Issue No 28 | 27 August 1999 | |
NewsScully Uses Reith First Wave Against Rail Workers
Relations between Transport Minister Carl Scully and the union movement have sunk to a new low after he supported a management decision to dock rail workers pay under Peter Reith's Workplace Relations Act.
CityRail management took the action against workers at Lidcombe railway station after they imposed five days of limited bans (refusing to announce trains to check tickets) in a bid to recover thousands of dollars in back pay that had been promised them from July 1. After a 30 minute stoppage on August 25, management agreed to pay the money - part of an enterprise agreement for station staff. Management had claimed the delay was because of a computer problem - although they were able to agree to start payment from August 27, once the action had taken place. Once work resumed on Wednesday, staff were told they would receive no pay for the five days that bans had been in place - even though they still performed the majority of their work. The ability to dock workers for imposing limited bans is one of the key aspects of Reith's anti-worker laws and is designed to force workers into taking all out strike action - where they can be exposed to damages claims in the civil justice system. Lidcombe station worker Greg Molloy told the Labor Council says he only took the action because he need the $5000 that CityRail management was refusing to pay. "As a worker I never thought a Labor Government would treat me this way," he said. NSW Labor Council secretary Michael Costa said that unions were becoming "sick and tired" of the state Labor Government's attitude to industrial relations.
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Interview: Talking Turkey A full transcript of an important interview with the Minister for Workplace Relations, the Hon Peter Reith. Politics: What Reith told the ILO Workers Online has recevied a transcript of roving statesman Peter Reith's talk to the ILO in Geneva. This one's not satire. Unions: What the Workers Said Actor Di Smith was one of nine ordinary workers who addressed this week's rally. Here's what she had to say. International: Cancelling the Debt Sign this Jubilee 2000 email petition now and tell the world's most powerful leaders to cancel the unpayable debts of the world's poorest countries by the year 2000. Environment: Greens, CFMEU call for Action on Ceiling Dust Residents and workers, associated with houses damaged in the freak hail storm that hit Sydney earlier this year, may have been exposed to harmful levels of toxic materials found in the ceiling dust of the damaged buildings History: Eveleigh Railway Workshops celebration Former workers and their families from the historic Eveleigh Railway Workshops in inner-Sydney are holding a picnic reunion and folk music festival on the site this Sunday. Republic: Does the Republic Need a President? It seems inevitable that Australia will eventually become a republic but do we need a president? Satire: Liberals May Need to Sell of More of Telstra 'We're running low in key marginals,� says Alston Review: A Kind of Violence Extracts from Yosi Berger's new book, telling the real stories behind workpalce safety.
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