Issue No 68 | 25 August 2000 | |
NewsOlympic Vendors Cream Boss
Teenage vendors selling ice creams and confectionary at Stadium Australia have forced French multinational catering company Sodexho into retreat over employment arrangements at the Olympic venue.
Sodexho had been treating the ice cream sellers, some as young as 14, as contractors. They were issued with ABN business numbers, forced to look after their own superannuation and GST and earned as little as $5 an hour according to the Labor Council's Chris Christodoulou. Chris Christodoulou said it was unacceptable that Sodexho were underpaying these, vulnerable workers. 'One boy's parents complained to us that their kid worked for 6 hours on Sunday for $30. Under the Sodexho award he should have been getting $13.50 per hour for working at the weekend. They kids should have been getting $10 per hour minimum Monday to Friday,' he says. 'It was even worse. If they are earning more than $450 per month they have to pay the 8 per cent superannuation themselves so they'd have ended up with even less. And they were expected to look after their own GST. 'Sodexho were turning all the business administration back on to these inexperienced kids.' Sodexho capitulated under the pressure this week and have agreed the vendors continue as employees and not contractors. Sodexho has taken responsibility for taxation, superannuation, workers comp, wages and conditions associated with the work. Nathan Cohen , one of the vendors who made things happen against Sodexho says he was misled about his rates of pay when he applied for a job. 'I applied for a job and was expecting to get $18 an hour. Then I found out I was only getting commission. I'd like to thank Unions 2000 and especially Chris (Christodoulou). I'll now be getting what I deserve,' he says. Julie Smith, mother of another vendor Julie Smith says she was angry when she found out about the treatment of the kids. 'As a parent I was appalled by the conditions at Stadium Australia.' Sodexho has now agreed to retain all vendors as employees and will work with the Labor Council to get some minimum standards for all event vendors in NSW.
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Interview: New Unionist Britain's Trade Union Congress secretary John Monks on life under Blair and why the future of unionism could well rest in Europe. History: The Victims of Whiggery George Loveless, the leader of the rural workers who became the Tolpuddle Martyrs, recorded his ideals and experiences in a pamphlet that brings his story to life. Economics: The Final Station Corporatisation was first introduced into Australia by the former Greiner Coalition government. What is 'corporatisation' and who should we hold to account under its prescriptions? International: Massive Union Win in American Telecom The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced on Thursday a settlement with Verizon Communications ending a fifteen day strike by 87,000 telephone workers from Maine to Virginia. Unions: A Vital Community Service What keeps the engine of the Australian economy running? Manufacturing productivity, the stock market, exports? Try child care. Satire: Putin copies Clinton: dead seamen stains reputation MOSCOW, Tuesday: Russian naval authorities today faced staunch criticism, and the anger of a nation gripped by tragedy, as they conceded that all 118 Russian submariners trapped in the nuclear submarine, the Kursk, had died. Review: Blow Up The Pokies Whether it arouses public debate about Gambling is best left to the public but Peter Zangarri thinks Tim Freedman is on a winner with the Whitlam's latest CD.
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