Vic Trades Hall doges campaign on holidays
By Jason Cheng
MELBOURNE — A Victorian Trades Hall Council shop stewards/job delegates meeting on November 24 voted to endorse action against the Kennett government's latest attacks on Workcover and public holiday entitlements.
THC secretary John Halfpenny outlined Kennett's plans to reduce public holiday entitlements to 8 days a year from 11. This gives Victorians the lowest number of holidays in the country and compares unfavourably to countries like Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Workcover changes will take long-term injured workers off Workcare and put them onto the Social Security system. This will reduce employers' insurance premiums and put the cost on taxpayers.
The official proposal was for workers to negotiate with their employers to convince them to continue to grant the holidays and to have the holidays built into awards.
Many speakers denounced the official recommendation as "pathetic", "piss weak", "useless". Alternative motions were put for a one-day stoppage and a go-slow campaign.
Halfpenny questioned the ability of the shop stewards to mobilise workers for such a campaign and emphasised that the only effective way to win the holidays back was to incorporate them into awards. He recounted that two employers who had spoken to him previously had said they were "on side" and did not want any confrontation.
The official motion was passed and alternative motions for other industrial action were lost.