DIRECT DEBIT Feedback from the members on this issue has been negative. Some members are concerned that because of the inadequate wages that they receive from the company that they may put themselves in a situation whereby they may overdraw their account and incur dishonor fees. The reason that we were forced to look at this in the first place was because the company was hiding behind the "privacy act" as an excuse not to release current information to Union Officials. To get around this problem we have redesigned the pay deduction authority form to include an authority to release information to Union Officials. AMNESTY We are going to offer an amnesty to all who wish to sign up to the Union prior to the 21st of May. These new or returning members will not be required to pay past dues. Any person after 21st of May who seeks the assistance of the Union will be required to pay outstanding dues from the date they started or the date they stopped payment to the Union.   EBA The company is proceeding in its attempt to get the Industrial Relations Commission to terminate the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement that we currently work under. The Company has indicated that should they be successful that they would not offer AWAs but would offer an elevated version of the Federal Award. Quote Mr. McMahon from the transcript 27th April 2004: " No, under the cancellation if it did occur we would not proceed with AWAs. There would be no purpose in it." The Union at the last hearing conceded that, as a point of law, the company could offer AWAs until the EBA is terminated.  Mandi Bryant has said to Union officials that any new EBA will supersede the AWA. While there is an EBA in place there is no reason to sign an AWA. You would have to think also that anyone who was under the EBA and signed an AWA signed it by choice as opposed to a new employee who has no choice. Their chances of getting the AWA put aside in the future would, logically, be greatly diminished. NEGOTIATIONS The company has said that they do not wish to negotiate a new EBA, yet they have negotiated a wage increase with one section of workers, and rumours persist that they are talking to some members of another section. HIDDEN AGENDA  The greatest asset this company has is its workers. This company has consistently misrepresented their real agenda. They have hidden behind fake wage rises and the sham 10 hour day the fact that they want the workers to work up to another 20 days per year. They also want to slash the wages of slaughterfloor workers . The boning room has been informed that it is unlikely that they will have an offseason . NewsFlash you are working your offseason now!! WORKERS ARE LEAVING You are doing no more now in 4 days than you did two years ago in 4 days. The major difference is that there are less workers - a LOT less. This company is slowly destroying itself. Skilled, trained workers have gone because their wages, conditions, and job security are decreasing. The workers who remain see the value of their wages being diminished every day, when they know that prices of goods and services have gone up over 15% in the last 3½ years. WORKPLACE INJURIES Workers can see that the 10 hour day is destroying health and home. They can also see in the company's published injury statistics that the company has got better at hiding the true extent of injury in the workplace. Where in the statistics are the workers who must attend physio to get through each day?  Where are the workers on light or modified duties accounted for? The new employees on AWAs, how cheated must they be feeling? THE FUTURE The sooner the company begins to bargain on a reasonable basis the sooner we can both work to put the company in a strong position to take us forward with a sense of security into the next few years.