ACT AEU rejects pay offer
CANBERRA — On August 5, the ACT branch executive of the Australian Education Union rejected the "first instalment offer" of the ACT Labor government in the union's enterprise bargaining agreement. The ACT AEU wanted a 6.87% pay rise on August 11 while the ACT government offered a 3.5% pay rise on January 1.
The branch executive will propose to a branch council meeting on August 14 that there be a half-day stop-work meeting of all 3500 AEU members on August 29 to decide on possible strike action.
Martin Bright workers beat back company
MELBOURNE — After a month on strike, workers at OneSteel subsidiary Martin Bright Steels voted unanimously on August 1 to return to work. The 80 workers, the majority of whom are members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, had beaten back company attempts to eat into working conditions won in previous struggles.
Although the workers didn't win all of the claims in the AMWU's Campaign 2003 pattern bargaining agreement, they won some important gains and retained existing conditions such as their nine-day fortnight.
Among the improvements they won were: a 15% pay rise over three years, 20% annual leave loading (up from 17.5%); six weeks maternity leave, one weeks paternity leave and six weeks adoption leave, three days of bereavement leave, extended family leave and carers' leave; a redundancy agreement of four weeks per year of service with a cap of 104 weeks; and, all conditions won in previous agreements were retained.
ACI workers hold national strike
MELBOURNE — On August 5, 300 workers employed by glass maker ACI staged a national 24-hour strike in solidarity with workers employed at ACI's Box Hill factory.
Workers at the Box Hill factory — who are members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union — have been locked out by ACI after talks over jobs and conditions broke down on July 24.
AMWU assistant national secretary Glenn Thompson said that all the union was seeking on behalf of its members was the right to job security and to maintain conditions of employment.
From Green Left Weekly, August 13, 2003.
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