INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LEGISLATION Attack on Workers' Rights Members of the Union should have no misunderstandings about the Howard Government's Industrial Relations legislation. It is the most fundamental attack on workers' rights and conditions in the history of Australia. The legislation has been planned by this Government for a long time. It has been written in conjunction with lawyers seconded from Australia's biggest law firms, which represent most of the big business in Australia. And it fulfills all their dreams. The intent of the legislation is quite clear. It is an attempt to destroy the Trade Union Movement and to end collective bargaining, and to remove from workers most of the conditions they have struggled to achieve over more than 150 years. 8 Hour Day Celebrations Next year celebrations are planned in Melbourne for the 150th Anniversary of the 8 Hour Day. The 8 Hour Day was achieved after industrial action by building trades workers in Melbourne in April 1856. This was the first 8 hour working day anywhere in the world. It was won on a slogan of "8 hours work, 8 hours recreation and 8 hours rest". The achievement stood as a symbol that workers were individual human beings who were entitled to a life other than that demanded by the employers. The 8 hour day gradually became the accepted norm throughout the western world. When the celebrations and re-enactments of the triumphs of 1856 take place next April, it will be 1 month after the Howard Government's legislation takes away the 8 hour day, and all it symbolizes as a legal entitlement for Australian workers. Since that success in 1856 workers, through their union, have continued to fight to obtain conditions that give them an ability to improve their lives, and that of their families, and to take some of the benefit from the wealth that their labour has created in this country. Formation of Unions Part of that fight has been for the right to organize and be part of a Union, and to have that Union recognized legally as the workers' representative. The fight was never easy. The employers viciously fought against the formation of Unions, including in the great shearing strikes of 1890's, out of which the Australian Labor Party was formed. Employers' Opposition No conditions enjoyed by workers were ever willingly conceded by either employers or conservative governments. Every campaign for an improvement in working conditions was accompanied at the time by a chorus from the ruling class that workers' demands were "outrageous", that "the country will be brought to its knees", that "employers will all go broke", that "unemployment will escalate". If the demand was reasonable, it was "too expensive" and "the time was not yet right for its introduction". Trade Union leaders of such campaigns were individually vilified in the media. Nonetheless the struggle continued and better conditions were won. Achievements of the Trade Union Movement ² A 5 day working week Monday to Friday as normal; ² Annual Leave-first 1 then 2, 3 and now 4 weeks; ² Sick Leave; ² Long Service Leave; ² Overtime payments after 8 hours work; ² A Minimum Wage based on the ability to survive; ² Shift penalties for working unsociable hours; ² A 38 hour week (35/36 for some); ² Compassionate Leave; ² Meal breaks; ² Workers' compensation - make up pay; ² Payment for public holidays; ² Redundancy payments; ² The right to some security of employment; ² Unfair dismissal legislation; ² The right to Union representation and right of entry for Union officials; ² Superannuation; ² Continuing improvements in Occupational Health and Safety and a recognition that workers have a right to a say in what constitutes a safe working environment; and many others, all achievements of the Trade Union Movement. No Dire Consequences Many of these have been achieved in fairly recent times. All were forced from employers and governments and currently for most workers are legally enforceable. Their introduction did not have any of the dire consequences that were predicted. In Australia today the stock market has never been higher. Companies are making record profits. Management wages are at obscenely high levels. Work Choices? Last year at the Federal Election John Howard told us the economy had never been better. But now we have the so-called "Work Choices" legislation. The name epitomizes the contempt with which Howard holds the Australian worker. This legislation passed through Parliament with barely any debate allowed, but with $55 million of the taxpayers' money spent on an advertising campaign made up almost entirely of lies. The "Work Choices" legislation will remove most of the hard won conditions mentioned above, and will put many workers back where they were 150 years ago. Five Conditions There will be only five legally binding conditions: 1. A MINIMUM RATE OF PAY OF $12.75 PER HOUR. There will be no notion of a weekly minimum. This is the USA system of payment by the hour. Any increase in the $12.75 is to be determined by a committee hand picked by the Howard Government. There will be no public holidays, no ability for the ACTU to present a case on behalf of Australian workers as to why they need a wage increase. The hand picked group will determine the matter in secret. The head of this group is Professor Harper, who has said that God will guide him. He has also said that he doesn't know any workers. Professor Harper was recently asked by Collin Ross, an organiser with this Union, whether an ability to live above the poverty line would be taken into account by his committee when determining the minimum wage. The answer from Harper was NO. It would not be. It is not one of the guidelines they will be allowed to consider. The guidelines infer that the minimum wage should be kept as low as possible. This is the experience in the USA where the minimum wage is currently $5.15 and has not been increased for many years. 2. CARERS LEAVE/SICK LEAVE OF 10 DAYS. A certificate will be required for every single day off. 3. ANNUAL LEAVE OF 4 WEEKS. However the annual leave guaranteed is really only 2 weeks because 2 weeks of the 4 can be dispensed with and there is no requirement that it be paid for. 4. UNPAID PARENTAL LEAVE OF 12 MONTHS. 5.A COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS 38 HOUR WEEK. The 38 hours is averaged over 12 months. It can be worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at any time without overtime payments or shift penalties. THESE ARE THE ONLY GUARANTEED CONDITIONS. THERE WILL BE NO OTHERS. All Negotiating Power to the Employer All of the other conditions are up for negotiation. Those workers in employment covered by a Union Agreement (EBA) will have an ability to withstand the initial onslaught. However many others will not, particularly the young and those looking for their first job. Almost all power in negotiation has been given to the employer, and all priority is given to the individual agreements. The list is extensive. No Unfair Dismissal Unfair dismissal legislation disappears. There will be no legal way to stop any employer sacking whomever they like. Any so-called "troublemakers", or anyone who speaks out or looks sideways can be sacked. This power was supposed to be restricted to employers with fewer than 100 employees, but as even Senator Joyce has discovered, it is not a difficult task for employers to restructure their business to create numerous employers each with less than 100 employees. It is already being done now to minimize tax and Workers Compensation premiums. But even that will not necessarily be required under this legislation, because it gives employers with more than 100 employees the ability to rearrange their workplace for "operational reasons" and get rid of whoever they like in the process, and the sacked workers have no right to appeal. In fact the Howard Government is so keen to give employers the unfettered ability to sack workers, it will also be an offence for a Union to propose private arbitration to resolve unfair dismissals, carrying a $33,000 penalty. This ability to sack workers at whim is not a bad start for an employer who wishes to stand over the work force. But they are given numerous other advantages. No Duress The legislation in its definition of duress expressly provides that having to sign an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) as a condition of employment is not duress. No Entry for Unions The Union right of entry to a work site operating under AWAs is also forbidden, even if all the workers are members of the Union. Howard's advertisement proclaims that all individual workers can use a Union official as a bargaining agent, but the legislation forbids the Union official entry to the workplace. Termination of EBAs If 90 days notice is given prior to the expiration of an EBA, the employer can unilaterally terminate the Agreement and leave only the five legally binding conditions outlined above. Even during the life of an EBA the employer can offer individual AWAs in different terms. The employer can enter into a "Greenfields" Agreement with themselves. It is open for an employer to restructure their business so that it becomes a "new business", a "new project" or a "new undertaking" and unilaterally declare a new Agreement which is stripped to the 5 minimum conditions, has a life of 12 months and against which the employees are forbidden from taking protected industrial action. Protected Action Limited The ability of workers to take protected industrial action to help negotiate an EBA is severely limited by a long winded series of required procedures and costly secret ballots. There are no such requirements for an employer who wishes to lock out the workers. Nonetheless the Minister reserves the right to make a declaration that any action or impending action or probable action that could adversely affect the employer is unlawful and that it must cease or not start. Welfare Recipients Any person on welfare benefits must take any job offered, regardless of the conditions, or forfeit their benefit. Dispute Settlement The AIRC is stripped of its powers to settle disputes, as well as having their power to determine minimum wages taken from them. Fines As well as making illegal voluntary arrangements between Unions and employers to resolve unfair dismissal problems, the Act also makes it an offence to which a $33000 fine applies for: - having Union involvement in dispute resolutions; - commitment by employers to future collective bargaining; - protection for job security from labour hire workers or contractors and once again the Minister is given the discretion to determine any other matter that he believes should be unlawful. According to Howard the workers answer to this legislated return to the days of the Master and Servant is easy. "If the worker doesn't like it they should leave and go elsewhere." This aptly sums up the Howard Government's contempt for the Australian worker. The "Work Choices" legislation is economically unjustifiable and socially destructive. It is part of the Howard Government's planned destruction of the Australian heritage as it continues its drive for the Americanisation of Australian society, and government by the multi nationals. The legislation will have an immediate and devastating effect on many thousands of workers who are not in a Union and who will not be able to defend themselves. It will gradually filter through to affect many more who currently believe they are immune. This includes the very many who have never had a contact with a Union in their lives, and who do not understand the affects Unions have upon their working conditions, those who take for granted the Australian way of life as it currently exists without any recognition of the vast impact Unions have had in achieving it. It will eventually affect those in strongly unionized workplaces when their employer, no matter how decent they may be, will declare that they can no longer compete with those who have embraced this legislation. The legislation will be passed because the Howard Government is determined to fulfill a life's ambition, and they currently have the numbers. The Fight Will Continue The current ACTU campaign has been very successful. It has made the majority of Australians aware of the legislation and shown that the vast majority of Australians oppose it. ACTU Secretary Greg Combet has been an outstanding spokesperson for the Trade Union Movement. The Victorian Trades Hall Council has become relevant once more in co-ordinating the Victorian response. This good work must be built on and continue. The legislation was never going to be stopped. The fight against this legislation was always going to be at least until the next Federal election, and perhaps beyond that. The ALP leader Kim Beazley has said that if elected an ALP Government will tear up the rotten legislation. The entire labour movement, in combination with the very many community groups and religious organizations that oppose this legislation must work together to ensure this happens. The Federal ALP must be kept to its word. In the meantime we must work to ensure that the Bracks Labour Government does whatever it can to circumvent the Federal legislation and to prevent its worst excesses. The Bracks Government has pledged to do this. The details of what they will do must now be agreed. We must do what we can to assist them. The Howard Government and its backers know that the only way workers can achieve decent conditions is through a Union. That is the point of this legislation. We must do whatever we can to assist workers to join the Union and to work together to ensure that this attack is overcome. UNION SUBSCRIPTION The Committee of Management has determined that Union membership be increased from $6.50 to $7.20 per week including GST, commencing 1st January 2006. This is the first increase in the Union subscription for 3 years. The increase in the Union fee is in response to the ACTU levy on all Unions so that the campaign against the Howard Government's outrageous IR legislation can be maintained. Crucial time for the Trade Union Movement. Never have workers needed an effective Trade Union Movement more than they do now. Elsewhere in this newsletter the content of this rotten, anti-worker legislation is outlined. The only way the legislation can be defeated is by the type of ongoing campaign that is being co-ordinated by the ACTU. These campaigns are very expensive. The AMIEU is committed to playing its part in the defeat of this vicious legislation, and to giving continuing support and protection to our members. There has been no time in Australia's history where it has been more important for Australian workers to be a member of a Union campaign that is being co-ordinated by the ACTU. These campaigns are very expensive. The AMIEU is committed to playing its part in the defeat of this vicious legislation, and to giving continuing support and protection to our members. There has been no time in Australia's history where it has been more important for Australian workers to be a member of a Union.