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Issue No. 260 | 22 April 2005 |
Praying Mantras
Interview: Australia@Work Unions: State of the Union Industrial: Fashion Accessories Legal: Leg Before Picket Politics: Business Welfare Brats Health: Cannabis Controversy Economics: Debt, Deficit, Downturn History: Politics In The Pubs Review: Three Bob's Worth Poetry: Do The Slowly Chokie
Work Deaths Get Permanent Reflection
The Soapbox The Locker Room Culture Parliament
Labor Council of NSW |
News Sunday Too Far Away
The push has prompted industrial action with hundreds of Westpac workers walking off the job in Victoria and more action slated for South Australia and Tasmania this week. Westpac is proposing a 15-month notice period before employees would be able to opt out of weekend work; a move that has been labelled as "locking people away from a weekend". "We're defending people's right to have a weekend," says Rod Masson from the Financial Sector Union. "You have to ask yourself, if they don't want to trade on Sundays then why are they setting up the IR system that would allow them to do so," Reports from stop work meetings indicated that Westpac employees are furious about moves by the bank to introduce a pay structure which could see their pay reduced. Other issues discussed at the meeting highlighted the members' intense dissatisfaction with continued harassment to work unpaid overtime, pressure to deliver on unrealistic targets and to do more work with less staff. The workers have given the Bank until the 1st May to respond to the concerns raised at the meeting. If no adequate response is received from Westpac by 1st May, workers have flagged further industrial action. Things Fall Apart The growing issue of excessive hours will be examined at a special seminar being hosted by Unions NSW. It brings together leading experts in the fields of ethics, family, work and social research to examine the effects of an increasing workload on society. The seminar, Things fall Apart: What is work doing to families and community, is set down for the 3rd June 2005 at the Australian Museum Theatrette, College Street, Sydney For more information, or to RSVP, contact Neale Towart at Unions NSW on 9264 1461, or email [email protected]
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