Issue No 5 | 19 March 1999 | |
UnionsThe Integral Price of LoyaltyBy Mark Hearn
Workers at Integral Energy are asking for their share of the fruits of power reform.
Integral Energy. A cool jade temple of power poised on a hill above the humble homes of Blacktown in Sydney's west, as if to announce the arrival of the corporate high fliers amid the footy fields and the red roofs. Up and running by 1996 as one of the largest electricity distribution authorities in New South Wales, Integral Energy powers the lives of over 1.7 million people in Sydney's west and south. A company brochure claims "we have been successful in the private sector amid very tough competition". Integral staff are currently insisting that the company recognises the commitment they have made to that corporate success. They've been taking rolling industrial action in support of a 15% pay increase - without trade-offs. As Bill Davidson, a delegate with the Municipal Employees Union says, "We reckon we've given up enough over the last three years. We just want a straight wage increase." Bill believes Integral staff have proven their loyalty - in productivity gains and trade-offs of conditions, while over one thousand jobs were cut as the merger of the old Prospect and Illawarra County Councils took effect. Everyone's tired of the trade-offs, and the renewed attacks on basic conditions. "The old award security is gone", Administration Officer Cheryl Cherry frowns. As MEU General Secretary Brian Harris observes, "Integral management won't offer long term benefits to its workers - but expects to receive long term benefits from them." Privatisation And the changes keep coming. Right now, the mother of all deals looms before the workers at Integral Energy - power privatisation, the apparently logical consequence of the 1996 corporatisation dress rehearsal. A new beginning, NSW Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski promises - oh, and a thousand bucks for everyone! She doesn't mention the probability of more job losses. But as MEU delegate Al Liversidge says, the "big worry is job security". Some of the potential purchasers of the NSW power industry - the six power distributors, like Integral Energy, or the three power generators, like Pacific Power, with its vast Eraring Power Station - may be overseas multinationals who have already invested in Victoria's privatised industry. "They may just run everything out of Victoria", Al says quietly, imagining the impact on jobs in New South Wales. Bill Davidson is one of the company's old-timers, and enjoys his job, but realises that the days of a life-long career - and easily won pay increases - are over. Many of the old timers have already gone. As one of Bill's workmates says, "We're a liability. They can't afford us." These days, many companies see accumulating staff benefits - superannuation, long-service leave - as costs to be eliminated. It's said that Integral expects staff to stay no more than five years. Yet Integral Energy may have forgotten that their staff are integral to its performance, and that the company is integral to their lives. As Bill Davidson says, the workers who have survived the changes and passed up the redundancy offers have made a commitment. Bill likes his job, keeping Integral's temple of power running, the air conditioning humming. "Those who are here want to stay."
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Interview: Towards An Information International FIET general secretary Phillip Jennings talks about the development of the Union Network International and its potential to organise globally. Unions: The Integral Price of Loyalty Workers at Integral Energy are asking for their share of the fruits of power reform. History: A Very Public History Historian Ray Markey and Public Service Association General Secretary Janet Good take a look at the union�s first 100 years. Review: Bullworth - Beatty�s Political Rap Warren Beatty makes some gutsy calls in his new film about a politician who, when all else fails, tries the truth. Campaign Diary: The Ultimate Punt As the leaders slug it through the final weeks of the campaign, the armchair critics get their chance to work their pet election theories.
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