Industrial disputes & news - 29 November 2023
PPTEU; NSW Paramedics; CSL; VicPol; Australian Public Service; CPSU elections; DP World; B&D Doors; Vline; Evoenergy; City of Whittlesea; University of Southern Queensland
PPTEU - Victorian Government
Members of the PPTEU are implementing industrial bans on key government projects to draw attention to the lack of funding and apprentices in the crucial area of fire suppression plumbing.
APA NSW - Paramedics
While HSU member paramedics are threatening to boycott registration, APANSW member paramedics commenced industrial action last week including a range of bans; stopping non-urgent patient transport and will not record patient billing details indefinitely.
AMWU/ETU - CSL
Behind the paywall, but a great article about the ongoing dispute at CSL. It would appear CSL had a secret plan to shift workers onto lower pay and conditions & make them redundant if they refused to relocate to new premises.
The plan was to negotiate a new EA with reduced conditions with a small number of employees at the new facility in Tullamarine, before applying the deal to workers transferring from the old site in Parkville. SHAME!
CSL is of course the former Commonwealth Serum Laboratory that was privatised by Paul Keating in 1994. Also SHAME! Professor John Quiggin wrote about the folly of selling off CSL during the pandemic.
Victorian Police Association - VicPol
Victorian Police & PSOs will commence industrial action on Sunday. The cops want a 4% pay increase & a cost of living adjustment. Industrial action could include stoppages; bans on working beyond rostered hours without OT; writing messages on police cars, and parking police cars with flashing lights at speed cameras. #ausunions
I note this industrial action for thoroughness, not solidarity. It’s worth reflecting on why cops are the enemies of the labour movement and their horrendous track record of siding with the bosses & the state against workers.
CPSU - APS
Workers at the FWO took industrial action on Friday afternoon (24/11), but allegedly this was not supported by the CPSU as they are recommending workers support the government’s most recent pay offer. #ausunions
The new offer “effectively shifts the commencement of the previous 11.2% offer over three years from 14 March 2024 to December 21 this year.” The extra money comes without super or actually backdating the agreement start date.
Meanwhile, the CPSU elections are underway with the leadership supporting the government’s offer and the rank and file group contesting the election now demanding the vote on the agreement be held AFTER the elections. Voting on the offer closes on 30 November, and CPSU elections conclude on 6 December. Interesting times!
MUA - DP World
The MUA have given DP World a fresh notification of industrial action, with stoppages and bans now scheduled up until 11 December. DP World continues with it’s “the MUA is stealing Xmas!” strategy, but the MUA says the cyberattack has caused more delays than the industrial action.
AMWU - B&D DOORS
Members of the AMWU have notched up 40 days on strike by now. Details of their fighting fund have been shared. If you can contribute, please do.
RTBU - Vline
The ballot for RTBU members at Vline to take industrial action closes today. If successful, possible actions could include stoppages of up to 48 hours and bans on overtime and wearing uniforms.
ETU - Evoenergy
On Monday (27/11) Evoenergy released a statement saying that workers have voted up a revised offer from management. The dispute had been going on since at least July and had included industrial action & bans. I have no further details on this but would be curious to hear more!
ASU - City of Whittlesea
After reporting that an agreement had been made at the City of Whittlesea, I finally found some more detail: 4% pay increase in 1st year; back pay to 1 July; $350 signing bonus; 15 weeks primary/5 weeks secondary parental leave; casual conversion and adverse weather protections.
NTEU - University of Southern Queensland
The NTEU has reached an inprinciple agreement with the University of Southern Queensland which would secure workers a 5% payrise by Christmas. Unsure how they went with the clauses about redundancy they were fighting for - will try to find out.
That’s all I’ve got this week. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed. As always, let me know what I’ve missed!
In solidarity, Sarah