Marcus Greville, Melbourne
On September 8, security guards employed by Chubb Protective Services and organised by the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) rallied outside the State Library to demand that Chubb sign a state-wide collective bargaining agreement protecting the guards' award conditions from the Howard government's Work Choices laws.
Chubb is the biggest single employer in the security industry in Australia and while its parent company, the US-based United Technologies Corporation, made a $5 billion profit last year, it pays its security guard employees in Victoria around $1500 a year below the industry standard.
Security guard Shane Townsend, who works as a foot-patrol security officer for the Fitzroy office of the Department of Human Services, told the rally: "All we are demanding is a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." Phill Wilkinson, who is also employed by Chubb in Fitzroy, said: "We want to lock our conditions into a state-wide collective agreement to insulate our award conditions against Howard's new IR legislation."
When Townsend entered the industry 20 years ago, the base rate for security workers was $10 per hour and by 2006 it has risen to only $14.18. These workers are able to earn a living wage only through the penalty rates associated with the unsociable hours security guards are forced to work — penalty rates that can be removed under Work Choices.
The LHMU Security Union's campaign is demanding that the award conditions be protected and a 4% annual pay increase. The campaign has already had two significant victories. Wilson Security joined Tempo Security (formerly Group 4) on September 6 in signing on to the state-based industry-wide agreement negotiated by the LHMU.
Victorian LHMU secretary Brian Daley told the rally that these companies signing on to the new agreement would give security guards "struggling with minimum wages and rising interest rates some protection from the Work Choices attack on their living standards". He called on the State Library to insist that Chubb offer the guards the same protection other library staff enjoy. "We're asking the State Library to throw the book at Chubb, unless it gives these guards some basic security", Daley said.