Old days of union turf wars tipped to return

Employers have predicted a rise in unemployment and "a return to the bad old days of turf wars" over union right of entry under new workplace reforms.

As employment figures out today are expected to reveal a rise in jobless families, mining giant BHP Billiton has complained that the Fair Work laws will make it "practically impossible to exclude from the negotiations any interested union" on new sites.

The mining giant warns in a submission to parliament that it has significant concerns over right-of-union-entry rules at companies and work sites, allowing union officials to look at records.

As the Senate prepares to review the laws with a view to possible amendments, unions are pushing for even greater right of entry to work sites and a return to pattern bargaining.

Continued Page 4

From Page 1 It ’s a push that has been seized on by Workplace Minister Julia Gillard to argue that the laws are not a sop to unions, with both sides unhappy with elements of the legislation.

But the employers claim unemployment will rise if the laws are not amended.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce said yesterday it was not the time to risk productivity or companies ’ capacity to hire.

"Our assessment of the laws is that they will impact negatively on the employment market unless the laws are significantly amended. That means adding to unemployment," ACCI chief Peter Anderson said.

But a submission to the inquiry from the Government ’s Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations argues that the forecast rise in unemployment is "in no way attributed to workplace relations reform".

Unions yesterday confirmed they were concerned about the limits on industry-wide agreements and the restrictions on what could be agreed to in workplace agreements, including unfair dismissal rights that conferred new protections on new employees who had not yet qualified for protection.

Melbourne Institute deputy director Mark Woodend said the push to reintroduce pattern bargaining was particularly troubling.

"They ’d like the old industry arbitration system where they just rock up and get an industrywide agreement," he said. "That ’s the 1970s. They ’re not going to get it.

"Their point is that in the election the Government made all sorts of promises and pledges.

"So they believe the party owes them one. I think they believe the legislation is a bit weaker than what they told their members." Mr Woodend said: "I don ’t believe the unions ’ case is very strong. What I do know is anything akin to multiemployer bargaining is a very bad thing." NSW Business Chamber chief Kevin MacDonald said: "We are concerned that the new right-of-entry rules will bring back the bad old days of union turf wars, which cause serious harm to business and rarely bring direct benefits to employees either.

"NSW Business Chamber and ABI are also concerned that under the new right-of-entry rules, unions will be able to inspect the personal and employment details of employees who are not members of the union," he said.

"We believe that an employee ’s right not to join a union should be respected, and so we have recommended that the Government amend the proposed rules so unions can only inspect the records of the employees who have chosen the union as their representative." theaustratian.com.au

Union ramps up bans on Telstra

Telstra union members launched a second wave of industrial action on the weekend to push their case for an improved enterprise agreement while pressing the telco on its moves to shift to non-union agreements.

The campaign, through the Communication Electrical and Plumbing Union, banned weekend emergency duties and overtime and this week will broaden to legally protected 24-hour, 48-hour and indefinite stoppages in key divisions.

This second phase follows pre-Christmas action by CEPU members and is the most significant union move yet in what is shaping as a particularly fraught year on the industrial relations front as some 5000 EBAs across retail, banking and mining, along with car component manufacturing, expire as the economy deteriorates.

Telstra has run a hard line on union-mediated award negotiations but faces the task of replacing expiring Australian Workplace Agreements.

CEPU communications national president Len Cooper said the action was national and company-wide.

"With the pre-Christmas action, Telstra is behind in a number of projects and has a huge backlog of calls which they would have been trying to catch up with overtime and call-outs [of our members]," he said. "There ’s been no formal response from [Telstra] but the rhetoric seems to have changed a little to we ’ve always been open to discussion ’." The pre-Christmas action led to a week-long backlog and affected mainly payments systems such as Eftpos and ATMs, although prepaid internet was also affected.

Mr Cooper said Telstra had a "part A and part B" offer, the first being offered to current members and the second targeted at staff coming off AWAs or new to the company. "We know a lot of our members have been approached with these offers Telstra ’s been working on this for about 12 months. It ’s not dissimilar to strategies we ’ve seen tried elsewhere, at Fairfax, Rio Tinto, BHP," Mr Cooper said.

Telstra spokesman Martin Barr reiterated the company ’s commitment to maintaining service levels to customers during industrial action, without commenting specifically on the latest wave of the campaign.

"It should be remembered that union membership at Telstra is only 15 per cent of our employee base and, on average, only about 5 per cent of Telstra ’s call centre consultants are eligible to take action, ’~ he said. Most Telstra employees will be at work serving our customers.

We continue to talk to our employees directly and over 5000 eligible employees have registered their interest in an employee collective agreement." Mr Barr said Telstra had put forward a "fair and competitive offer which protects all current terms and conditions of enterprise agreement employees ’S. The offer guarantees 12.5 per cent pay rises over three years plus up to 7.5 per cent in performance-based bonuses.

"Telstra s employee collective agreement easily exceeds national average increases of 3.9 per cent per year and Telstra is already recognised as offering the best pay and conditions in the industry," he said.

Telstra broke off union negotiations in mid-2008 to pursue nonunion collective agreements.

Andrew Cornell
Australian Financial Reviews

Rugby job swallowed in revamp

THE South Canterbury Rugby Union is to lose its chief executive position after a restructuring by the board.

The decision could save the cash-strapped union up to $40,000, although the position carried a salary package well above that.

Ian Hegarty ’s job was the only one lost after an internal review and he is likely to finish work by the end of March.

The chief executive role has disappeared as the union continues its belt tightening after controversially disestablishing the groundsman position last year.

Union chairman Stephen McFarlane said finance was a key consideration as well as the union ’s longterm sustainability. F? "The board has as one of its core tasks iH~. consideration and review of the appropriate employee _________ structure required by the SCRU for the Stephen I delivery of quality rugby services to the community.

"With the disestablishment of the chief executive position, the functions of that role will be redistributed among existing positions and outsourcing options," he said.

"In terms of the timetable and the specifics of implementation of these decisions, discussions with affected staff continue which is why there has been no official announcement to date." Mr McFarlane said the outcome was understandably disappointing for Mr Hegarty who had worked hard, and with passion, for South Canterbury rugby in the past two years.

"A final date for the chief executive function to be officially disestablished is still under discussion but is likely to be in the first quarter of 2009.

"Naturally, Ian is disappointed that his employment will cease and he certainly expressed to the board that he wanted the role to be retained and to carry on in it." Mr McFarlane said Mr Hegarty had indicated his desire to ensure that the transition to the new structure was a smooth one.

Mr Hegarty was on leave because he had a lot of lieu time and annual leave accrued, Mr McFarlane said.

If the union needed Mr Hegarty for the upcoming Crusaders game, he had indicated he would be available but things for the game were running smoothly, Mr McFarlane said.

He would not be drawn, how-ever, on whether Mr Hegarty would receive any redundancy except to say "the union will be meeting all obligations in the chief executive ’s employment agree- ment".

The Herald under-stands the board ’s decision means the union is the only union in New Zealand without a chief execu-tive although the disestablishment had AcFarlane been discussed with the New Zealand Rugby Union.

The review leaves the union with 2.5 fulltime equivalent paid employees plus the club liaison officer position which is shared with Mid Canterbury.

Mr McFarlane said outsourc-ing options would be called upon as required for specialist skills such as marketing, human resources and so on.

"Remaining staff members will face changes in how their day-to-day work tasks are structured and this is currently being discussed with them." The disestablishment follows a tumultuous period in the union ’s history, with previous incum-bent Paul Treves being sacked, interim chief executive Russell Leech sacking coach Ken Wills, for which the union had to pay compensation, and a construc-tive dismissal payout to another chief executive, Wally Bell.

Stupiddington©timaruheraldconz
Timaru Herald,
Timaru Canterburry,New Zealand

13 Tips: Working Effectively With Unions - Workers’ Compensation: Designing & Implementing a Return-to-work Policy

Companies with unions face very different and unique challenges not faced by non-union companies. Consider these 15 Tips in designing and implementing an effective return-to-work program.

13 Tips for Employers with Unions

1. Determine what management rights you may already have to implement a return-to-work program.

2. Negotiate counterproductive clauses out of the collective bargaining agreement.

3. Consider buying out in negotiations particularly onerous clauses, such as minimum manning provisions, limitations on temporary transfer of employees and prohibition on work out of classification.

4. Obtain top management commitment to the program. Educate in-house counsel.

5. Communicate the program to the unions, employees and supervisors by sitting down and talking with them. Approach the most receptive unions first. Use them as a selling point before approaching more difficult unions.

6. Where possible, eliminate collateral source payments, such as long-term disability, short-term disability and use of vacation and sick time, effectively allowing employees to earn more when they don’t work than when they do.

7. Show the employees and unions how much workers’ compensation costs the company with sound factual information.

8. Use a comparison showing how much in sales it takes to pay for injuries.

9. Relate the costs to the financial stability of the company and to the impact on profit sharing plans.

10. Get signed waivers to avoid future claims, such as American with Disability (ADA) claims. Consider employer legal responsibilities under the ADA, and remind the union of their own obligations to support these legal requirements.

11. Request “withdrawal cards” before lump sum settlements are authorized.

12. Share savings with employees who participate in the company’s return-to-work program. Add this to bonuses, not to wages, so it does not become an ongoing obligation.

13. Have a company representative attend all hearings to describe the job requirements and offer details as needed.

For more information and tools, see WC Cost Reduction Tips. There are several free forms and tools on the site.

Robert Elliott, senior vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs by 20-50%. His clients have included airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and others. Contact him at: Robert_Elliott@reduceyourworkerscomp.com or 860-553-6604.

http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/robert-elliott/91473.htm

Corus trade unions offer pay cut to save factory: report

LONDON (AFP) — Trade unions at Indian-owned steel group Corus have proposed a 10 percent pay cut for the next six months in an attempt to avoid a factory closure in Wales, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

The Anglo-Dutch group, which was bought last year by India's Tata Steel for 13.7 billion dollars, faces falling demand in Europe amid a sharp global economic downturn and has already slashed output.

The FT said that three British trade unions proposed the steep pay cut in a bid to save the Llanwern steel factory in southern Wales, which employs about 1,000 people. Corus has approximately 25,000 staff in Britain.

"Representatives would accept a 10 percent decrease for everybody, from the bottom to the top of the company," the financial newspaper cited a senior trade union official as saying.

The FT said that no agreement had yet been reached but added that talks would continue Thursday and over the next fortnight.

Last month, Corus decided to cut its production by 30 percent over the next six months in response to flagging demand.

The group has already shut three blast furnaces in Britain and the Netherlands as part of the output reduction.

Labour movement gets recognition at UN climate change conference

The United Nations (UN) body on climate change has formally acknowledged the contribution of the labour movement to the debate on green issues.

The UN body dealing with climate change, under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, granted the International Trade Union Confederation the select formal status of “official constituency” in the climate change process. The ITUC was conferred this status during the UN climate change conference in Poznan, Poland, which began on 1 December and ends on 12 December.

ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder said: “Trade unions believe climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also is about social rights and rights to development, and that is the contribution we bring to the UN process.”

He said that combating climate change would result in huge transformations in production and that whether new jobs were created or how the labour movement responded would depend on how these were managed.

Trade unions are specifically calling for a “just transition framework” to be introduced into the negotiations to promote opportunities offered by the "green economy" – including green and decent jobs.

“The UN must place workers and workplaces at the core of its strategy to tackle climate change,” said Ryder. “Unions are calling for innovative multilateral solutions, without which the main victims of climate change will be the workers, in particular in developing countries.”

Alana Dave, ITF Education Officer who is also working on climate change said: “Transport workers will feel the impact of climate change policies. That’s why it’s crucial that trade unionists who represent them can give their concerns a voice in the climate change discussions and present alternatives.”

Read the full trade union statement on climate change at: http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/No_45__TradeUnions_ClimateChange_COP14.pdf
http://www.itfglobal.org

Tunisia: Trial of trade union leaders a travesty of justice

Amnesty International is calling on the Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested and tried for exercising peacefully their right to freedom of expression and assembly. Others should be retried in fair proceedings in line with Tunisia’s international obligations.

The organization issued its appeal after yesterday’s prison sentences handed down to 38 trade union leaders and protesters in unfair trial proceedings for their involvement in demonstrations in the Gafsa area.

“The verdict and sentences have been a subversion of justice and they should not be allowed to stand,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Programme Director at Amnesty International.

A Gafsa Court handed down prison terms of up to 10 years against 33 trade union activists and protesters who were accused of leading the unrest against unemployment and high living costs in the first half of this year in the phosphate-rich Gafsa region in south-east Tunisia. Four were tried in absentia.

Charges included “forming a criminal group with the aim of destroying public and private property” and “armed rebellion and assault on officials during the exercise of their duties”. They were among the hundreds arrested after a wave of protests against unemployment and high living costs that wracked the phosphate-rich Gafsa region in south-east Tunisia in the first half of this year.

“The Tunisian authorities must immediately stop criminalizing social protest. Instead of trying peaceful protesters and trade unionists, the authorities should investigate the allegations of torture previously raised by the defendants,” added Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Amnesty International is concerned that serious violations of fair trial standards have been committed, including that the defence lawyers were not able to present the case of their clients; the defendants were not interrogated in court and the demands of the lawyers that their clients be medically examined for trace of possible torture and to call and cross-examine witnesses were rejected by the court.

Yesterday’s verdict came amid reports of a heavy security presence. Security forces were deployed along the roads leading to the court as well as in main access roads to the city of Gafsa. The roads leading to the court were said to have been barred by the security forces who prevented a number of human rights activists from reaching the court.

“The trial raises yet again questions as to the independence of the judiciary in Tunisia and shows the Tunisian authorities’ determination to quell any independent voices inside the country,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

The leader of trade union and spokesperson for the Movement of Social Protest in Gafsa, Adnan Hajji was sentenced, along with six others, to 10 years’ imprisonment in the trial. The rest received prison sentences ranging from two to six years, including at least eight suspended sentences. Journalist Fahem Boukadous and France-based human rights activist Mouheiddine Cherbib, received, respectively, six and two years in absentia.

http://www.amnestyusa.org