
Issue No 25		06 August 1999

News

Steggles Treats Workers Like Chooks

The battle over the starting time for a working mum employed by Steggles has prompted calls for an inquiry into family friendly workplaces by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.


	Kym Wood Addresses Labor Council

ASU Administrative and Clerical Branch state secretary Michael Want says the NSW IRC should look into whether employers are matching the flexibility they demand from their workers.

And he wants union members to be aware of the company's attitude and that of its parent company Goodman Fielder when purchasing goods at the supermarket.

The call follows outrage over Steggles decision to threaten mother of three Kym Wood with disciplinary procedures if she did not start work at 6.30am despite having reached agreement with workmates to facilitate a later start.

Ms Wood had been unable to find early morning childcare in her area when the company moved forward the starting time for its telemarketting staff.

In a meeting with Labor Council and ASU officials this week, the company agreed to allow Ms Wood to start work at 7.30am until an on-site meeting is held this week to discuss flexible work practices.

Steggles has also offered to provide Ms Wood an in-house child minder each morning for the cost of $8 per hour - well below the minimum award rate of pay for child care workers.

Reporting back to Labor Council delegates this week, Want said Ms Wood had been inundated with support from around the country.

"The thing that management has refused to acknowledge through the dispute is that their employees are people," he told delegates. "They're treating their workers the same way that they treat their chooks."

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Issue 25 contents

Interview: Beneath the Arch
Arch Bevis has been given the job of charting Federal Labor�s agenda for the 21st century. He tells us where he�s heading.

Unions: What If the Bug Bites?
Health workers are planning contingencies for the Millennium Bug. Just in case...

Politics: It's a Wired, Wired World
Labor's federal IT spokeswoman Kate Lundy looks at some of the challenges for politics in the information economy.

International: Lufthansa faces Global Cyber-picket
270 workers sacked for a one�day strike - support the T&G campaign for human rights at Heathrow.

Satire: Outrage as Freed Killer Lives in House
Despite moving away from Waterloo Primary School, controversy continues to follow released killer John Lewthwaite after it was discovered that he is now living in a house.

Review: Reversing Union Decline
A leading labour thinkers asks: how do we turn back the membership tide?

» Unions Embrace Open Shop

» Council Sets Benchmarks for Vizard Deal

» Steggles Treats Workers Like Chooks

» Rail Workers on Collision Course with Carr

» Reith Shamed Into Talk On Entitlement Fund

» Unionists Asked to Defer NRMA Vote

» Fire Fighters Use Net

» Crew of Convenience Behind Sydney Oil Spill?

» Sixty Junkets Join Currawong Hit Squad

» Workers Table Petition for Gay Reform

» Indonesian Trade Union Leaders to Visit Australia

» International And Community Groups Oppose Reith�s Bill

» Guest Report

» Sport

» Trades Hall

» Piers Watch

» Country Labor Asks Question

» The Ombudsman Replies

» Confessions of a German Call Centre Agent

» WorkCover Off the Track

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