Lift workers win travel tax campaign

By Sue Bolton

MELBOURNE — After eight days on strike, lift workers in Victoria forced two of the three biggest lift companies, Otis and Kono, to reimburse workers for losses as a result of the federal government's new tax on travel allowances.

After negotiations broke down, workers voted to strike indefinitely on October 15. The companies called for an urgent hearing in the Industrial Relations Commission, but after five hours of negotiation, they finally dropped the idea of trade-offs and agreed to pay an increased travel allowance of $15.95 a week from October 1 this year, and $17.95 a week from January 1, 1997. This is a slightly better settlement than that reached in the rest of the building and construction industry.

Otis and Kono did not join Schindler and three smaller companies that previously agreed to pay the allowance. After the strike, Otis and Kono now have to pay more than those other companies.

Lift workers' organiser Craig Johnston from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (metals division) said that "workers got stronger as the dispute went on. The strength they got from sticking together meant that they got a good result. This puts them in a good situation with another round of enterprise bargaining negotiations coming up."

Johnston thought that the campaign committee made up of shop stewards and other interested workers played a crucial role. The committee organised flying pickets around hotels, shopping centres and building sites to harass any supervisors caught scabbing, and to warn lift users that all maintenance workers were on strike.

Towards the end of the dispute, 300 striking workers marched through the city to confront management. They left the offices of Otis and Kono plastered with big stickers saying "SCAB".

This dispute demonstrates that with leadership, determination and solidarity, workers can still have victories, despite the election of the Howard government.

From GLW issue 252