SPRING 2011

INS

IDE

A win for AMWU campaign against illegal dumping Women prepare to break the perspex ceilingBook giveaway: Too Much Luck

AMWUNEWS2

AMWU News is the official publication of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, (registered AFMEPKIU) National Office, 133 Parramatta Road,

Granville, NSW, 2142.

Editor: Dave Oliver

AMWU Communications Team: Tim Chapman, Dash Lawrence and David Gibney

Design: dcmc Design, Melbourne

All information included in this publication was correct at the time of publication, but is subject to change at any time. Please contact your union

organiser for updates.

© AMWU National Office

Made in Australia by AMWU members

Dave Oliver’s editorial ........................................................................................ 3

Win in anti dumping campaign .......................................................................... 4

Expert diagnoses ‘Dutch disease’ ....................................................................... 5

The future of Australian food manufacturing ..................................................... 6

Entitlement robbery sparks calls for law shake up ............................................. 8

AMWU women to break perspex ceiling ............................................................ 9

QLD members achieve justice against bullying bosses .....................................10

Book giveaway: ‘Too Much Luck’ .......................................................................11

Delegate profile ................................................................................................12

AMWUNews

AMWUNEWS 3

SPRING 2011

“The mining industry could

reduce the damage being wreaked

on the rest of the economy if it used

more Australian products, but it is refusing to do so.

EDITORIAL

At the end of August, BlueScope Steel

announced it would close its ‘No. 6’ blast furnace at Port Kembla, NSW, as well as the hot strip mill at Hastings in Victoria. 1000 direct jobs were lost and another 400 on-site contractors also lost their employment. It was a tragic day for many union members and the communities in each town.The company effectively closed its export business and halved the size of its operation. It also announced a $1 billion loss. It blamed the high dollar and cheap imports.Two days later, its former parent company, BHP, announced a $21.7 billion profit from its mining activities: the largest profit in Australia’s history.There is no sharper contrast between the mining sector which employs 200 000 Australians, and the rest of the economy, where most of Australia’s 11.4 million workers make their living.Never before has a mining boom meant so little to so many Australians.Australia’s one million manufacturing workers – like the 1400 at BlueScope – are suffering because of the high dollar caused by the boom in resource exports. So are millions more in tourism, agriculture, retail and education.That’s why the AMWU has been campaigning for government policies to turn this around. We need to make sure we maintain a diverse economic base for when we hit the bottom of the quarry.The mining industry could reduce the damage being wreaked on the

rest of the economy if it used more Australian products, but it is refusing to do so. It could also pay the mining tax, and allow the government to invest some of the boom into new manufacturing jobs and innovation. Again, it opposes this measure.The big miners are putting super-profits ahead of their obligations to the community whose resources they profit from.Not only are they failing to share the work and the wealth from our resources, the resulting high dollar is actively damaging our other, more important, long-term industries which provide jobs to the vast majority of Australians.Manufacturing is the fourth biggest employer in Australia and it is the most important industry in Australia because it creates so many jobs in other industries. Unlike mining, manufacturing exists in every electorate in Australia.The AMWU’s Manufacturing: Australia’s Future campaign is not about tariffs or old-style protectionism, but about recognising the real and harmful impact of a commodity driven currency, and taking steps to fix this imbalance. As the global economic uncertainty continues, the countries with diverse economies and strong manufacturing sectors are faring the best. China, Germany, and the Scandanavian economies remain strong, while those that allowed their manufacturing sectors to decline – most obviously the United States – continue to struggle.It is our view that State and Federal Governments must step in and restore the balance.

As we go to press, the AMWU is getting ready to take this campaign to the Future Forum on Jobs. The Prime Minister added this extra day to follow the National Tax Summit after I and other union leaders met with her to call for a manufacturing inquiry in August.Manufacturing workers know the importance of manufacturing to apprenticeships, skills development, innovation and technology, and that’s the message we will be taking to the government.There are many opportunities, such as in the clean technology sector. A big part of our climate change campaign is ensuring the technology funded from the $14.8 billion Clean Energy Future program is manufactured in Australia.Local content in the resource sector, government infrastructure and defence, local content in clean technology, and genuine productivity improvements (not the return to WorkChoices which business and Tony Abbott are again raising) are what will deliver a future for manufacturing.We have to get this message out to the community too. You can make a difference by continuing to spread the message to your friends and family, and by contacting your Federal MP. Visit www.amwu.org.au and click on Manufacturing: Australia’s Future to play your part.

Government action is needed to sustain a diverse economy

Dave Oliver

AMWU National Secretary

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AMWU wins on anti-dumping campaignAn AMWU campaign to stop

illegal dumping has made inroads with the introduction of federal laws in August that will reform Australia’s trading sector. AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, said the changes, which will see the introduction of tighter regulations over imported goods and increased resources for Australian Customs to stamp out illegal activity, had come after a sustained campaign by unions.

“The AMWU teamed up with the CFMEU and AWU to call for a stricter regime. We’ve been lobbying government and industry to see some action.

“In April we held a joint union and business round table to address the issue. It’s pleasing to see the government introduce changes.

“The practice of illegal dumping has the potential to destroy manufacturing jobs around the country.”

Illegal dumping occurs when an overseas company exports its goods to Australia below cost price with the aim to drive out local competition and increase

prices later. The practice claimed hundreds of jobs at Mt Gambier tissue manufacturer Kimberley Clark, which ceased production in January, unable to compete with a flood of overseas products. Mr Oliver said the union welcomed moves to boost Customs resources

and the introduction of a statutory body to investigate complaints and review appeals made by business. “This will deliver more Customs inspectors and the creation of a body of experts to investigate complaints, including union representatives. “This will help safeguard our

members across the country; from our print shops and food manufacturers, to our metal fabricators and auto component makers.“This is a significant step in our long term campaign against this uncompetitive and thoroughly destructive practice.” ■

Climate plan is also a jobs plan AMWU officials from

around the country gathered in Melbourne in August to discuss the future of Australian manufacturing in a low carbon economy.AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, said the conference was an opportunity for officials to look at the science on climate change and form their own opinion on the expert advice.

A visit by Federal Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, also gave officials time to directly ask questions about the government’s policy and the impact on manufacturing jobs.

“The Minister faced some fairly robust questioning. But I think what came out of that was a sense that the government must do something – and the $14.8 billion clean technology industry plan they’ve delivered reflects our union’s long standing policy,” Mr Oliver said.

“It reduces carbon emissions, but

importantly for manufacturing

workers, we want it to create a clean

tech industry in this country. We’re

committed to campaigning to make

the government ensure we are

manufacturing the technology here,

not importing it.”

Minister Combet emphasised the job opportunities to come from the government’s clean technology plan.

He said it was a fallacy to believe other countries were not acting on reducing carbon emissions.

“Most of the major economies around the world have already made pledges to reduce their pollution levels – we are not on our own.

“It’s why British Prime Minister, David Cameron, wrote to Prime Minister Julia Gillard to congratulate us on our policy.”

Victorian organiser, David Vroland, said the two-day conference had made him proud to be a member of the AMWU.

“I’m proud of our union’s policy to secure the manufacturing of clean technology in Australia. I’m also pleased to see we can help secure the future for our kids both environmentally and industrially.

“I think we need to stand up to the lies and short-term thinking of the ‘do-nothing’ Tony Abbott and other climate change deniers. This is our opportunity to get on the front foot in this debate for a safe environment and secure jobs in the future.” ■

AMWU official Lily Yin addresses the conference in August

Customs will now be given greater resources to monitor illegal dumping.

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NEWS

Manufacturing must benefit from mining boom

The AMWU has stepped-up its fight for local

manufacturing after an announcement in August that 1400 jobs will be cut at BlueScope Steel in New South Wales and Victoria.AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, told Channel Ten’s Meet the Press more needed to be done to make sure Australian manufacturers, like BlueScope, were able to supply resource sector projects.

“Government cannot afford to stand on the sidelines and watch manufacturing jobs disappear, particularly while we have a mining boom.

“We don’t think it’s acceptable that 90% of the gear that goes into a local resource project is imported from overseas. We’re talking about steel, conveyors, pumps, valves, refrigeration units.”

Following the BlueScope Steel

redundancy announcement, Mr Oliver, and AWU National Secretary, Paul Howes, met with Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring the plight of manufacturing,

in particular the steel sector, to the government’s attention.

Mr Oliver said the AMWU, together with the AWU and the Australian Industry Group, had called on the

government to conduct a review with three key objectives.

“We want to know how we can maximise the benefits of the mining boom for our local manufacturers. Secondly, how we can ensure the government’s new multi-billion dollar clean energy fund means we’re making the stuff here. Thirdly, how can we see more investment in innovation, skills and infrastructure.”

He said manufacturing in Australia still employed close to one million Australians, significantly more than the two hundred thousand employed in the mining sector.

“With clever policies, we can take advantage of the opportunity to build our manufacturing sector up on the back of the boom, instead of the disastrous outcome we’ve had with the BlueScope redundancies.” ■

AMWU National Secretary Dave Oliver speaks to BlueScope Steel workers in Wollongong

Professor Goran Roos, a 2011 South Australian Thinker in Residence

Will the mining boom send manufacturing bust?An international expert

has diagnosed Australia’s manufacturing sector with a severe case of the notorious Dutch disease - where a booming resource sector creates economic conditions that hurt all other industries.Speaking to the AMWU News in July, Professor Goran Roos, the head of the highly respected Technical Research Centre for Finland (the equivalent of Australia’s CSIRO) said the country’s rampant resource sector was driving up the currency exchange rate to the detriment of its tradable goods sector.

“In almost every developed economy, manufacturing is expanding. Australia is the exception. And I’m sorry to say it’s because you are developing a case of Dutch disease.”

The term ‘Dutch disease’ was coined after the near collapse of the Netherlands’ manufacturing sector in the 1970s and 1980s, off the back of an oil resource boom that drove up the exchange rate, inflation and made tradeable goods uncompetitive.

Symptoms of the disease are mass job cuts and the loss of skilled and

semi-skilled employment to the booming resource sector.

BlueScope Steel’s August announcement of 1400 job loses, joins OneSteel, SPC, Heinz and Caterpillar who have all made substantial cuts to their workforce over the last 12 months. All have blamed the high Australian dollar.

Professor Roos says Australia faces a bleak future unless action is taken by government to keep the economy balanced.

“If you kill one manufacturing job, it will kill between two to five other jobs. This is frequently forgotten. That is really important to consider, because of the consequential losses.

“A case can be made that the cost of regaining a lost competitive manufacturing sector can be higher than the net gains from the resource boom.

“This is due to the relatively lower speed of technology growth in the booming resource sector and the non-traded goods sector as compared to the traded goods sector.

“Once you’ve lost your skills and knowledge base they’re very difficult to get back. You’ve really shot yourself in the foot.”

Professor Roos argues the Commonwealth Government should start by slowing down the appreciation of the real exchange rate, by quarantining the mining boom revenues in a sovereign wealth fund, similar to those created in resource rich Norway and East Timor.

He believes increasing the international competitiveness of Australian manufacturing is essential through investment in education aimed specifically at the manufacturing sector and investment in infrastructure that benefits those sectors.

“Manufacturing is completely

misunderstood. Being a country that

makes things is critical but ‘a country

that makes things’ is different today

from yesterday.

“You need to be prepared for that.” ■

Professor Goran Roos is a 2011 Thinker

in Residence, a State Government

program to bring new ideas into South

Australia and translate them into

practical solutions to improve the lives

of South Australians.

““Once you’ve lost your skills and knowledge base they’re very difficult to get back. You’ve really shot yourself in the foot.”

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NEWS

Made in Australia?

12 years ago Ken Covington and his wife Ruth left

Gippsland in eastern Victoria for the productive farmlands of the Goulburn Valley in northern Victoria. They bought a block of land and enough cows to run a small dairy farm. But luck wasn’t on their side. The worst drought in living memory had set in and soon the couple needed a steadier income. A job on the production line at the Heinz tomato sauce factory in the nearby town of Girgarre was a good option. Work was steady and the money wasn’t bad either. Neighbouring farmers too, were drifting away from working the land and into food manufacturing. “When we first came here (to Heinz) it was a second income propping up the farm for around a third of the workforce.”For most there wasn’t much option.

“The only thing in Girgarre is the Heinz plant. This is the town.”Since making the decision to leave full time farming, Ken says the factory has become the heart of his family. “My wife works here. My son-in-law, my son and daughter. We’ve had five incomes coming out of this place. It’s our sole income.”In the early 2000s, the 80-year-old factory rose to become the most profitable for Heinz globally, producing tomato paste and sauces not only for shopping aisles but ketchup for McDonald’s burgers around the world.

In the 2010-2011 financial year Heinz Girgarre was the second most profitable site for the company in Australia. Despite using antiquated equipment on a dated production line, the workers at Girgarre were keeping ahead of the pack.

Yet the number crunchers at Heinz weren’t satisfied. In May the company’s Australian management announced it would close the factory and move production to New Zealand. The high Australian dollar and increased operating costs were cited as chief reasons for the closure.

Ken still can’t understand why the company would close a profitable factory.

Like others in the food manufacturing industry, he believes the elephant in the room is Australia’s two powerful supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths. The much maligned supermarket duopoly.

“The duopoly, they’re just screwing everyone at the moment. They play one against the other. They play Unilever (global food company) against Heinz and screw them both for price.”

Ken is angry at the company for backing out of Girgarre. But he also recognises the bigger picture. Food production in Australia is beholden to the two supermarkets.

Privately, small to large suppliers around Australia agree. They talk about the pressure from Coles and Woolworths to lower prices or risk losing out on contracts or shelf space. Yet few will go on the public record. Then in late August, Heinz chief finance officer and vice president, Arthur Winkleblack, broke the silence, by telling US analysts that Australia’s supermarket duopoly was the reason for the company’s erosion of margins. “The reality is with two key customers there has become an inhospitable environment for grocery manufacturers. With it being such a difficult market, we’re going to take the measures...

to address that. We’ve seen our margins squeezed as the pressure comes on.”

Coles merchandise director John Durkan fired back by claiming consumers had suffered at the hands of large food multinationals that continued to use Australia as a ‘cash cow’.

But a tit for tat between suppliers and the supermarkets means little to workers who are caught in the crossfire; suffering the brutal consequences of supermarket price wars on one side and ‘corporate downsizing’ on the other.

Richard Standfield was one of 147 Goulburn Valley locals to lose their job in 2005 when food giant Nestle announced they would cease manufacturing powdered milk in Australia at their Tongala factory.

He was shattered to learn he would suffer the same fate twice, when his next employer, Heinz, made the decision to close the Girgarre factory.

Bitten twice, he says he’s had enough of the industry.

“I’m thinking of moving out west. Getting away from here, getting out of food. I’ll never work for a big foreign company again. Not after seeing what they do to their workers.”

A month after the Heinz announcement, one of the mainstays of food manufacturing in the Goulburn Valley, SPC Ardmona, revealed they too would cut 150 jobs, culling their historic Mooroopna tinned tomato line to move away from traditional food preserving and towards the snack and convenience food market.

SPC Ardmona warehouse worker, Mick Cannon, puts the decision down to the squeeze from supermarkets.

“Not only do they (Coles and Woolworths) choose whether they buy their home brand stuff from us or overseas, but they drive our prices down at the same time.

“I think the company (SPC Ardmona) has just decided it’s not profitable enough so they’ve got to look at new markets. We’re still not sure how they’re going to do it though.”

“Ken is angry at the company for backing out of Girgarre. But he also recognises the bigger picture. Food production in Australia is beholden to the two supermarkets.

SPC’s decision to close its Mooroopna operations has stunned the local community

The future of our food manufacturing

AMWUNEWS 7

NEWS

The changes to production will also affect the SPC Ardmona warehouse. It will cost Mick his job. Shocked and upset by the company’s decision he says he doesn’t know where to go next.

The goodwill the workers and the Goulburn Valley community once held for the SPC Ardmona brand is quickly dissipating according to Mick and his co-workers.

As a long-serving food manufacturing union official, AMWU National Secretary of the Food and Confectionery Division, Jennifer Dowell has seen her share of redundancies.

She says job loses in recent years are not only a product of the aggressive price setting campaign conducted by the Australian supermarket duopoly, but are also due to the rise of home brand products (typically manufactured and sourced overseas) which undermine the employment of Australian food production workers.

“The own-label, I believe, has been predominantly responsible for the loss of jobs in food manufacturing for a period of time now.

“At the moment there is no clear labelling of processed food so I don’t believe that the consumers are being clearly given the information that would allow them to make a choice (between overseas and Australian made).”

Food and Confectionery organiser Jason Hefford, a Goulburn Valley local, agrees and says Australia’s weak food labelling laws are ineffective.

“You can have the majority of a product made overseas, package it here, then still label it ‘Made in Australia’. It makes it tough for everyone. Your growers, your pickers, your production workers. They’re all affected because they don’t get any work out of it.

“Take tomato paste for example. You can source a paste from China or Thailand, import it here dilute it with water and put a ‘Made in Australia’ label on. Is that really made in Australia?”

Ms Dowell says it’s an issue she will be taking up in her role as a member of the Federal Government’s Food Processing Industry Strategy Group, established earlier this year.

The strategy group is part of Federal Labor Government’s long-term attempt to re-evaluate the entire Australian food

industry. In January, the government’s review into Australia’s food labelling laws was released after an extensive period of consultation. Amongst the wide-ranging recommendations of the review was the finding that products claiming to be Australian needed clearer information about the origin of all ingredients on their labels.It was a crucial recommendation that many in the industry have been calling for for years. Yet months after the handing down of the labelling review, Australia’s food industry continues to wait for any substantive government action.Meanwhile independent South Australia Senator, Nick Xenophon, continues to argue publicly for a carve up of the country’s supermarket duopoly. Back in Girgarre, the delayed closure of the factory (Heinz have refused to pay out redundancies to workers wanting to leave prior to the factory’s closure) has taken its toll. With a closure date yet to be confirmed, the 146 workers remain on edge.However, some in the town are still positive that the factory can keep going - with or without the Heinz name. Soon after the company’s announcement, Ken Covington and other concerned locals formed the Goulburn Valley Food Action Committee, to assess the economic viability of a community takeover of the Girgarre site. Ken remains optimistic that the factory can continue under a community owned model, listing pulped baby food as a possible new market for the factory to move into.

He knows the challenges of keeping up with price demands and the increasing competition of home brands from Coles and Woolworths will not go away for the foreseeable future, but giving up isn’t an option.

Too young to retire, if the factory does close permanently it will force Ken and Ruth to find new careers in a region with few job opportunities. At the other end of the spectrum, their co-worker, the site’s youngest employee, Ash Newlan is ready to move on.

Girgarre born and bred, Ash’s nan, mother, step-father and extended family have all been employed at the site over the years.

At 23 years of age, any plans for a long career in food manufacturing are in doubt as she considers her next move away from Girgarre. “We all understand that this is big business. Everyone (supermarkets and suppliers) are just looking to make a profit…but the big picture doesn’t come into it much. “We just care about how we’re treated.” The AMWU has urged Heinz and SPC Ardmona to re-employ redundant members at other company sites. So far, SPC Ardmona’s parent company, Coca Cola Amatil, have agreed to make jobs available around the country to affected workers. Whilst the closure of Heinz Girgarre may be imminent, Ms Dowell says the AMWU battle to keep food manufacturing alive in Australia has only just begun. “Our country needs a strong, viable food manufacturing sector. A sector that can make food for ourselves and the rest of the world. “I believe we can continue to do it. In the years to come, global food demand will only intensify. Food availability and security will become more and more of a pressing issue. “Australia cannot afford to become reliant on overseas food suppliers. Not only is the sector critical to the hundreds of regional communities it employs – it’s vital to the tens of millions of mouths it feeds.” ■AMWU organiser Jason Hefford (far right) with members outside of the Girgarre factory

““I don’t believe that the consumers are being clearly given the information that would allow them to make a choice (between overseas and Australian made).” - Jennifer Dowell.

AMWU Food and Confectionery Secretary, Jennifer Dowell

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Newcastle team full steam ahead as industry booms

One of the AMWU’s oldest regional offices is proving

to be the fastest growing as Newcastle and the Hunter Valley ride the wave of a once-in-a-century economic boom. AMWU Newcastle team leader, Daniel Wallace, says the region has benefitted enormously in recent years from the unprecedented global demand for coal.

“In Newcastle we’re now home to the world’s biggest coal port. We’ve just got past 100 million tonnes of coal through the port per year. Eventually there could be up to 300 million tonnes a year - with a third coal loader soon to be up and running.

Once regarded as the centre of Australia’s steel production, the region has managed to maintain a diverse industry base.

“We’ve got two of Australia’s five aluminium smelters, five of the state’s electricity generators, ship

builders, ship servicing companies, rail maintenance companies, electrical distribution companies and mining equipment manufacturers,” he says.“It’s the benefit of having a diversity of opportunity so that if one sector slows down, another picks up. People can transition between those workforces.” Mr Wallace, a Novacastrian by

birth and boilermaker by trade, says the office has worked hard to match industry growth with increased union membership.

“We try to identify new targets, new industries and try to look for growth in all the work we do. When we go out to visit members or visit a new site, we ask ourselves ‘how do we use this as an opportunity to join up more members?’

“We don’t have an overall figure we’re chasing - we’re focused on setting targets for individual workshops.”

He says despite the region having a strong union history, many workers are still doubtful about joining.

“To be honest we see it as a challenge - not a negative. We want to be able to turn a workshop around, lift wages and conditions and know how far it’s come.

“We sometimes ask workers whether they want to leave their industry in a better shape than they found it. We talk about what sort of industry do you want to have in five or ten years?

“I think that resonates. You want them to bond with the industry.”

The Newcastle office team is Daniel Wallace, Jim O’Neill, Cory Wright and Jan Anderson. To speak with the team call 02 4954 3215. ■

Daniel Wallace, Cory Wright, Jan Anderson and Jim O’Neill outside the Cardiff office

Missing entitlements sparks calls for law shake up

The closure of Australia’s largest envelope

manufacturer in July has renewed calls from the AMWU for a shake up of corporate laws.On Thursday, June 30, 300 workers at Australian Envelopes were instructed to leave work after learning their company had been put into administration, millions of dollars in debt. By the following Monday afternoon all but 11 were made

redundant by administrators PPB.

AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver,

said the chain of events had come as a

shock to workers who were told

months earlier that the company was

performing well.

“They had been doing overtime for

months in order to keep up with

demand so there was no reason to

question the viability of the company.

“But management and the CEO simply

didn’t have the guts to talk to them

about the financial situation.”

The company, which employed

workers in every major Australian

capital city, had up to 45% of the

market share with clients from the

Australian Taxation Office to the

Commonwealth Bank and Centrelink.

The company’s administrators

revealed management had dipped into

the workers’ entitlements, effectively

using them as an interest free loan.

Mr Oliver said, “the misuse of workers’

entitlements is not an isolated case.

“These actions are not illegal under our

current corporate system, but it is something we are campaigning to change.

“When somebody takes something from you without asking, and doesn’t give it back, there’s a word for that. Well that’s exactly what management at Australian Envelopes did to these 300 workers.”

Workers will have to rely on the Federal Government scheme known as GEERS to receive their entitlements, estimated at $12 million that could take up to six months to process. ■

Members anxiously await the outcome of a creditor’s meeting

“Management and the CEO simply didn’t have the guts to talk to them about the financial situation.”

“

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NEWS

Women from AMWU workplaces across NSW

and the ACT gathered at the state’s first ever womens’ conference in August to discuss gender disadvantage in manufacturing. Opening the conference AMWU NSW Secretary, Tim Ayres, released a report that showed women in blue-collar jobs were still significantly disadvantaged.

“The report identified some shocking statistics. 74% of women surveyed have never been promoted to a more senior role and 63% say they don’t receive workplace training.

“There are great jobs in manufacturing and engineering, but women are often excluded from them due to lack of opportunity.

“Government, unions, employers and education providers need to work together to promote real, equal opportunities in blue collar industries - by really working to understand the issues, by creating more opportunities for training and skills development and

by offering fair, open workplaces.”

ACTU President, Ged Kearney, congratulated the union for raising the issue at its first womens’ conference in New South Wales.

“Too often public discussion about women in the workforce is dominated by the lack of women on company boards. Not enough is said about the far greater issues faced by women in manufacturing.

“I commend the AMWU for producing its report. Your union has its historical roots in male-dominated industries and trades, but it is a sign of a truly progressive and modern union that it is prepared to identify and challenge the barriers that prevent women’s advancement in manufacturing and engineering industries.”

Heidi Stenschke, from food company Cerebos, and Juli Tomaras, from the Department of Parliamentary Services in Canberra were among the attendees.

“It was really good to get the women together and find common ground. I particular enjoyed Sally McManus’ (NSW Secretary of the Australian Services Union) presentation on the

Equal Fair Pay campaign, it was eye opening,” Ms Stenschke said.

“No matter what industries we come from – be it in a lab, an office or a factory, we face many of the same issues and problems. It’s good to know you’re not alone.”

An opportunity for attendees to break into workgroups was a valuable chance to discuss common issues and the development of campaign ideas, according to Ms Tomaras.

“Our group identified a common theme across workplaces: a lack of meaningful opportunities for training and professional development. Our union needs to work at reversing this trend.

“A good place to start is in the public service, where unions may have a greater opportunity to influence government policy. If successful it could have a greater chance of spilling over into the private sector.” ■

AMWU women prepared to break the perspex ceiling

2011 AMWU NSW Womens’ conference with ACTU President Ged Kearney

Chicken company makes WorkChoices style sackingAn Adelaide fitter and

turner sacked for refusing to agree to arbitrary changes to his working hours is seeking reinstatement in the Federal Court. In June, AMWU member, Clifford Walkington, was notified his position at poultry giant, Inghams Chickens, would be terminated after he requested to move from an AWA (individual contract) onto the award.

Mr Walkington, a single father of two young children, had been forced onto a weekend roster by Inghams despite his managers knowing his domestic circumstances.

He said the sacking came as a shock.

“I’ve worked at Inghams for the last four years. When I started they (management) knew I could only work every second weekend – they knew I needed to look after my kids.

“We had a verbal agreement. Then they decided it was costing too much. I’m from the old school. If you shake someone’s hand and say you’ll do something, you do it.

“I’ve been a good employee. And now they turn around and do this to me. Tell me that the profits are more important than the care of my children. I think it’s just horrendous.”

Inghams Chickens describes itself as a ‘family company’ on its website, but has lost touch with family values in this case, according to Mr Walkington.

“Big business needs to be held to account. They need to recognise

that their employees have got kids; they’ve got responsibilities. I can’t allow my children to be sacrificed.”

He said he wanted his job back.

“Some people would walk away, but I’m not going to do that.”

AMWU SA Secretary, John Camillo, condemned the treatment of Mr Walkington.

“At a time when Peter Reith and business groups around the country want to re-ignite the

debate about workplace laws in Australia, this is a good reminder of why we need laws to protect fairness at work.

“An honest worker is sacked because he refuses to give up caring for his children on the weekend. It’s disgusting and it’s a reminder of the kind of industrial system Australia would find itself in if the Liberal Government returned to office.”

Under the Fair Work laws that replaced WorkChoices in 2009, workers have the right to have their family obligations taken into account.

Mr Camillo said the union would vigorously pursue the company.

“We will protect the rights of Cliff. His treatment is unfair, it’s unreasonable and our union will not accept this kind of conduct.”

The case before the court is continuing. ■

Cliff Walkington outside Inghams in SA

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Major win for new packaging membersLow paid packaging

manufacturers from Melbourne’s south-east have secured a major pay rise of up to 10% through their first union collective agreement.AMWU Victorian organiser, Jody Betzien, said the workers at box and pallet company, CMTP, joined the union seeking a better deal after bargaining by themselves last year failed to deliver any results. “We had a large group of workers who joined our union straight away with the others following once negotiations began. They were determined to get a pay rise – as their pay rates were all over the place,” Mr Betzien said. “Their new agreement now puts in place a proper classification structure and ensures all workers get a pay rise – with some getting up to 10% in the first year of the agreement.”On top of the 10% pay increase in the first year, a second year increase of 4.5% was also won. Mr Betzien said not only had the union-negotiated agreement brought a pay increase, but also important new conditions to the workplace. “Long service leave will be paid after seven years. We’ve secured

clauses for rights to union representation and health and safety reps. There are also big improvements in the redundancy provisions.

“Our members won this agreement with strong delegates who stood their ground in negotiations. It’s really pleasing to see them achieve this result.”

AMWU delegate, Jacinta Jeffrey,

a quality control worker, said the idea of taking collective action was new to the workers.

“They did look into joining a union a few years ago – but we were essentially warned off joining. Most of us were casual at the time and we didn’t know our rights. I think people have got to be educated the right way.”

“I’ve been with the company full time for seven years in December. It’s worked out well for a number of us who’ll now be eligible for long service leave. It’s all fallen into place.

She said the agreement had been well received by the workers.

“Everyone is happy with the pay rise and the new conditions. They’re rapt.” ■

CMTP members celebrate their win

A Queensland fabrication company has been

slammed by the Federal Court for breaching the Freedom of Association provisions in the Fair Work Act and fined $45,000. In April, the court found Sunstate Coatings, a subsidiary of the Fero Group, had unlawfully coerced and pressured AMWU members to resign from the union.

The company was also found to have manufactured a false disciplinary record against one AMWU member because of his association with the union. The member was subsequently made redundant and the court awarded him $3000 in compensation for the false disciplinary record.

In his decision, Justice Reeves said the conduct of the company and of David Lew (General Manager) and David Cusick (Operational Manager) was deliberate and

occurred over four months.

Justice Reeves found Sunstate’s senior management had committed a serious breach of the coercion,

inducement and adverse action provisions of the Fair Work Act.

In court, the company admitted to coercing an employee to resign from the AMWU.

In one case, David Cusick pressured AMWU member, Hank Daamen, to resign from the union by claiming that the worker ‘owed him a favour’ because he had assisted the employee to obtain a crane licence. He also implied Mr Daamen would be sacked if he did not resign.

Mr Daamen was 62 years old at the time and suffered from high blood pressure which was exacerbated by the conversation with management.

“I’m happy with this result but the most important thing is that it sends a message to other companies that this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable,” Mr Daamen said.

“The atmosphere the company created in the workplace was disgraceful. People were happy to leave when the intimidation started, but it wasn’t that

easy for me to just leave. I stuck it out in the union with one of my colleagues, Tony Jones, and we stood up for what we believed was right. We got a good result and hopefully the company will treat all workers decently after this.”

AMWU Queensland Secretary, Andrew Dettmer, said the court’s ruling was a major success for the members.

“This victimisation of workers is despicable. We simply will not accept our members being bullied and harassed for invoking their fundamental right to representation at work. Let us be clear: where it does occur, we will hunt down the offenders regardless of what it takes.

“This is one of the most shameful cases of bullying and harassment that I have seen in all my years working for the union. It was a blatant, sustained and targeted attack and I want to congratulate the members involved for sticking to their guns and not backing down in the face of such aggression.” ■

Sunstate Coatings guilty of targeting AMWU members

AMWU members Hank Daamen and Tony Jones

AMWUNEWS 11

NEWS

Book review: Too Much Luck: The Mining boom and Australia’s Future

AMWU members who took part in Filipino May Day protests say the

Union should continue its long association with the country’s labour movement.

Jagath Bandara from the AMWU NSW Branch and

South Australian Holden delegate, Leanne Orbanic,

visited the Philippines as guests of the Kilusang

Mayo Uno (KMU) in the first week of May.

Mr Bandara said the visit was an eye-opening

experience that highlighted the struggles of working

people in the Philippines.

“Tens of thousands of workers marched on the

streets of the capital Manila. This year, their

May Day rally was especially big because the

KMU is fighting the government to increase the

minimum wage.

“The way they mobilise people is amazing. People

start to assemble mid morning. By eleven o’clock the

roads are full of people with flags as they march

through the city. They rally through until seven

o’clock at night with a final protest surrounded by a

huge military and police presence.”

The visit coincided with the 21st anniversary of the

KMU, which means ‘May First Labour Movement’.

The KMU is a peak union body representing over

250 000 workers in manufacturing and agriculture

and was born during the height of the brutal Marcos

regime.

Whilst the days of Marcos’ anti-union regime may

have ended, it would seem little has improved for

working people.

“The KMU are seeking to increase the minimum daily

wage from 404 pesos ($8AUD) for metro workers

and 297 pesos ($6AUD) for rural workers, to 957

pesos ($20AUD) for all workers, which the

government has rejected.

“The economy has grown 7.6% in the last year, but

30 million people still live below the poverty line.”

Mr Bandara and Ms Orbanic also visited workers at

Nestlé in Cabuyao, where a picketline established by

sacked workers is now approaching its tenth year.

“During this time several union presidents have

been assassinated by mercenary gangs. Workers

have been left unemployed and families have been

torn apart,” Mr Bandara said.

“Conditions there are horrendous. But the workers

and their families remain determined to achieve

justice. It was inspiring to see.”

The visit to the Philippines also included a meeting

with the families of deceased workers killed whilst

building a 39-story luxury condominium in Makati

City in January. Twenty one workers were forced

into a rope operated lift that could carry a maximum

of six workers. The ropes gave way and the lift

plunged 21 stories killing 11 workers.

Ms Orbanic said the meeting was a moving

experience.

“It was pretty devastating to meet their families. The

sad part about it all was the workers know they are

being asked to do unsafe things but being casuals

they can’t say no. If they say no, they’ll lose their jobs

and they’ll be without work.”

The trip enabled participants to share their

knowledge and experience with organisers and

activists as well as observe trade union activity.

Mr Bandara said the program should continue for

years to come.

“It is a very good way of learning about the global

struggle for working people. This region is our

backyard, it is important we remain connected.” ■

AMWU strengthens solidarity with Filipino union KMU

If ever there was a book Australia’s rich mining

executives didn’t want us to read, Too Much Luck is it.

Over 155 blistering pages, respected business journalist Paul Cleary outlines the deleterious economic, social and environmental consequences of our resource boom.

Making the convincing case that the boom could become less of a blessing and much more of a curse, Cleary provides some compelling examples of the damage being done by a rampant mining sector that has been left largely unchecked and

unchallenged in Australia.

This is not a book that is anti-mining or anti-growth. Rather it is an argument for how the resource boom can better be harnessed for the long-term benefit of all Australians, not a select few.

Whilst it’s one thing to make critiques from the sidelines, it’s another to propose alternatives or remedies, and Cleary offers them in droves.

He cites the experience of resource rich countries Norway, East Timor and Chile who have invested profits from minerals in the interest of their people.

If we are to follow their example, Cleary stresses government must establish a sovereign wealth fund, a genuine super profits tax and an end to reckless short-term spending.

Whilst Too Much Luck is compact, easy to read and well researched, it leaves you wanting more. It’s just the start of a conversation, a conversation that is long overdue. ■

AMWU members Jagath Bandara and Leanne Orbanic address the May Day Rally in the Philippines

AMWU has 50 copies of Too Much Luck to give away. Please email news@amwu.asn.au with your postal address and membership number or mail AMWU News 2nd Floor 251 Queensberry Street Carlton South Victoria 3053

AMWUNEWS12

AMWU National OfficeLocation: Level 4,133 Parramatta Road, Granville Postal: PO Box 160, Granville, NSW 2142 ............................................. (02) 8868 15002nd Floor, 251 Queensberry St, Carlton South, VIC 3053 .............................................. (03) 9230 5700

NSW BranchLocation: Level 1, 133 Parramatta Road, Granville Postal: PO Box 167, Granville, NSW 2142 ........................................... (02) 9897 4200Albury/Wodonga .................................. (02) 6024 1099 Newcastle ............................................ (02) 4954 3215Western Region ................................... (02) 6337 7162 Wollongong ...........................................(02) 4229 7611

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SA Branch1st Floor 229 Greenhill Road, Dulwich, Postal: GPO BOX 1051, Adelaide SA 5001 ................................ (08) 8366 5800Whyalla .................................................(08) 8645 7115

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ACT OfficeCanberra ...............................................(02) 6273 2412

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www.amwu.org.au email amwu@amwu.asn.au

PROFILE“

ESSENTIALCONTACTS

I’ve worked at Cochlear for 15 years. Last year I became a delegate.

I just felt I wanted to help our union and our members. A lot of people are still scared about approaching the company, and we still need to grow our membership. We are still only about 60%, and we need to build our numbers to become stronger.

The company has always disagreed with our union when it comes to our pay and conditions, but we know that once we are stronger we will be able to change the company’s position.

Mandarin is my first language and there are a lot of Mandarin speakers at Cochlear. I think it helps that I can communicate with them. They are not confident in English. I think many still don’t understand the role and benefit of joining our union. I try to change that.

Since I started union education training I know more about dealing with people. I have completed level one and two and I’ll go back for level three and four. I’ve really enjoyed them.

I am proud to be a delegate at Cochlear. ■

Shirley FanCochlear, New South Wales