Liquor workers fight wage cuts

Liquor workers fight wage cuts

By Roberto Jorquera

MELBOURNE — Two thousand liquor trades workers took a tough stand on penalty rates and loadings at a March 5 stop-work meeting. "The membership voted unanimously to authorise our officials to take whatever action they deem necessary to ensure that there is no reduction in our existing wages and conditions", said Liquor Trades Union (FLAIEU) Victorian secretary Sam Phillips after the meeting.

Two employer organisations, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce (VECCI) and the Australian Hotels Association, have launched legal action to abolish penalty rates for unusual, inconvenient and long hours of work, and loadings to compensate casual workers for holiday pay, sick leave, superannuation and other entitlements paid to permanent workers.

The workers condemned attempts to undermine their living standards and job security and called for enterprise bargaining on conditions in the hospitality industry. Employers who withdraw support for the VECCI-AHA campaign will be exempted from industrial action.

The union says the employers' proposals would cut the wage of a 17-year-old working in a fast food outlet such as McDonald's, Red Rooster or Hungry Jacks from $102.60 to $77.00 for 15 hours' work.

Phillips said the turnout for the meeting was good in view of "intense efforts by employers to stop members from attending". Some workers had been threatened with the sack.

Because of the large number of casual workers in the hospitality industry, any action would be organised at short notice, Phillips said. The workers voted to meet again in a month.

From GLW issue 47