Coles begins landmark negotiations
Coles has begun negotiations for a new industrial agreement with its workforce of more than 75,000. These negotiations come more than a year after the Fair Work Commission decision striking down its previous deal. Any new agreement that restores long-lost award entitlements, including pena...CONTINUE READING
Striking weather workers bringing a storm
How disruptive is the industrial action to management? How much industrial power do you actually have? The action we are taking is highly disruptive. We have a good density of members in the key operational areas involved with issuing forecasts and taking real-time observations. As a union...CONTINUE READING
Despite council slurs, Brisbane backs bus drivers’ actions
For the first time in more than a decade, Brisbane bus drivers are taking industrial action. Seven months of fruitless enterprise agreement negotiations between the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and the Liberal Party-run Brisbane City Council have led to the major showdown. After an early July...CONTINUE READING
Striking weather workers bringing a storm
How disruptive is the industrial action to management? How much industrial power do you actually have? The action we are taking is highly disruptive. We have a good density of members in the key operational areas involved with issuing forecasts and taking real-time observations. As a union...CONTINUE READING
Coles still rattled by Polar Fresh strike one year on
Last year’s strike at the Polar Fresh distribution centre in Melbourne’s west continues to pay dividends – for the workers involved, and for those in other warehouses. Polar Fresh is a third-party contractor that manages the chilled warehouses for Coles along the eastern seaboard. Almost...CONTINUE READING
Jeff Kennett behind shameful deal to sack casino workers
“Crown Casino is the epitome of greed”, Cameron, a member of the Electrical Trades Union, says as we chat. We’re on our way to the casino, Australia’s biggest single-site employer. Union members and supporters are handing out leaflets as we snake our way through the lunchtime traffic. We’r...CONTINUE READING
Fat cats out to get giant rat
A staple of union protests in the US, the plastic inflated rodent known as Scabby looks to have met his match in the lucky country. Scabby, a buck-toothed red-eyed rat with putrid body sores, is a constitutionally protected expression of free speech in his homeland. US courts have consiste...CONTINUE READING
PR BS from Domino’s
Domino’s Pizza made $92 million in net profit last year. Now, they are giving back. The company’s “Give for Good” initiative, in partnership with the Smith Family, has announced that it will provide disadvantaged students financial assistance to buy “textbooks, stationery and other learnin...CONTINUE READING
Murdoch Uni’s unprecedented attack
In a move unprecedented in the higher education sector, Murdoch University commenced proceedings in the Fair Work Commission to terminate its staff enterprise agreement. If Fair Work accedes to the University’s demands, the wages of more than 3,500 staff could be slashed by up to 39 percen...CONTINUE READING