A national campaign in support of the rights of working Australians

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A national campaign in support of the rights of
working Australians
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The Australian Way of Life
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From 1st July, the Howard Federal Government
takes control of the Senate and therefore has a
free hand to change laws. Radical changes are
proposed which threaten your rights at work.
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What do working Australians want and need?

• Hopes
• Decent income, good job
• Health and safety the ability to come home
  alive and without injury
• Sense of achievement or accomplishment
• Respect, recognition and self-esteem
• A life (outside work)
• Fears
• Losing a job, drop in income
• Getting injured, health problems
• Not having enough in retirement
• No chance to get ahead

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What does the Government say?

• Howard Government says
• An emphasis on fairness only leads to regulatory
  excess and inefficiency
• Kevin Andrews, Federal Minister for Workplace
  Relations
• Speech, 25 Feb 2005
• and Australian Financial Review, Feb 16, 2005

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GOVERNMENT WANTS TO1. Remove employment
conditions from awards
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• 1.6 million people rely on awards for wages and
  conditions.
• Millions more on agreements rely on awards to
  underpin their conditions
• The Howard Government wants to get rid of
• All state awards
• Conditions in federal awards like
• skill based wage rates
• long service leave
• Span of hours
• converting long term casuals to permanent
• redundancy

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GOVERNMENT WANTS TO 2. Change the way minimum
wages are set to make them lower
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• For 100 years, the Industrial Relations
  Commission has set and increased minimum wage
  rates in awards
• Howard Government has asked the Commission for
  minimum rates 44 a week lower than they are now
  - Commission didnt allow it
• Govt wants new system to get lower wage rates
• Similar to USA minimum wage is 5.15 per hour
  and no increase in 8 years

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GOVERNMENT WANTS 3. Individual contracts to
undercut existing rights and conditions
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THE HOWARD GOVERNMENT SAYS We should be trying
to move to an industrial relations system where
the predominant instrument is the individual
contract where theres ease of entry, ease of
exit... Peter Costello, The Age, 19 February
2005
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GOVERNMENT WANTS 3. Individual contracts to
undercut existing rights and conditions
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WORKERS SAY I was offered an individual
contract AWA that would mean a pay cut of
about 150 a week. Instead of being paid by the
hour I would only get 55 cents a kilo for the
mushrooms I picked. When I refused to sign the
AWA, I was sacked.   A comment from a mushroom
farm worker whose employer tried to force her
on to an AWA
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GOVERNMENT WANTS TO4. Keep unions out of
workplaces and reduce bargaining rights
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GOVERNMENT WANTS TO5. Abolish redundancy pay and
protection from unfair dismissals for small
business employees
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• Remove unfair dismissal rights for workplaces
  with less than 20 employees
• These workers will have no rights if they are
  unfairly dismissed. They will have no right to
  get redundancy pay if they are retrenched.
• This will impact on University owned companies
  and student organisations. But will they stop
  there?

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GOVERNMENT WANTS TO6. Reduce the powers of the
Industrial Relations Commission
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• For over 100 years, state and federal Industrial
  Relations Commissions have settled disputes and
  set minimum conditions in awards
• You need an independent umpire to go to when
  things cant be settled at the workplace
• Government wants to
• Abolish state Industrial Relations Commissions,
  and
• Take away many powers of federal Commission

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For Universities this is already happening -
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• On 29 April, 2005 Dr Brendan Nelson, the Minister
  for Education , Science and Training and Kevin
  Andrews, Minister for Employment and Workplace
  Relations put out a press release stating that
• For Universities to be eligible for an increase
  in assistance funding under the Commonwealth
  Grant Scheme (CGS) - 5 in 2006 and 7.5 in later
  years Universities will have to meet the
  following requirements

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University funding requirements 2005-2008
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• Offer Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs)
• All staff employed after 29 April must be offered
  AWAs by 30 September, 2005
• All existing staff must be offered an AWA by 31st
  August, 2006

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University funding requirements 2005-2008
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• Any agreement certified after 29 April, 2005
  must include the following clause
• The University may enter into AWAs with its
  employees. Those AWAs may either operate to the
  exclusion of this certified agreement or prevail
  over the terms of this certified agreement to the
  extent of any inconsistency, as specified in each
  AWA
• All agreements must include this provision by
  2006 for funding in 2007 and 2008.

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University funding requirements 2005-2008
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• What will AWAs do?
• Undermine your right to collectively bargain
• Put downward pressure on conditions in the
  agreement.
• If you are on an AWA, you may lose rights under
  the agreement

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University funding requirements 2005-2008
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• 2. Limit the power of your union to represent YOU
• Consultative committees (including EB) cant be
  restricted to union representatives.
• Consultation over other IR matters can only
  include union at request of an affected employee.
• 3. No limits on casuals and fixed term contracts
• This will undermine your job security.
• 4. Productivity and Performance
• This is code for reducing your right to a fair
  hearing in performance discipline issues.

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University funding requirements 2005-2008
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• 5. No CGS Funds to pay union salaries, or fund
  union facilities and activities
• This will mean no campus office space for Union
  delegates (employees of the University), who
  currently represent employees on individual and
  collective issues.
• This may mean no time release for delegates to
  represent members, attend training or participate
  in enterprise bargaining

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The CPSU also believes that later
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• Universities will be forced to get a percentage
  of staff onto Australian Workplace Agreements
  (AWAs).
• Universities will have to try to get Non- Union
  Agreements
• Reduction of conditions to community
  standards, i.e. minimum standards (as per 2003)

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In addition
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• Universities will be required to end payroll
  deduction of Union dues.
• The aim is to take away our resources so that we
  cant fight back

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The CPSU fights for your rights at work
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• A strong safety net of decent wages and
  conditions
• Your right to bargain collectively for fair pay
  and conditions and reject individual contracts
• Your right to join the union and access benefits
  of membership
• A strong, independent Industrial Relations
  Commission to set fair minimum wages and
  conditions and settle disputes

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How can we get government and universities to
listen?
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• Universities - the strength of our argument and
  the argument of our strength
• Government - the court of public opinion

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WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELPInformation campaign
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• Join the CPSU
• Sign up to Direct Debit
• Speak to your workplace delegate about handing
  out leaflets and putting up posters in your work
  area
• Participate in workplace organising committee or
  become your workplace contact or delegate.
• Participate any and all activities for eg, sign
  the pledge

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National Day of Action 1 June 2005
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• Resolution
• This meeting of CPSU members endorses an ongoing
  campaign against the Federal Governments
  Requirements. This campaign is to commence with
  Protests on June 1st 2005.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP Your community
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• Tell as many people as possible about the Howard
  Governments plans
• Tell your local Liberal or National and ALP MP
  that you oppose their Governments plans
• ACTU National week of action 27 June - 1 July

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Individual Bargaining
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Collective Bargaining
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They cant take away peoples support for
each other
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