SEPTEMBER 2004 S A F E W A Y CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS There seems to be some confusion as to the public holidays for Christmas this year.  Christmas Day and New Years Day fall on a Saturday.  Boxing Day falls on a Sunday.  The State Government has declared substitute holidays for Christmas and Boxing Day on Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December, and for New Years Day on Monday 3 January. The confusion arises as to what happens for those rostered to work on Saturday 25 December, Sunday 26 December and Saturday 1 January. Clarification from State Government The Union is attempting to clarify the issue with the State Government.  We will notify Safeway members when this is resolved. WAGE INCREASE All Safeway members should have received a wage increase of 3.5% as from 23rd September. This is the last wage increase of the current Agreement.  A new Agreement will need to be negotiated next year. SDA Undermines Conditions Once again the SDA has attempted to undermine the conditions for Safeway meat room workers.  In Queensland, South Australia and in New South Wales the SDA has entered into agreements with Woolworths to cover workers in meat rooms.  In each Agreement they give up meat room conditions.  They have recently agreed in New South Wales to allow the classification of meat slicer which was rejected by Victorian AMIEU members in Safeway meat rooms in the current Agreement.  The meat room slicer classification undermines the trade qualifications of butcher and will ultimately lead to a deterioration in all conditions and wages.   The AMIEU NSW Branch is fighting the proposal.  The SDA continues to be prepared to submit to the employer's will in return for membership dollars.   COLES REDUNDANCY Elimination of Butchers For a number of years Coles has been experimenting with what they euphemistically call "Retail Ready" meat. This meat is in fact packaged centrally and sealed in a combination of carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen to give it a longer shelf life.  This eliminates the need for Coles to employ butchers and meat packers.  All that is required is for workers to open boxes and put the packaged meat onto the shelves.  The shelf life of the prepackaged meat is currently about 20 to 25 days. Implementation The experiment appears to be over, and Coles has now apparently decided to progressively introduce this meat into all their stores.  As a result, Coles meat room workers are currently being made redundant and more will follow.  Union Negotiations The Union was not able to change Coles' mind on the introduction of this meat, but because of the strength and high level of Union membership amongst Coles meat room workers, including meat managers, we were able to negotiate a reasonable redundancy far better than the current standard and includes Managers.  Safeway Fresh Food Safeway Management during the last negotiations told the Union that Safeway was proud of its "Fresh Food People" image and was not going to alter this by selling meat that was not freshly processed.  Recent television advertising by Safeway reinforce this idea that Safeway will continue to sell meat freshly prepared by experts.  It is hoped that this will continue to be Safeway's position. UNION MEMBERSHIP Safeway meatroom workers are reminded that as an alternative to having Union fees deducted by Safeway, Union membership is also available by way of weekly direct debit from members' bank accounts.  Anyone who wishes to become a member by direct bank debit should contact their Organiser or the Union office.