
Issue No 89		23 March 2001

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News

Workers Show Grace Under Pressure

By Andrew Casey

More than 150 hotel workers at the four-star 382 room Grace Hotel in York St, Sydney have rejected an attempt by their employer to introduce a non-union agreement.

" This was definitely not a ballot conducted with much grace," LHMU Hotel Union Assistant National Secretary, Tim Ferrari said .

" Police were called in by management; union officials were threatened.

" Attempts to hand out, at the hotel, alternative advice and analysis of what the enterprise agreement actually meant were stopped; and scrutineers were denied access to the ballot boxes - but it was all to no avail.

" Workers had been asked to accept a deal that was a complex manipulation of rates of pay, allowances and penalty rates.

" The company employed a well known anti-union industrial relations consultant to advise them on how to get through an enterprise deal which we said would have left the workforce worse off.

" Employing a union-baiting adviser has only done one thing for the hotel - left them with a huge bill."

The Grace Hotel is a beautifully restored 1930 art deco building in York St, Sydney, used by General MacArthur as his HQ during World War II, and formerly the head office of the Grace Bros department store chain.

" All sorts of pressure was felt by union members in an attempt by the hotel to push through an agreement in which the workers had had no real voice.

" The results, which came out on Wednesday, show the workforce has rejected the employers one-sided agreement by voting it down 79 votes to 67 votes.

" Our analysis show the aggro and the tension created by an employer trying to avoid a union voice in the workplace simply resulted in the workers getting suspicious," Tim Ferrari said.

" The workers knew they would have been significantly worse off than other hotel workers in this city.

" We are now calling on the management of The Grace Hotel to stop using the Reith laws to avoid a union voice in the workplace.

" The hotel should sit down with the union and its members for proper negotiations that reward employees adequately for the work they do."

The Grace Hotel is part of the international Summit Hotel chain with 165 hotels around the world, including four in Australia.

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Issue 89 contents

Interview: Paddy Takes the Helm
Irish, internationalist, republican, socialist & seafarer - Paddy Crumlin intends taking the old traditions of the labour left into the 21st century, the community and cyberspace.

Unions: Breaking the Mould
Mark Hearn looks at how women union delegates are helping to change the culture in the traditionally male bastion of glassworking.

Legal: Washing Their Hands
Mark Morey outlines how Liberal neglect of the working visa system has led to exploitation of guest workers.

International: Violence Betrays Shangri-La
Shangri-La hotel union members carrying a coffin marked Robert Kuok have been assaulted and beaten by police in Jakarta.

Economics: Corporations: Different Than You and Me
Corporations are fundamentally different than you and me. That's a simple truth that Big Business leaders desperately hope the public will not perceive.

History: The Steel Octopus
Be prepared for a flood of Nostalgia from the media about the �Big Australian�, as it prepares to flee our shores and finally internationalise its digging operations. Workers won�t forget BHP�s less than worker friendly past and present (and no doubt it�s future).

Review: Mean Nation
John Allen charts the fall and fall of philanthropy in Australian society.

Satire: Ryan 'A Big Wake-Up Call For Me': Beazley
The narrow victory to Labor in the Ryan by-election has delivered a big slap in the face to Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley.

» Abbott and �Drinking Buddy� Under Microscope

» Working Visas: Ruddock Sells Dump to Abbott

» Tourist Guides Bussed In

» Fair Wear Holds Breath as Carr Celebrates

» Labor to Restore Public Sector�s Dignity

» Its Time for Carr to Act on Safey on Building Sites

» Bread Maker Slices Workforce

» Workers Show Grace Under Pressure

» Engineers Win BHP Redundancy Case

» Transport Drug Pushers Not Charged

» Training Body Needs $150 Million to Cope with Growth

» HIH Urged To Safeguard Employee Entitlements

» Carr Proposal For Public Schools Flawed

» Human Smirk Returns to Spiritual Home

» McGauchie Appointment Draws MUA Fire

» Bove Loses McDonald's Raid Appeal

» James Hardie Called to Account

» Australasian Union Organising Conference

» Activist Notebook