Andrew Hall, Canberra
Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) working in Centrelink are set to stop work nationally for several hours on November 15 to attend the ACTU's national SkyChannel broadcast and protest rallies against the Howard government's planned industrial relations laws.
TThe stop-work action, likely to be overwhelmingly endorsed by the CPSU's Centrelink section council, will be protected industrial action under the terms of their certified agreement bargaining period. The previous agreement expired on October 1.
This action follows a number of small rolling stoppages in Centrelink customer service centres and call centres, where workers have been walking off the job to call for a fully guaranteed 12.5% wage rise over three years, no cuts to conditions and the ability to fairly participate in the union. Moreland Centrelink along with Moreland Call Centre are stopping work Wednesday November 2 at 3pm.
This also follows growing rank-and-file calls for escalated industrial action if no resolution was reached in the near future. While the CPSU wants further negotiations with Centrelink management to finalise a fair agreement, Centrelink CEO Jeff Whalan has recently told the union he "doesn't see the need' to get personally involved in resolving the negotiating stalemate.
One activist told Green Left Weekly, "This is an ideal opportunity to mobilise union members and Centrelink clients for November 15".
CPSU rank-and-file activists in the Members First network will be maintaining the call for CPSU members to stop work for the whole day on November 15, if Centrelink management won't shift its current policy and reopen discussions for a fair agreement [For further details of the action visit http://www.cpsu.org.au/campaigns/Centrelink_Bargaining or http://www.members-first.org.]
From Green Left Weekly, November 2, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.