22 September, 2009 | ACTU Media Release
Greedy, hypocritical and unjustified is the only way to describe the $11m termination pay for outgoing Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon and the $4m paid to outgoing Boral CEO Rod Pearse says ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence.
“Both companies have seen dramatic falls in profit in the past year and there is no business case for these exorbitant payments,” said Mr Lawrence.
“At the same time that workers are losing their jobs and having their pay cut, too many CEOs and company directors have still got their snouts in the trough. Read the rest of this entry »
24 September, 2009 | ACTU Media Release
Politicians should do more to limit outrageous executive salaries and bonuses and support low income workers say unions.
The 3% pay rise for federal politicians announced today amounts to an increase of more than $75 a week for the average backbencher. Read the rest of this entry »
Media Release from the AWU
24 September 2009
The union representing stood down workers at Mt Lyell mine in Queenstown is calling tonight for immediate Government assistance for the hundreds of workers affected by the temporary closure of the mine.
The union was briefed by Copper Mines of Tasmania today about the status of the remediation works at the mine site. In that meeting the company was unable to nominate when the mine would re-open.
Nearly 200 underground workers employed at the mine have been forced to take annual or unpaid leave for a month.
AWU Assistant Secretary Robert Flanagan said today that when the original incident occurred on August 24, the expectation was that the disruption to operations would only last a week.
“A significant number of our members are now needing to seek the assistance of social security as they have exhausted their paid leave.”
“Within just a few weeks another 140 workers will be in a similar predicament.”
“Given the seriousness of the situation, our union believes that the Tasmanian Government should offer immediate assistance and disaster relief.”
“Our members need help now and a relief scheme that takes weeks or months to implement is not good enough.”
Mr Flanagan said that the Tasmanian Government had an obligation to offer this immediate assistance, given the significant royalties the mine had generated for the government over an extended period of time.
“We plan to meet with the Acting Treasurer tomorrow afternoon to press our case. If this situation goes on much longer a further 100 surface workers may soon find themselves in the same predicament and the entire community will face great hardship.”
25 September, 2009 | ACTU Media Release
Unions are gravely concerned that changes to national workplace health and safety laws to be released today (Friday) will favour big business at the expense of workers’ safety.
The biggest overhaul of workplace health and safety laws in the nation’s history will move one step closer but unions are worried the changes will put workers at risk of lower safety standards.
Proposed uniform health and safety laws are expected to be released for public comment following a meeting today of all State, Territory and Federal Govt Workplace Relations Ministers.
Unions have been campaigning hard against the proposed new laws, including running hard-hitting radio advertisements that warn not to cut business red tape at the expense of workers’ safety.
[See Downloads and Resources: http://www.rightsatwork.com.au/ohscampaign ]
“Big businesses are clearly winning out when it comes to the lobbying over changes to national health and safety laws,” says ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence.
“All the indications are that the focus of the proposed new laws is about cutting red tape and reducing costs for business rather than improving workers’ health and safety.
“People’s lives and wellbeing are at stake – this should not be about reducing the regulatory burden on business. Employers should be prepared to pay more if it means safer workplaces for their staff.
“Unions are particularly concerned there is a lack of safeguards in the new laws to ensure employers are prosecuted over health and safety breaches.
“Under proposals previously announced, a decision by the regulator not to prosecute an employer is only subject to a review in the most serious cases.
“Unless, God forbid, a worker is killed or loses a limb or an eye, they will not have a right to appeal the decision by the regulator not to prosecute.
“This would rule out the victim’s right to initiate a prosecution in thousands of dangerous situations where employers fail to provide a safe workplace.
“Bullying that leads to major psychological problems as well as sprains, strains, bad backs and long term musculo-skeletal injuries would be excluded.
“Workers in banks and service stations who are subject to the trauma of an armed robbery because their employer has failed to take adequate security measures will also miss out.
“Teachers who are subjected to a preventable assault by a student in the classroom or workers in Centrelink or other welfare agencies who have to deal with potentially violent incidents would also be adversely affected.
Mr Lawrence said the proposed national OHS laws must give workers a stronger say over matters that involve their health and safety, make employers fully responsible for providing a safe workplace, and comprehensively protect and empower elected health and safety representatives to do their job.
They must respect the role that unions play in investigating and enforcing workplace safety, and allow victims of workplace incidents to take court action against employers when regulators fail to.
Family members of people who have died at work have joined with unions to lobby the Federal Government over new health and safety laws.
In a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, leaders of victim support groups in Victoria, NSW and South Australia have urged stronger health and safety protections to prevent more families suffering the heartbreak of workplace deaths and injuries.
The letter says that proposed changes to workplace health and safety laws fall well short of providing world’s best practice.
Signatories to the letter include Deanne May, from Industrial Death Support and Advocacy Inc (Victoria), Cheryl Romer, convenor, the Workplace Tragedy Family Support Group (NSW) and Andrea Madeley, President of Voice of Industrial Death (South Australia).
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said:
“Thousands of Australians die, are injured or become ill as a result of their job each year.
“The failure to protect the health and safety of employees has huge social and economic consequences.
“For workers and their families, it destroys quality of life, restricts social and family activities, affects relationships and reduces job prospects and earning capacity.
“For businesses and the economy, poor health and safety leads to lower productivity through absences from work and higher healthcare costs for the whole community.
“It is in all our interests to make sure Australian workplaces have the highest possible standards of health and safety.”
Media Release from the ACTU.
The loss in August of 7000 full-time jobs a week and an increase in underemployment show that it is too early to begin winding back efforts to support the Australian economy, say unions.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said today’s figures were a harsh reminder that it was far too early to be talking about a turnaround in Australia’s economy.
“More than 7000 full-time workers lost their jobs each week in August alone,” Ms Burrow said.
“And there is a hidden crisis of more than 880,000 Australians (7.8% of the workforce) who are desperate for more hours of work to bolster their family incomes.
“There are still almost 700,000 Australians out of work.
“Combine the jobless and underemployment, and we have more than 1.5 million Australians – or 13.6% of the workforce – suffering the impact of the economic downturn.
“This is creating financial hardship across the nation as families are struggling to cover the cost of housing, clothing and educating their children, and face cutting back on basic family expenses.
“Earlier this week, new research revealed that a third of Australian postcodes were in the high risk category of financial distress. Data this week also showed that retail spending is softening.
“This data shows it is clearly too early to talk about hauling back the Federal Government’s stimulus package.
“Around the nation, jobs are being saved or created because of work underway on schools and houses which are funded by the stimulus package.
“Crucially, the next wave of spending will be on nation-building infrastructure, which will not only provide jobs in the short term, but set up a more prosperous and competitive Australian economy for the future.
“The Coalition is out in the cold on this issue, and should stop advocating a wind back of the stimulus and infrastructure investment,” Ms Burrow said.
Below is a media release from the ACTU.
Monday, 24 August 2009
High levels of underemployment and chronic low pay for Australian women are set to worsen as a result of the global recession warns a major new report to be released today (Monday).
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said the new report, along with other data showing women in some sectors earned a massive 31% less than men, was very worrying.
“Big businesses need to do more to promote good jobs for women,” said Ms Burrow.
“Women are missing out on decent jobs and they are being underpaid. It’s just not good enough.”
Recently released data by the Federal Government shows the average woman working full time earns 17% less than her male counterparts and women in senior management positions earn 28% less than men in similar roles.
The impact of the recession on women report released today by The Australia Institute, finds that women comprise the majority of the ‘hidden unemployment’ in the economy and their financial position will worsen as a result of the GFC-induced downturn.
This hidden unemployment has resulted in many women not using labour market schemes designed to help people re-enter the workforce and to protect workers from the worst of the economic crisis.
Almost half the women who are in the workforce work part-time, with many wanting to work more hours. But child care and other caring responsibilities are restricting how women can respond to job opportunities and to labour-market and training programs.
“While not as many women have lost full time jobs as men so far in this downturn, they are starting from such a low base already,” Ms Burrow said.
“Women have more precarious jobs and are over-represented among the hidden unemployed who completely opt out of the labour market. They also have broken working patterns which mean they retire with much smaller superannuation balances.
“Australian women deserve better.
“Employers need to do more. They should provide women with quality jobs, better pay and greater career opportunities,” said Ms Burrow.
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The lowest paid workers in Queensland have won a $16.20 per week wage rise in a decision handed down
yesterday by the states IRC.
The case was initiated and supported by the AWU and the Queensland Council of Unions and said the decision was a fair outcome.
Chris Simpson AWU senior industrial advocate said “the commission’s decision is a good outcome for the AWU, its members and for working families across Queensland”.
Yesterday’s increase follows an increase from last year of $23.60 per week.
Courtesy - www.theage.com.au
Thursday, 20 August 2009
The penalties and bans handed down to former James Hardie executives and directors today are not enough considering the extent of their immoral and illegal behavior and the harm the company’s deadly asbestos products have caused, say unions.
Justice Gzell of the New South Wales Supreme Court has today handed down fines and bans from directorships to the former board of James Hardie for misleading and deceptive statements made earlier this decade.
Unions have expressed disappointment that the financial penalties were well short of those sought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said: “It is important for the victims of James Hardie’s asbestos products that justice was done but these penalties will provide them with little comfort.
“The former directors betrayed the trust of innocent victims of the company’s products by deliberately lying about James Hardie’s ability to meet its compensation liabilities.
“While we welcome the disqualifications given to the former directors, the financial penalties are inappropriate for the magnitude of the breaches of their duties.”
Former chief executive Peter Macdonald has been fined $350,000 and disqualified from company management for 15 years. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission had sought a fine of between $1.47 million and $1.81 million. Former chairwoman Meredith Hellicar and other non-executive directors have been fined $30,000 and disqualified for five years.
The penalties relate to a case brought against the former James Hardie directors by ASIC earlier this year, which successfully argued the former directors had breached the Corporations Act by approving in 2001 a media release that contained misleading and deceptive comments about the company’s ability to meet asbestos compensation liabilities.
The union movement will continue to focus on ensuring current James Hardie management does its utmost to ease the suffering of asbestos sufferers.
On Tuesday, it was revealed the company will make only minimal contributions to the compensation fund for this year and next, as it moves its corporate headquarters from the Netherlands to Ireland.
Unions NSW Secretary Mark Lennon said: “While today’s decision may provide some comfort to asbestos victims, it does not ease their suffering”.
“Australian unions will pursue every legal and political avenue possible to ensure James Hardie keeps the Asbestos Injury Compensation Fund viable.”
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union NSW Secretary Paul Bastian said: “This decision exposes the extraordinary lengths the James Hardie company went to avoid its obligations to asbestos sufferers.
“The lesson from the penalties handed down today is that unions and the Australian community will always hold to account company executives and directors who engage in this sort of immoral and illegal behavior. We will never let them off the hook for the damage they have done.”
