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Issue No. 195 | 12 September 2003 |
Coalition of the Swilling
Interview: Crowded Lives Activists: Life With Brian Industrial: National Focus Unions: If These Walls Could Talk Economics: Beating the Bastards Media: Three Corners History: The Brisbane Line Trade: The Dumping Problem Review: Frankie's Way
Teachers Attack National Stitch-Up Five Grand Extra for Unionists Telstra Gets Curry for Take Aways This Is Your Operator Freaking Millionaire Takes Candy from Carers Grass Roots Campaign Beats Bush Unions-Council Strike �Clean Hands� Partnership Call For Campaign To Save Bush Trains
The Soapbox The Locker Room Housing Politics Postcard
Labor Council of NSW |
News Five Grand Extra for Unionists
Figures released by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for the three months to June, show the gap between union and non-union agreements continuing to widen. Significantly, Australians on Minister Tony Abbott's preferred individual contracts getting increases averaging one percent less than those on collective agreements. The Federal Government has poured millions of dollars into its Office of the Employment Advocate to promote lower-paying AWA individual contracts to employers. ACTU secretary, Greg Combet, said statistical support for the core trade union claim to deliver on wages should surprise nobody. "Unions work hard to achieve better deals for their members and wage outcomes are evidence of their success," Combet said. "Individual contracts that people are forced onto are basically written by the employer. Centrelink's not a bad example - where the Howard Government tried to impose a non-union agreement on staff and there was a long campaign and in a ballot, the Government's non-union deal was voted down. "Ultimately, the union agreement was concluded with a good increase. Where people are union members and they bargain together they get good outcomes." Wage increases rose by 4.4 percent, across the board, in the three months to June with significant increases in the in the more highly unionised public sector leading the way. Centrelink workers, after beating off the non-union proposal, settled on 5.2 percent. The average annual increase in the latest figures jumped to 4.4 percent, up from 3.5 percent in the March quarter. That average was held back, however, by workers on non-union agreements only being able to average 3.4 percent. Their average annual wage is now approximately $5200 a year behind that of union members. The June quarter figures covered more than 1.5 million Australians employed under federal agreements.
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