Water supply workers strike

Water supply workers strike

By Chris Spindler

ADELAIDE — A mass meeting of more than 700 Engineering and Water Supply (E&WS) workers on May 20 voted to strike from Friday May 20 to Monday against the government's audit commission report, which proposes job cuts and corporatisation for E&WS.

The meeting was called as an information meeting by the Miscellaneous Workers Union, the Automotive, Food, Metals and Engineering Union and the Public Service Association. It voted unanimously to strike as a way of attempting to force the government to negotiate.

The workers also rejected "the economic rationalist philosophy underpinning the Audit Commission report which focuses on profit making", supported security of employment and sought consultation with the government and secure redundancy packages.

The "bottom line" of the union leadership is to keep the no retrenchment position in E&WS, to keep the current standard of pay-outs for voluntary retrenchment and to guard against the privatisation of E&WS.

The meeting heard that if the report is implemented, 700 jobs would go immediately, separation packages would be cut, water costs would rise and water rate subsidies would disappear, there would be cuts to superannuation, and E&WS would be corporatised.

Speakers from the floor criticised the previous Labor government for the restructuring process, which has undermined working conditions and paved the way for the attacks by the Liberal government.

From GLW issue 144