CA Campaign Department of Employment

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CA CampaignDepartment of Employment Workplace
Relations (DEWR)

• Nomination for ACTU Awards
• Best Workplace Campaign 2006
• Community Public Sector Union

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Who are DEWR?

• The Dept Employment Workplace Relations (DEWR)
  administers federal workplace laws, and provides
  advice to employers and employees on workplace
  relations legislation.
• Departmental Secretary Dr Peter Boxall
• Minister Kevin Andrews
• The Department employs close to 2200 staff,
  mostly in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney, and
  several regional offices

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Campaign background

• traditionally a tough employer, hostile to
  collective bargaining
• high profile anti-union Ministers Reith, Abbott,
  Andrews
• DEWR staff are often used to road test new
  workplace laws or public service conditions
• individual contracts (AWA) now a condition of
  employment for all new starters (since 2005)
• now almost 53 of employees are employed under
  Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs)
• remaining staff are employed under a Certified
  Agreement (CA)

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Campaign Goals

• Our key strategies were
• activists driven member participation
• decent collective agreement
• tested and targeted messaging
• strategic collective action to build community
  media awareness
• using the Your Rights at Work to place additional
  pressure on the employer while contributing to
  ACTU campaign

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No negotiation

• DEWR refuses to negotiate and pursues non-union
  agreement
• Members develops 'Vote No campaign
• Rallies in support of Vote No campaign
• Employee ballot begins

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DEWR staff say no way to LK

• 78 of staff rejected non-union agreement
• Management still refuse to negotiate
• a senior manager describes staff as deluded and
  intractable

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if wanting to exercise my right to be covered by
an agreement which I "genuinely approve" is being
intractable... if wanting to exercise my right
to be represented by the organisation I pay to
represent my interests is being intractable...
if wanting to exercise choice as to the type of
workplace agreement I wish to be covered by is
being intractable.... Then I am intractable. 
Steve Mastwyck, DEWR Activist
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Genuine Negotiations?

• CPSU initiates bargaining period and DEWR finally
  agrees to genuine negotiations
• DEWR try to frustrate the participation of
  regional staff.
• Members respond
• wearing red in support of their bargaining team
• on-line protests with hundreds of e-mails from
  other public sector workers clogging DEWR in
  boxes
• issue resolved via AIRC
• DEWR offers 1 pay increase and negotiations
  stall. Again.

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Industrial Action 1st Round

• Management refuse to talk
• Members vote for industrial action.
• lunch time stoppages are planned to roll out from
  Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin and then Canberra in
  late June - early July
• action designed to ensure maximum participation,
  including AWAs members attending in their own
  time
• other CPSU members (state Fed) get behind DEWR
  staff by attending rallies

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Sydney industrial action

• DEWR staff in Sydney kicked off the industrial
  action with a 2 hour lunchtime stoppage
• Speakers included John Robertson (Unions NSW),
  Lisa Newman (CPSU) and Wendy Robinson (DEWR)
• At the conclusion, a stirring and emotional
  guard of honour was formed to cheer staff back
  to work and send a message to those who did not
  attend

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Sydney industrial action

• More photos Sydney industrial action

• More photos Sydney industrial action

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AWAs

• Signing an AWA is made a condition of employment
  for all new starters in DEWR
• Management aggressively promote AWAs to existing
  employees AWA appear to pay more than the
  collective agreement, but remove conditions
• Temp staff in one section of DEWR are told their
  contract will not be renewed, unless they sign
  AWAs
• Management supply employment paperwork to these
  workers with the AWA box already ticked!
• CPSU maintains that as existing staff they
  should have had a choice.
• After union action, management back down and give
  the staff a choice between an AWA or CA.
• They claim the whole issue was an administrative
  error

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Media Community
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ACTU lends support

• National media focus on DEWR strike and internal
  AWA policies.
• Kevin Andrews criticises ACTU advertising as
  deceptive and misleading
• ACTU press conference with DEWR members attending
  
• Kevin Andrews will not respect the choice of
  these people to collectively bargain.
• He should take responsibility, respect people's
  choice and practice what he preaches.
• The Government preaches fair choice. And yet
  they don't respect that choice amongst their own
  employees. Greg Combet ACTU Secretary

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Melbourne industrial action

• Melbourne DEWR members take industrial action
  with another 2 hour lunch stoppage
• The rally takes place outside Kevin Andrews
  Melbourne office with media in attendance
• Speakers include Greg Combet (ACTU), Karen Batt
  (SPSF VIC), Lisa Newman (CPSU) with Steve
  Mastwyck and Jess Kendall (DEWR)

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Melbourne industrial action

• More pictures

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Industrial action in other states

• Encouraged by Sydney and Melbourne, other DEWR
  staff take action around the country to keeping
  pressure on management
• Well attended, colourful and vibrant these
  actions maintain the media pressure built through
  the previous stop works and the wider Your Rights
  at Work campaign

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Industrial action in other states

• (Additional text)

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AIRC

• Industrial action forces management back to the
  table and results in some resolution of
  outstanding items.
• However, the role of the AIRC will soon became
  an issue.
• Management refuses to maintain access to the
  independent umpire as part of the dispute
  resolution process, preferring to outsource and
  employ a private company
• The position is completely at odds with the
  Governments claim that AIRC maintained to
  resolve disputes under WorkChoices

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Industrial action - 2nd round

• Management maintain a hard line on removing AIRC
  access redundancy condition cuts
• Members prepare for a second round of industrial
  action
• CPSU phone-polling and leafleting in Kevin
  Andrews electorate of Menzies.
• 83 of respondents in Menzies express no
  confidence in Andrews in over DEWR and broader
  IR issues
• Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra undertake more
  stop work action with the clear message that a
  year of waiting, it was time for DEWR to get
  real and do a deal.

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Peace breaks out!

• Finally following the second round of industrial
  action an in-principle deal is struck.
• DEWR management agree to maintain employee access
  to the AIRC and maintain standard APS redundancy
  provisions.
• Pay outcomes over the three year life of the
  agreement will average 16.1.
• At the time signing off , the collective
  agreement pay outcomes are as good, if not
  better, than current AWAs.
• The new agreement increases paid maternity and
  paternity leave to 14 weeks and two weeks
  respectively.

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Tools Tactics

• Dedicated campaign website
• Workplace surveys, meetings, petitions and
  communications
• Bulletins, meeting flyers, posters
• On-line surveys, direct e-mails and mass e-mail
• Protest e-mails to Minister/Managers
• Targeted phone polling
• Campaigning in ministers electorate
• Questions in Parliament
• Targeted media campaign, consistent messaging and
  constant press liaison
• Structured, rolling industrial action designed to
  maximise participation and put pressure on
  employer
• Regular, timely reporting to encourage broad
  ongoing support

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Objectives achieved

• Over the course of the campaign 100 DEWR staff
  joined the CPSU
• Creation of a strong network of workplace
  activists all over the country
• Developed stronger collective links with workers
  on AWAs
• workers from across our industry were mobilised
  in support each other
• The DEWR campaign provided a clear, timely
  example to the community. People saw the
  Governments real agenda removing rights at work
  and restricting real choices
• We won a very tough fight. We did it through
  hard work, a good strategy and by sticking
  together. A great example for other workplaces.

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Support

• The success of the DEWR campaign was due in no
  small part to the additional support provided to
  members over their year-long battle.
• Other CPSU members
• Family and friends
• State Trades and Labour Councils
• ACTU
• SPSF
• Members of the community

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Thanks
Thanks to all the DEWR members and activists who
kept on going throughout a long campaign, even
during those dark times when a fair deal seemed
impossible. Thanks also to CPSU activists from
other workplaces who never failed to lend a hand.
Special thanks to Section President Steve
Mastwyck for his leadership in the
workplace. Thanks to the state Trade and Labour
Councils for their steadfast support, as well
other union members for your encouragement and
messages of support. Huge thanks to Sharan and
the ACTU leadership for their guidance and
assistance during crucial moments of the
campaign. Our sincere gratitude to Greg Combet.
Your support was constant throughout and a huge
encouragement. Finally, thanks to the team of
CPSU organisers, officials and support staff who
worked tirelessly throughout. Lisa Newman -
CPSU Deputy National President
Stick with your fight for a collective
agreement. It is your basic human right. Stick
together and talk to others respectfully in the
workplace. Freedom of choice is a real thing. It
should have meaning and it should be respected."
Greg Combet