
Issue No 56		02 June 2000

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News

Long Service Leave Push for Short-Term Workers

A plan that could see Long Service Leave available for all workers - even when they move from job to job - will be presented to next week's ALP State Conference.

The ground breaking proposition would set up a process to investigate the feasibility of requiring all employers to pay LSL payments into a centralised fund to be accessed after workers have spent ten years in employment.

Options would include modelling on a Long Service Leave fund that has worked successfully in the building industry for decades, where employers make weekly payments to cover the LSL entitlements. Interest from that money pool is then used to reduce the levels of payment required and to fund industry projects.

The proponents of the proposal - LHMU state secretary Annie Owens and the Labor Council's Chris Christodoulou, - will argue that universal Long Service Leave should be the right of all workers.

"As work becomes increasingly tenuous, the reality is that people are just not staying in the one job for ten years," Owens says.

"But this doesn't mean that the need for a break from work every decade has disappeared - indeed with increased stress and insecurity, it has never been more needed."

Owens says many of her members are now contractors in cleaning, security and catering, where they work for many years in the one industry, but find their employer changing regularly.

And other employees in emerging areas such as information technology, hospitality and tourism, finance need to shift from one employer to another in order to access career opportunities or experience and so never become eligible.

Christodoulou says this means many workers never get the chance for blocks of leave to allow them to rest, recuperate or have time to improve their education or skills after they have been in the workforce for a substantial period of time.

The resolution calls for a working party to be established to investigate the broad issue with a view to handing down recommendations to translate long service leave principles to the new workforce.

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  Issue 56 contents

Interview: When the War is Over
Teachers Federation chief Sue Simpson has just come through the industrial dispute of a lifetime. But where to now for her members?

Politics: The Beazley Manifesto
Read the full transcript of Kim Beazley's Fraser Lecture develiered this week, where he unveiled Labor's new industrial relations platform.

Unions: Dudded on the Dock of the Bay
Until a few weeks ago Allan and Beverley Crelley had never ever heard of SERCO the big London multinational that specialises in winning contracts from governments committed to outsourcing their workers.

History: The Long March for Justice
Against the backdrop of the Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge that took place last Sunday, it is worthwhile recognising that trade unionists were actively promoting the issue decades ago.

International: UK Unions Turn the Corner
Union membership is on the rise for the first time in 20 years, indicating an early response to union recognition legislation set to come into effect next month.

Work/Time/Life: Flexible Clerks Save Hours
The Australian Services Union has successfully blocked an attempt by wholesaler Davids Limited to force clerical staff at the company's Blacktown office from flexible working hours to a standard 38 hour week.

Review: Who Really Won the War?
It might be being pulped for a reference to serial-suitor Peter Costello, but 'Waterfront' has sparked some lively debate about our recent industrial history.

Satire: Gosper's New Torch Role
A week after he was excluded from the Olympic torch relay as a result of public criticism, Kevan Gosper has been reinstated by SOCOG President Michael Knight for a special project.

» Long Service Leave Push for Short-Term Workers

» Carr Asked to Act on Fiji Crisis

» Major Blow to Government Outsourcing

» Beazley Blocks Contracts as Reith Hits New Wall

» Carr Makes Formal Offer on Olympics Pay

» Surfing Carnivals Highlights Beach Threat

» Mail Stopped Over Junk Deal

» CBA Staff To Strike Over Queues and Abuse

» Women's Bureau to Stay in DIR

» Joy's Winter of Discontent

» Advocate Pushes Pattern Bargaining

» Nike Versus The Workers

» New Safety Laws A First in Australia

» Workers March for Reconciliation

» Labour Movement Mourns Loss of Neil Marshall (11th June 1943 - 31st May 2000)