
Issue No 72		06 October 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Unions

Behind The Scenes

In a small office at Homebush Bay, as the world focused on all that was positive about our games, Unions 2000 and SOCOG officials worked tirelessly to ensure that no worker was ripped off. Chris Christoudoulou reports.

Two years in the planning could not have prepared us for some of the challenges that Unions 2000 had to deal with in the immediate lead up to and during the Sydney Olympic Games.

We set ourselves three aims two years ago. These were to provide:

the best wages and conditions possible to Olympic employees
the opportunity for all employees to join and be protected by a union during the Olympic games and
a structure and mechanism capable of resolving disputes quickly as they arose

We were able to achieve our first two aims with the making of the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games State Award and the recruitment of over 10,000 members under the banner of Unions 2000. The third aim of resolving disputes quickly and effectively took a great deal of hard work and trust between SOCOG and the Olympic Unions. What follows are the types of issues that challenged all of us and how that relationship has endured.

The Games lead up

Having developed the Sydney Olympics Award over a year ago, I always predicted that it would be the unexpected problems outside the control of the award, which would cause us some difficulties either in the lead up to, or during the games.

With six weeks left to go before the Opening Ceremony the first of these challenges appeared in the form of a dispute during the construction of the Bondi Beach Stadium. A security company was neither paying its employees under the Olympics award or the site agreement for Bondi Beach. Suddenly it looked like the opponents to Bondi Beach Stadium may have had an unlikely ally in this Security Company that could cause a delay in the construction of the facility. Two late night meetings with the company, SOCOG and the Unions involved resolved the issue. The company agreed to pay both the Olympics Award and the site agreement.

Just as this dispute was resolved, the Transport Workers Union announced its intention to claim bonus pay for all transport drivers who worked in a SOCOG controlled venue during the games. Three Commission hearings and two conferences later we managed to vary the Olympics award in record time to ensure transport drivers received the $1.50 per hour bonus that other Olympic workers were receiving at other SOCOG venues.

Three weeks out from the Opening Ceremony and smack bang in the middle of an intensive Unions 2000 recruitment campaign, we discovered that Sodexho, the Stadium caterer, had shifted the employment status of its confectionery vendors to that of individual contractors. Unions 2000 immediately began a public campaign, which saw all these workers restored to the status of employees and receiving all their legitimate employee entitlements.

With two weeks to go before Opening Ceremony, other Labor Council officials had finalised Olympic bonus' associated with the public sector and the transport system, and the LHMU had finally wrapped up its bonus pay for the majority of the city hotels involved in servicing the Olympic family and tourists.

Just when our Unions 2000 Sydney Olympic Park office was opening - BANG - we had 500 New Zealanders (mainly Maoris)on the Labor Council doorstep seeking our assistance on a complete stuff-up if not scam, involving promised security jobs at the Olympic Games.

These New Zealanders had paid hundreds of dollars to a company known as Colnet in New Zealand to be trained as licensed security guards for the Olympic Games. They were told that if they undertook the training and paid for their flights to Australia, the jobs would be ready for them immediately. Of course they arrived with no jobs available, as the New South Wales Registry had processed none of their security licences.

The Labor Council, CFMEU and the LHMU went into full swing with SOCOG to try to avert what was becoming known in New Zealand as the Olympic Security job scam. With the assistance of SOCOG and the unions applying pressure on a number of security companies including Workforce International, we were able to fast-track the licensing of these New Zealanders without compromising security standards required for the games. 80% of the people found jobs, and we indirectly helped subsidise their accommodation to stop a number of potential evictions. Labor Council has since written to both the Minister of Police and Fair Trading to have all the companies involved in this potentially damaging incident investigated.

The Opening Cutbacks

We could predict many of the potential problems and issues that came up during the games, but what none of us predicted was that on Day 2 of the games and on each day to follow in the first week, almost all the major contract catering companies, would announce major reductions in labour. This was supposed to be the games where employers were afraid of losing labour too quickly or not being able to fill all the jobs on offer. This was far from reality. The first company to announce cutbacks were the Superdome, followed by Spotless, Eurest, Michael O'Brien catering and the Royal Agricultural society. Our phones didn't stop ringing with angry members confused and frustrated by the fact that they had been promised work at the Olympics and expected to be there for the full duration. Our phone lines were so jammed in the first two days we increased the number of lines to deal with the issues. The first of a number of disputes committee meetings were held with SOCOG to work through what could have been a very negative experience for the games workforce.

Unions 2000 and SOCOG negotiated with each of the companies and put in place strategies to limit the number of hours and jobs which were cut back. In a positive step we were able, with SOCOG, to set up a special hotline number where Olympic workers affected by the cut-backs could be offered jobs in the city with a number of retail and hospitality employers. More than 2000 workers were affected by the cut backs in the first week.

During the first week we were also inundated with the expected pay problems, i.e. no pay or wrong pay. This proved to be a particular problem with a number of security companies including Workforce International who were requiring security officers to be at work half an hour earlier and to attend police briefings without pay. On one particular site the situation had reached a crisis point where some security officers were legitimately prepared to refuse to carry out work unless they were assured of being paid. A number of meetings during the games took place between senior SOCOG officials, Police and Unions 2000 to clarify and resolve these matters. The issues relating to the security industry continued to take up time right through to Closing Ceremony day. In one instance two days before the closing ceremony the Union addressed a meeting of security guards in one venue to avert a stoppage. This was one of three stoppages averted during the course of the games.

Richo backs the workers

Approximately 4 days into the games while dealing with the catering cutbacks and the pay problems in the security industry, our first of two incidents of needle stick injuries came to the fore at the Athletes Village. We were not at all happy with the procedures followed when the first needle stick occurred but we had these fixed. Syringe bins were then provided in every residence in the Village. By the time the second needle stick injury occurred the response from the Mayor of the Village was swift with the suspension of all housekeeping services to 4 countries that were not using the syringe bins. Unions 2000 fully supported Mayor Richardson's approach.

The 100-meter dash

By the opening day of the Athletics we thought that our catering problems regarding cutbacks were over. The Stadium had been booked to the hilt and all the corporate suites were full. But we had one major problem - people weren't eating and drinking! All of a sudden without any consultation with Unions 2000 or SOCOG, Sodexho began its 100-metre dash for the cutbacks line. Some middle management had decided it was easier to simply send people home than to re-roster in a way which minimised the effect on employees. Our third crisis telephone hook-up took place with SOCOG at 11pm. Shortly after we were notified that employees at three bars at the Stadium wanted to walk off the job in protest. A meeting was held with Sodexho Senior Executives at 5am the next morning and an agreement was reached on limiting the cutbacks. A circular was released to the staff the next morning. Once again a major crisis and potential morale draining dispute was averted.

Problems just kept coming

By the second week we had dealt with well over 1000 enquiries/issues. These included complaints about roster changes, accommodation charges, and 4 unfair dismissals. Week 2 saw an escalation in pay problems, especially with the OLN partners (in particular) LLEM and in catering with Eurest. These coupled with the continuing pay problems with a number of security companies caused us to harden our position and threaten to implement the penalty provisions under the late payments provisions of the Award. We had advised SOCOG of our position. They fully supported our view that it was unacceptable that people weren't being paid on time.

Week 2 also saw retailer Concept Sport eclipse their Games sales predictions by the first week but forgotten to issue their staff with meal vouchers in a range of venues. Many hungry retail workers had their appetites rekindled in the knowledge that they would be compensated in cash after swift action by Unions 2000.

And while food was the flavour of week 2 catering employees at the stadium suffered the muesli blues when Sodexho didn't provide them with the standard choice of muesli bar, fruit, or cake as part of the meal provisions negotiated with Unions 2000 and SOCOG.

One meeting later and a number of phone calls, following a barrage of complaints, had the employees happily munching away on their full supplement of food.

With 3 days to go the pay issues just got worse with one woman in a state of tears with almost $3000 in unpaid wages still owing. Her state of mind required immediate action, so Unions 2000 officials and SOCOG organised a $400 cash advance for her, which was delivered to her home at 9.30pm. Other workers just got angry and called for a strike on the second last day of the Games at the Equestrian Centre. This serious dispute was averted with Eurest management SOCOG and Unions 2000 officials meeting with workers till midnight to sort out the pay problems.

Unions 2000 delivers

And so it was that Sydney delivered the best Olympic Games ever. Under any other regime these problems would have spelt chaos. Under our plan Unions 2000 had done its job for the Olympics and its paid workforce.

Chris Christodoulou is Assistant Secretary (Organising) of the Labor Council of NSW and the coordinator of Unions 2000.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 72 contents

Interview: Taking It To The Union Busters
ACTU Assistant Secretary Richard Marles talks to Workers Online about turning back the anti-union sentiment growing in the business community, responsible unionism and the sense of fun to be found at the ACTU.

International: The White Knights
The International Labour Organisation has become the great hope for those fighting to give globalisation a human face. Australian Bob Kyloh is one of those working with trade unions within the ILO to make it happen.

Politics: Industrial Democracy for Australia
Glenn Patmore argues we need new forms of employee representation in the workplace to broaden employee participation.

Unions: Behind The Scenes
In a small office at Homebush Bay, as the world focused on all that was positive about our games, Unions 2000 and SOCOG officials worked tirelessly to ensure that no worker was ripped off. Chris Christoudoulou reports.

Satire: Parade of Icons �Could Have Included Even More Ex-Aussies� Say Critics
The selection of Greg Norman, Paul Hogan and Elle Macpherson to represent Australia in the �Parade of Icons� during the Closing Ceremony of the Sydney Games last night has prompted a storm of complaints from other famous former Australians.

Review: Elliott Smiths Figure 8
Smith is basically the secret love child of the fab four and it�s so blatantly obvious. That�s not a bad thing because one thing Lennon and McCartney were reknown for was there ability to pen catchy tunes.

» Interstate Rail Workers Rebel Against AWAs

» Australia Post Exposes Staff to Bomb Danger

» Alliance Builds Against Commonwealth Bank

» Carr Lauds Union Movement For Golden Olympics

» Big Brother Unwelcome In Child Care Centres

» Council Workers Win Community Language Allowance

» Fiji Facing Dictatorship

» Home Care Win Recognises Community Contribution

» Pressures Mount on Truckies

» Industrial Action Looms At IBM Global

» In Your Face Provocateurs

» Putting A Stop To Workplace Intimidation

» Australian History To Be Buried Alive