
Issue No 96		18 May 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

HIH Workers Win Severance Guarantee

Employees of failed insurance giant HIH, still working to resolve the claims of policy holders, have won a battle for redundancy payments in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission today.

The AIRC decision means that 450 staff still working in HIH - plus 130 who had been retrenched with no payment - will now have access to industry redundancy standards.

They had been facing retrenchment without any severance pay, because of the refusal of HIH management to negotiate an enterprise agreement. They will receive eight weeks notice and three weeks pay for each year of service

The Finance Sector Union successfully argued that the payments were justified on the grounds of fairness and in the public interest.

The claim was also supported by the company's provisional liquidators who need the staff to stay on and help clean up the HIH mess.

The Finance Sector Union says while senior executives of the company may have been able to secure for themselves generous payouts, the workers had no such luck.

That's because HIH refused to negotiate an enterprise agreement with its workforce, which would have included the provisions to guarantee basic severance payouts.

Those executives were exempted from today's decision because they had already looked after themselves. Representatives of the senior executives actually intervened in the case to be

So far about 100 works have been retrenched with no severance pay, while another 660 have been transferred to NRMA and QBE. After union intervention, those companies have agreed to recognize their continuity of employment.

FSU state secretary Geoff Derrick says today decision will help ensure the smooth processing of the outstanding claims.

"This is a fair decision because the workers who lose their jobs are victi9ms of this collapse just like the policy holders."

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 96 contents

Interview: The Enabler
On the eve of the release of his latest book, Beazley�s brain on the back-bench, Mark Latham, talks about putting the social back into socialism.

Unions: Flogged To Death
One third of Australian workers now work in conditions that would be deemed illegal in Europe. While in our workplaces so much is being done by so few with so little the Howard Government leans on its shovel reports Noel Hester.

Corporate: Nike's Six Broken Promises
A new international report on the labour practices at Nike have placed their stated commitment to ethical employment under the microscope.

International: Jagath at the Solidarity Cafe
When the brave workers at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta marched on May Day, a Sydney unionist was by their side.

Education: The Battle for Free Thought
The recent sacking of Dr Ted Steele at the University of Wollongong has focused attention on the need for vigilant defence of employment rights and academic freedom.

History: Federation and Labour
The labour movement�s role in the 1897 Federal Convention and the subsequent referenda process has been largely forgotten.

Satire: Addict Stops Using Smack After Talk With Parents
A 21-year-old heroin addict has agreed to give up his habit after his parents told him that using drugs was wrong.

Review: Rouge or Red?
Mark Hebblewhite argues that the new Baz Luhrmann blockbuster isn't without its class analysis.

» WorkCover: Della Should Split the Package

» HIH Workers Win Severance Guarantee

» Abbott Runs From OEA Failure

» Angry Musos Aim Riffs at Della

» Second Prize In The Arnott�s Sell-Out

» Banks Workers Opt for People Over Pay

» Bosses Raise Stakes in State Wage Case

» Refugee Riots Sparked By Strike Action

» Vodafone Promotes It�s Own

» Champion Workers Left With Nothing

» Bid for Reasonable Hours to AIRC

» Political Economy Courses at Sydney University

» Activist Notebook

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» New Editorial Guidelines

» Letter to Canberra

» A Fowler Smell

» Who Saved May Day?

Notice Board
- Check out the latest events

Latest Issue

View entire latest issue
- print all of the articles!

Previous Issues

Subject index

Search all issues

Workers Online - 2nd place Labourstart website of the year

LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW

URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/96/news12_hih.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

[ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ]

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW