
Issue No 3		05 March 1999

News

Nothing Casual About Woolies Drivers

By Tony Sheldon, TWU State Secretary

Transport Workers Union members at Linfox working on the Woolworth's Contract have shown great spirit in voting unanimously to support moves by the TWU to have 40 casuals made permanents.


	Tony Sheldon: TWU Secretary

The TWU, through our President Jim Bray, negotiated the permanency arrangement, which was voted on by members at Minchinbury, Yennora and Moorebank.

Casual workers are an important and growing force within the transport industry. There would be few transport yards that do not employ casuals, either directly or through an employment agency.

It is vital the Union provides casual transport workers with support and services. However, what most casuals want is security. The best way to secure that is through permanancy. Where possible we must fight to have employees made permanent and employed directly by the transport company.

One of the worst trends I have seen across the spectrum of the transport industry is the move by some companies to place their entire workforce into an employment agency, thereby avoiding all the responsibility of being an employer.

One company in Sydney recently attempted to sack all their drivers and make them sign individual contracts with a New Zealand owned employment agency if they wanted their jobs back. Quick action by the TWU stopped them.

Employment agencies have their place but not as de facto transport companies.

All workers deserve the right to permanent employement if it is available. The spirit and unity shown by members at Linfox in supporting their fellow casual workers proves that even if some employers do not know the value of their workforce, TWU members do.

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Issue 3 contents

Interview: How Organising Works
The ACTU�s Sarah Kaine is part of a new breed of union organiser who help workers stand up for themselves.

Unions: Big Boys Bank on Mergers
Mergers of the big banks are back on the agenda, and the Finance Sector Union is leading the community campaign against them.

History: Commemorating Our Dear Departed Equal Pay Activists
Two women who deserve special recognition and commemoration as part of our Women's Day celebrations are Eileen Powell and Edna Ryan, both of who played a crucial role in the struggle for equal pay.

Legal: New Judge Announces Zero Tolerance Of Pay Inequity In NSW
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission is training its sights on industrial raw-deals for women, and targeting the traditional under-valuation of women's work.

Review: Keep the Australia in Australian Television.
Local content quotas for Australian television are under threat from our Kiwi cousins.

Campaign Diary: Radical Conservatives Raise Their Own Bar
This Monday writs are issued for the state election, The phoney campaign ends and the real one begins; and the issue of stability, the need for it and the lack of it, is set to dominate the next four weeks.

» Unions Win Virtual Access To The Workplace

» Shaw To Snip At Gender Pay Gaps

» Living Wage - Round One To Unions

» Workers Fight Hotel Chain's Contracts Push

» No Picnic, No Pay

» The Modern Day Tales Of Robin Hood

» Nothing Casual About Woolies Drivers

» Unionists Flex Muscles for a Gay Time