
Issue No 42		17 December 1999

News

Unions Lock in New Years Eve Deals

Workers rostered on for New Years Eve will receive cash and other bonsues thanks solely to the activism of trade unions who have organised around the Y2K issue. We lay out some of the better deals.

ALL WORKERSin New South Wales have been granted a half day public holiday for December 31, starting at Midday, following lobbying from the Labor Council. Other state governments have refused similar claims.

PUBLIC SECTOR NSW public servants have been offered 400 per cent pay deal plus a special standby allowance for working New Years Eve.

The offer from the Public Sector Employment Office involves a base rate of pay plus 300 per cent for the period covering 15 hours from 6pm 31 December to 9am January 1. There is also a $250 standby bonus

Unions representing ambulance officers, police, firefighters, nurses and bus and rail drivers have accepted the offer.

TAXI DRIVERS

The Transport Workers Union has struck a special New Years Eve deal that will deliver cabbies an extra $5 per passenger for trips up to to 20km; and $10 per passenger for journeys beyond 20km. The TWU reckons this will lead to a minimum average earnings of $40 per hour.

HOSPITALITY

Hotel workers struck the first blow for New Years Eve bonuses when the Crown Casino agreed to pay workers 400 per cent for working on the night. Since then, many hotels and restaourants have struck deals using this benchmark. Some prestige restaurant have locked in staff with lucrative four figure sums.

BANKS

Workers at a leading bank have secured New Years Eve bonuses of up to $3000 as the Finance Sector Union moves to lock in millennium pay rates across the industry.

The FSU has negotiated site agreements with NAB which include payments of up to $3,000 for working after 8.00pm on the 31st December and a special payment of $500 plus 3.5 times normal hourly rate for NRMA employees.

ANZ is offering a range of bonuses - $250 for 7pm to midnight, $5000 for midnight to 7am and $250 for January 1. Westpac have a similar scale but their rates are scabbier.

National mutual are offering their IT staff a bonus payment of one day's pay plus 2.5 times the hourly rate - with a minimum payment of $450.

GIO and NRMA are offerinf triple time plus $5000, while AMP is giving workers the option of triple time plus $500 or three hours time in lieu for every hour worked.

WELFARE

NSW Home Care workers will get four times their regular pay rate for working New Year's Eve.

POWER WORKERS

Workers employed by the state's electricity grid, Transgrid, have secured a 500 per cent bonus for working on New Years Eve to be on hand in case the Y2K bug bites.

Staff employed between 9pm December 31 and 3am January 1 will receive five times the normal rate of pay. This is the period where any problems in power caused by the Millennium Bug would be likely to hit.

MEDIA

News Ltd is offering journos cash bonus ranging from $350 to $600 for working on the night. Maximum payments for those rostered on after midnight. The company is also offering prizes, gifts and special events for those working. At press time, Fairfax journalists were attempting to finalising a claim with cash bonuses up to $650 for workers rostered between 10pm and 5am.

Channel Seven journos will be paid triple time after 7pm and receive a $280 cash bonus or a $200 David Jones voucher. On-call staff get a $180 bonus. ABC staff have snared triple time for workers on after 6.00pm, with quadruple time for any forced to work overtime. AAP staff get double time and a half plus a $100 bonus for working through midnight. SBS get double time and a hlaf plus a $200 bonus. Channel Ten bonuses include a $250 bonus and an extra day's holiday for those working New Years Day. Commercial radio journalists can expect double time and a half after 6pm.

OPERA HOUSE

Performers and staff working at the Sydney Opera House on New Years Eve will have their loved ones close at hand after management agreed to invite partners to parties being held on the big night. Each staff member will receive two tickets to the party, under a deal struck between Opera House management and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

General Opera House staff have agreed to a deal which includes sliding pay rates for the night; improving on the normal rate of $25 per hour to $62.50 per hour until 4pm, $87.50 between 4pm and midnight, $124 per hour between midnight and 4am and $150 per hour between 4am and 8am.

General staff will also receive a $100 loyalty payment, free parking, free food and drink on the night and two tickets for family to attend the party on the Opera House forecourt. Management will also provide 60 beds for staff who are unable to leave the site at the end of their shift. And security staff who finish at 6pm New Years Eve and start at 6am the next day will be able to sleep on site and attend the forecourt party.

Performers, orchestra and staging workers employed by Opera Australia to perform a concert on New Years eve will receive a $500 cash bonus on top of their normal wage, plus a $100 bonus if ticket sales reach 90 per cent.

They will also receive a free ticket to the Gala Concert for their partner, two free tickets to the Opera Australia party valued at $850, free parking and a cabcharge home. They will also receive childcare assistance to the value of $250.

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Issue 42 contents

Interview: Costa Bravo
Labor Council�s chief trouble maker chronicles the battles of the past year and ponders those still to come.

Unions: More Wins Than Losses
Workers Online ranks the Top Ten industrial relations stories from a year of frenetic activity.

International: Eric Lee's Year in Review
The editor of Labourstart looks back over his favourite stories of 1999.

Politics: So Many Questions
It was a year in politics that threw up more questions than answers. We look at some of the sticky ones.

Republic: Referendum With Class
Labor heretic Michael Thomspson analyses the failure of the Republican proposition.

Environment: Seattle Kills Greens V Jobs Bogey
The sight of US unionists, environmentalists and human rights activists being attacked by police in Seattle shows how far the progressive movement has come.

Deface a Face: Give Him a Hairdo
What better present could Michael Costa offer Workers Online readers than the chance to give him a Deface a Face style make over?

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
See the latest issue of Labour Review, our resource for officials, activists and students.

Review: Cultural Wasteland
Workers Online resident door-bitches Zanga and Paul pass judgement on the year that finished the millennium.

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» Unions Lock in New Years Eve Deals

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» The Great Salary Rip-Off

» George to Kick Start NSW IR Reforms?

» Shaw Loses Key Advisers

» More New Faces at the New ACTU

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» Peace in the Gong

» Workers Support Register Gathers Steam

» Pay Equity Enters Campaign Mode

» Union Aid Agency to Establish Dili Office

» Job Vacancies at the LHMU