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Labourstart News

Mayday Rally1st May 2008
Community Rally against Electricity Privatisation 0930 hrs

Outside the NSW ALP State Conference. Tell the Iemma Government – No!

Last chance to: stop the sell off
stop jobs going offshore
prevent higher prices
prevent less reliable supply

Special Wage Case30 April 2008
The Department has now sought to strip our Awards of many long held conditions of employment, rights and entitlements. In exchange the Department has put forward an increase in wages of just one half a percent more than the Government’s existing offer over more than three years. The Special Wage Case will now have two almost diametrically opposed claims on our existing wages and conditions. A panel of four judges will consider our claim for extra wages and the Department’s claim to hold down wages and strip our Award of conditions, rights and entitlements – many held for decades.

SGM Results28 April 2008
This morning’s Special General Meeting of members held over the last six days has overwhelmingly endorsed all three motions put forward for the consideration of the Unions rank and file membership. The results of those votes are as follows:

536 For 7 Against 15 Abstain

Special General Meeting Agenda22 April 2008
“That in light of the report delivered by the State Secretary concerning progress in the Union’s Special Wage Case and in particular the Department’s decision not to support the Union’s claim that increased work, skills and responsibility justify an increase in wage rates up to the level established by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for firefighters in the ACT and further in light of the Departments confrontational and inflammatory log of claims on the Unions permanent and retained Awards this meeting resolves to authorize the State Secretary to continue to negotiate an increase in wages prior to any decision of the Industrial Relations Commission.

This meeting further resolves to authorize the Union’s State Committee of Management to impose bans and limitations including the withdrawal of labour in prosecuting the Union’s wage claim should this course of action be considered necessary by the State Committee of Management.”

Medical certificates and medical records22 April 2008
It is now crystal clear that the Union notice of 22 January 2008 titled “About medical certificates and medical records” ruffled the Department’s feathers. That’s because the Department took the Union to the Industrial Relations Commission on 18 April 2008 about it. In turn, the Industrial Relations Commission has recommended that the Union publish a new notice that states ‘that medical certificates supplied to the Department must state the nature of the illness or incapacity as well as the period for which the employee is unfit for duty.’ So this notice does just that.

April 2008 SGM meeting details18 April 2008
The Union’s State Committee of Management has called a Special General Meeting for 1000 hours Monday 28 April at the Trades Hall Auditorium Sussex Street Sydney. The meeting has been called to brief delegates on the Departments claim on our wages and conditions and to map out the Union’s plan to progress the campaign.

The Union has also called a delegates meeting for 1000 hours Tuesday 22 April at the Union office 1-7 Belmore Street Surry Hills. This meeting will be used to fully brief delegates on the content of the Departments claims and what it means for our job.

If you don’t have a delegate or they can’t make it you are strongly urged to send a representative along – lunch will be provided. This wage campaign will need the active participation of all members if we are to win a decent result.

Special General Meeting15 April 2008
On Thursday April 10th the Department provided the Union with a document in response to our claim for wage parity with Australian Capital Territory firefighters. That document was amongst the most confrontational and inflammatory grabs at our wages and conditions since the Board of Fire Commissioners. The document was at the same time served on the NSW Industrial Relations Commission as a counter claim on our wages and conditions, served up for final arbitration by the courts.

Delegates Meeting 22nd April 200815 April 2008
This meeting will be critical to the outcome of the award case and all members are requested to contact their delegates and ascertain if they will be attending. In cases where the delegates are on duty or unable to attend members are requested to arrange a substitute to attend in liaison with their delegate. Members are requested to liaise with each other to arrange a representative from their station to attend in cases where the station delegate is on leave or their station has no delegate.

Traffic infringement notices, ePIP's, Penny Pinching and Mayday10 April 2008
The Department took penny-inching to a new low in the IRC this morning when it argued for more than 90 minutes for the Retained Award’s “A” grade monthly retainer to be cut by 10 cents. Ten lousy cents!

The Union’s application for the new interim award increased the A retainer from $105.80 to $108.50 per month. But the Department’s team (two lawyers, an Assistant Commissioner and a Chief Superintendent) turned up this morning to argue tooth and nail that it should instead be $108.40.

Reason prevailed only when the judge ruled in our favour and ordered a new rate of $108.50.

For anyone wondering why we have not been able to reach agreement over new permanent and retained awards, this sort of pedantry goes a long way to explaining the problem.

The industrial reality9 April 2008
Most members are now aware that the relationship between Union and the Department has recently darkened. Not since the Department attempted to cut the relieving corps, destroy the promotional system, increase out-duties and remove the rank of Senior Firefighter have relations been so strained.

The most recent tirade from the Department has achieved nothing other than entrenching conflict between the Union and management.