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Issue No. 147 | 09 August 2002 |
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A Call to Action
Interview: Save Our Souls Unions: Rats With Wings Bad Boss: If The Boot Fits History: Political Bower Birds International: No More Business as Usual Corporate: The Seven Deadly Sins of Capitalism Industrial: Stiffed! Review: Prepare To Bend Satire: Bush Boosts Sharemarket Confidence: Shares his Cocaine Stash
Competitions The Soapbox The Locker Room Week in Review Bosswatch
 Fraser No Workers' Hero
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Tool Shed Post Production
Graeme Who and David What? You might well ask but be assured, what this week's joint tenants lack in profile they more than make up for in their thorough-going commitment to the principles that have made the Tool Shed what it is today. David Barker is Australia Post's, Group Manager Human Resources who apparently moonlights as an ideas man for current affairs television. He's the bright spark who delivered Cori Girondoudas and Richard O'Brien into our living rooms. Remember Cori? She was the Melbourne call centre worker who Australia Post's industrial relations policy saddled with an effective $3000 fine for displaying a photo or herself and girlfriends at her work station. The sheer stupidity of Aussie Post's stance was reported by media as far away as the UK. After a flood of written support for Cori, one from Jamaica and another out of Canada, her employer withdrew the sanction and set about drafting an agreed policy with the CPSU. With Cori's image barely flickering from our screens we were introduced to Richard O'Brien, the long-serving Australia Post worker forced onto sick leave, and threatened with retrenchment, because of his size. O'Brien, unfortunately, is just the tip of this particular ice berg. The Sydney parcel post officer is one of 259 employees, in NSW alone, forced onto sick leave. These people have all been directed to take sick leave with the ultimatum that if they don't reach their employer's required health or fitness status they will be medically retired. Another victim was a woman with breast cancer. CEPU is challenging the company's unilaterally-imposed policy in the AIRC next week. Graeme John, or GT as he likes to be called, is Australia Post's managing directior - the turkey who lets the HR man get away with this sort of carry-on. Under GT Aussie Post has gone the way of most corporates, substituting undiluted cobblers for plain English when it comes to such things as "mission statements". "We have a People Management Strategy built on a strong workplace culture and relationships, and an integrated approach to managerial leadership. This will help us achieve the next wave of improvement across Post's operations," the statement reads in part. In the annual report, GT waxes lyrical about life under Barker's HR regime. "I've never heard so many rewarding stories about our people, at all levels, working so closely together, sharing ideas and improving work practices to achieve our common goals." To this end, no doubt, his man Barker oversees a number of other policies that are currently under worker challenge. Posties claim that his Management Operating System and Performance Review Programme impose unrealistic targets. In order to meet them posties delivering mail by scooter have been forced to exceed legal speed limits, putting themselves and pedestrians at risk. Then there's the move to take action against a left-handed postal delivery officer in Sydney, rather than adjust his equipment as advised by Government medical body, Comcare. The company also goes for something called Facility Nominated Doctors. This is code for making employees visit a doctor in Australia Post's pay rather than their own GP and, after a series of complaints, CEPU has banned these visits. The most serious allegation, to this point, comes from a female employee who visited a FND with an elbow problem. She was instructed to strip naked and hold her arms in the air for five minutes while the male doctor observed. Overseeing that sort of carry-on should make GT and his off-sider hang their heads in shame. Still, a week in the shed might just restore their spirits. Regular visitor Abbott is not a man to hide his Tool behind anything and there's every chance he has left behind his infamous press clipping about a bad boss being better than no boss. That's about as good as it's likely to get for GT and his HR man at the moment.
Nominate a Tool!
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