
Issue No 58		16 June 2000

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News

Water Workers Accept 14% Pay Rise

By Noel Hester

Union members at Sydney Water and Australian Water Technologies have voted today to accept a management offer of a 14% pay rise over three years in a new enterprise agreement.

Pay talks have been in train for over 18 months since the expiry of the last agreement. Resolute industrial action throughout Sydney Water and AWT forced management to substantially increase their pay offer from insulting initial levels to the final 14%.

There have been 9 appearances in the IR Commission over the EBA since a previous stopwork meeting on 12 April.

ASU Assistant Secretary John Tierney says there was a robust debate at the stopwork meeting that sent out a clear message to management about the state of the organisation and its direction.

'Even though our members finally accepted the offer they have have made it clear there is still a large amount of employee discontent with the management of the Corporation. They want better communication and consultation from management with union reps. It will be a serious mistake on management's part to continue take their employees for granted,' he said.

John Tierney says the IR Commission recommended that talks in the next Enterprise Agreement begin 3 months before the expiry of these agreements.

'This will give us the opportunity to take protected action if talks break down.'

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  Issue 58 contents

Interview: After the Gold Rush
NSW building union leader Andrew Ferguson on life after the Olympics and why Che Guevara is his political hero.

Unions: MUA Women's Policy Back on Course
A hard hitting report by the Maritime Union's women's delegate Sue Gajdos prompts the union to, once again, promote its female members.

Politics: Raising the Rafters
Opposition leader Kim Beazley delivered a stirring address to last weekend's NSW ALP State Conference. Here's every word of it.

History: Time and Tide
Greg Patmore surveys the themes of Working Lives in Regional Australia in this introduction to the latest issue of 'Labour History'

International: Fair in the Land of the Free
More than 20,000 immigrant workers, union members and community and religious leaders packed a Los Angeles Sports Arena on June 10 in support of immigrant workers' rights.

Environment: Life's a Beach
Workers are invited to join an environmental campaign to protect the coastal communities and coastline from exploitation by multinationals.

Satire: More Pacific Coups Forecast
The popular holiday resort of Great Keppel Island is bracing itself for a bloody coup, following the rash of rebel uprisings in other parts of the Pacific.

Review: At the Barricades
Denis Evans' photo essay on the Patrick dispute captures the camaraderie on the Melbourne picket lines - solidarity that, like solder, welded workers and their communities together into a human barricade.

Crackdown on Fiji Workers Intensifies
Building Industry Braces for Post-Games Slump
Call Centre Battle Hots Up
More Sackings Spark Entitlements Showdown
Carr Establishes Labor Hire Inquiry
High Court Puts Workers At Reith's Mercy
Miners Hit the Streets Over Death Threats
Unions Urged to Reignite Republic Debate
Tips Rip-Off Sparks Hotel Picket
Community Workers to Lay Siege to Parliament
Water Workers Accept 14% Pay Rise
Counselling for Workplace Accidents
Korean Food Festival is Union Business
Che Helps Doctors Save Lives
Maude Barlow Public Lecture - Sydney June 27