 km away.

Whilst driving through the crowd the boss had also opened his door and kicked at least two protesters from the cabin. The demonstrators has discussed with the police when they arrived at the Kilsyth plant and told them that they wanted to protest peacefully and hand workers and truck drivers leaflets as they came in and out. The police had agreed to this saying that it was a democratic right to protest.

After the incident one police officer told protesters that the driver was a “dangerous fruit cake”. Other police officers told protesters that they would be charging him with at least assault and leaving the scene of an accident. They were also considering the more serious charges of dangerous driving and using a vehicle as a weapon.

The protesters we demonstrating against the Elliot Group, who owe workers thousands of dollars in lost entitlements. The company has refused to pay 48 maintenance workers in the Latrobe Valley who have been locked out and sacked by Elliot Engineering (trading as MEC).

The lock out began in September last year and has now been going 33 weeks. It was triggered after unions took protected industrial action against the company during a dispute over a new enterprise bargaining agreement. MEC was placed into administration and the employees who refused to return to work under Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) were later sacked. Under the ‘Work Choices’ legislation, because there was a transmission of business, MEC does not legally have to pay out what was accrued by the previous owner.

One of the former employees, John Scholtes, said outside a recent court case that “the workers would continue their protest at the gates of MEC until they received their full entitlements. We are still here protesting until we get what’s owed to us.”

http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org

Semi driven into protest
by fin review Saturday May 05, 2007 at 12:47 PM

It was reported on page 6 of the Finacial Review today that the driver of the truck (Anthony Ellioit, 33 of Wonga Park) is likely to be charged with reckless conduct endangering life, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and dangerous driving.
We in the labour movement need to make sure the police follow through with this threat.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/124774.php

Yallourn Workshop Embassy
by Gippy Tradie Tuesday October 03, 2006 at 10:38 AM
0428 528 255

Mechanical Engineering Services have locked out 48 workers for a period of 3 months from the Yallourn Workshop in the Latrobe Valley. The company has used Howard’s Treacherous IR laws against these workers. The company has tried to take away workers rights and intimidated workers

Yallourn Workshop Embassy

Sunday 1st October at 11am
At the Embassy
Mechanical Engineering Services
Yallour Power Station Old workshop.
Off Old Yallourn North Rd.
look for the signs

Mechanical Engineering Services have locked out 48 workers for a period of 3 months from the Yallourn Workshop in the Latrobe Valley. The company has used Howard’s Treacherous IR laws against these workers. The company has tried to take away workers rights and intimidated workers

Come to our family day to support the Yallourn Workers. Defend them and their families against exploitation by this company.

Brief Background
On the 31st March the company put a letter on the notice board stating it was going to terminate the current agreement. The company deliberately avoided the unions in regards to negotiating an agreement so union members put forward a draft model to the workgroup. This approach did not work.

Finally, the company rejected the claims of the workforce and refused to budge. The workers instructed the union to move forward with a ballot to take protected action. The AMWU applied to the Commission to get an order to conduct a ballot and to put bans in place for overtime, temporary upgrades and temporary shift work.

On the 12th September the company advised workers and the union that they would be locking them out for up to 3 months or until an agreement was reached or until the company advised them otherwise. more…

More info: 0428 528 255
Yallourn Workshop Embassy News
Donation Request Form
Media Release
http://gippslandtlc.com.au/