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Issue No. 203 | 14 November 2003 |
Beyond the Workplace
Interview: Union for the Dispossessed Unions: Joel's Law National Focus: Spring Carnival Bad Boss: Fina and Fiends Industrial: The Price of War Economics: Who's Got What History: Containing Discontent Review: An Honourable Wally Poetry: The Colours of Discontent
Hardie Shareholders Face Death Road Workers Swing Left-Right Blows Developers To Kick Transport Can Cleaners Mop Up Contracts Mess Unions Set To Stand Up To Bullies Jack Thompson Headlines Launch
The Soapbox Sport Politics Postcard
Super Solidarity Perils Of Pauline Put A PM On The Barbie Tom Holds Water
Labor Council of NSW |
News Cleaners Mop Up Contracts Mess
The LHMU believes the ruling will help bosses who seek to side-step award obligations by shifting their workers to contracts. The case before the Federal court involved a Canberra contract cleaning company, Endoxos, who had shifted workers into individual contractors arrangements. The Federal Court has found that Endoxos 'held the position of responsibility and wielded the power in the employment relationship.' In making its ruling the Court also concluded that the Full Bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission "shut its eyes to uncontested evidence which demonstrated the reality of what occurred" in the workplace and on the job. "A win for Endoxos in Canberra would have had a wave effect across the country," LHMU national secretary Jeff Lawrence said today. "This is a blow to the militant employer culture that the Howard Government has been promoting." This ruling now clears the way for LHMU member, Riste Damevski, to fight his unfair dismissal in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. It will also allow at least 75 other cleaners, who were forced into the same situation, to recover money owing for underpayment of wages and for portable long service leave. Lawrence says the win reinforces the successful campaigning by the ACT LHMU Cleaners Union to establish a Code of Practice for responsible cleaning which has the support of 85% of Canberra contract cleaning firms. Endoxos - a company which has now been wound up - was owned by a Canberra identity, Lindsay Burke, who was probably best known for being the husband of prominent local Liberal Territory MP, Jacqui Burke - who was also at one time a director of the cleaning company. At the time Mr Burke was quoted in the local media saying he had found the perfect solution to cutting costs by ordering around 75 Endoxos workers to set themselves up as individual companies to whom he would then provide work.
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