CES staff strike against individual contracts

CES staff strike against individual contracts

By Paul Oboohov

CANBERRA — Commonwealth Employment Service workers here struck on the afternoon of November 27 to protest against cuts in working conditions contained in an individual contract. Public Employment Placement Enterprise management is attempting to force the contract on its initial staff and later present it as a fait accompli to CES staff as they as absorbed by PEPE.

CES staff demonstrated at Centrelink (formerly DSS) offices around Australia to register symbolically for the dole. Mass sackings are likely since PEPE is expected to take on only 1500 of the CES's 5000 staff.

A small but vocal demonstration of Community and Public Sector Union members employed at CES in the ACT was addressed by the recently elected ACT branch secretary, Jenni Eccles.

The demonstrators demanded that the individual contract be withdrawn, that current public service conditions remain and that CPSU awards apply in the PEPE. A motion of solidarity from DEETYA National Office CPSU members was read out.

CPSU National Challenge, the national left opposition in the union, circulated a leaflet at the demonstration pointing out that the DEETYA CPSU Section Council leadership had not organised an ongoing industrial campaign.

It called on members to pass motions at all levels of the union calling on the DEETYA Section Council to hold a national stop-work on December 1 to discuss and plan an ongoing industrial campaign to defend conditions.

National Challenge is urging a national 24-hour strike of CPSU PEPE members on December 3 and that the CPSU National Management Committee convene mass stop-work meetings of all CPSU members to discuss public service-wide industrial action against sackings.

From GLW issue 300