By Anthony Benbow
PERTH — The directors of electrical company Air Attention have been fined in excess of $9000 for intimidating a worker into signing a workplace agreement. This is the first such prosecution to succeed under the Court Liberal government's workplace agreement law.
The law allows all workers the "right" to stay with the award, but in practice this has been impossible to enforce.
The worker was shown the agreement when he applied for work at Air Attention. He took it straight to his union (WA CEPU, electrical division), which advised him not to sign it because its conditions were inferior to the award. The union also advised him to keep some record of any discussions with his employer.
Accordingly, the worker made a tape recording of his discussion with Air Attention. He was told clearly that if he did not sign the agreement, he would not be offered the job.
The court took the unusual step of allowing the taped conversation as evidence. In handing down his decision, the magistrate was critical of the Workplace Agreements Act and the way it operated. Air Attention was found guilty of intimidation and of lying about the agreement.
CEPU state secretary Bill Game commented: "The government will say that this prosecution proves the legislation works. But how many workers have the opportunity to ask their union for advice before signing such an agreement? And how many go into an interview wearing a tape recorder?"