4.30pm Wednesday
August 1
Crn Exihibition & La trobe Sts
Melbourne.

Australia Post wants to close the Fitzroy Mail Centre. Management has informed staff many with several year service that:

* they are no longer required
* that they are splitting their jobs and
* replacing them with new people (on less wages) to do their work.

17 jobs are on the line, rally to defend jobs, working conditions and decent postal services in the inner city.

Background - CWU statement. (Communication Workers Union)
On July 19, 2007 Australia Post finally came clean about their plans for the closure of Fitzroy Delivery Centre. Their plans to close the centre have been known for some time. The staff and the union were aware that Clifton Hill & North Fitzroy (Postcode 3068 - 10 posties, 2 night-sorters and 2 parcel contractors) were to be relocated to Preston.

We have been asking for some time about the plans for Fitzroy, Abbotsford and Collingwood (Postcodes: 3065, 3066 & 3067). We have been told nothing was decided yet. Never did we think they would come up with such an unjust, expensive & unworkable plan.

The 17 posties involved have been told they can either work night-shift from 1am – 9.30am for 15% penalties, (A NIGHT SHIFT WITHOUT THE TRADITIONAL 30% PENALTIES – NO WAY!) or scramble for vacancies in other Delivery Centres.

As well as the 17 traditional posties, there are at least 5 night-sorters, 3 box-sorters, relievers, parcel contractors and supervisory staff affected by this site closure. Despite this, management have already started offering part of the Fitzroy work to part-time staff at City Street Delivery Centre who are co-located at CMPC.

Without consultation with the staff or the union, management handed out a Staff Preference Survey expecting staff to make a decision on their futures!

The union is in dispute on this matter, and will be informing our parliamentary representatives, the media and the local community about these attacks on their posties.

The union’s proposal is that Fitzroy is located at CSDC or CMPC and travel to their rounds by train, tram, car or bike. This would be efficient, economical and practical unlike management’s proposal. This is obviously a pilot project for management’s plan for the future of Delivery. It needs to be stopped.

Joan Doyle, Secretary, Communication Workers Union
more info: Rally leaflet | Peter Vining

Down load press release

13/7/07
The Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, has called on Woodside Energy to investigate allegations of employees of subcontractors being sacked after reporting safety incidents at its Otway Gas Plant in Port Campbell, Victoria.
The call for a response comes after seven months of failed attempts at dialogue with the company.

The Uniting Church holds a significant parcel of Woodside shares. As an ethical investor, it is concerned that Woodside Energy is exhibiting apathy towards safety issues at its Port Campbell site.

“We are deeply disappointed that Woodside has refused to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations that employees of subcontractors have been sacked over reporting of safety incidents”, said Dr Mark Zirnsak, Director of Social Justice for the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania.

“We are worried that if the allegations are true, employees on the site are being intimidated into not reporting safety risks. This thereby increases the likelihood of a serious accident on the Port Campbell site.”

“We are aware of two employees of subcontractors who say they were sacked over safety concerns.
“One former employee alleges he was asked to falsify an incident report and has signed a statutory declaration to that effect. After he refused to do so he says he was sacked.

“Another worker alleges he was sacked on the mere suspicion that he reported a safety incident on site. Regrettably, Woodside refused to speak to either of the two former subcontractor employees directly. They were satisfied with assurances that no one was fired because they reported safety issues.

Dr Zirnsak said, “Woodside’s response to these two cases has been inadequate. A reasonable employer would want to talk to the people involved and take steps to address the concerns.

“We feel Woodside is not living up to its own policies and that it is not ensuring its contractors and subcontractors maintain an environment where safety issues can be freely raised by employees”, Dr Zirnsak said.

Woodside refused a request by the Uniting Church to provide data about safety incidents and accidents on the site.
The Otway Gas Plant construction site is supervised by Technip Oceania, a company contracted by Woodside. The Synod’s Justice and International Mission Unit have undertaken many attempts at dialogue with Woodside over the last seven months. A promised formal response from Woodside, due by January 2007, never materialised.

UCA Growth Fund Limited and Uniting Growth Fund Limited are shareholders in Woodside Energy. The Synod Ethical Investment Policy states, “We seek to invest in companies which promote human welfare, dignity and respect and for the general good…” The policy requires the church to take into account in its investments areas such as “human rights, occupational health and safety and environmental management.”

For all media queries or to arrange an interview with Director of the Justice and International Mission, Dr Mark Zirnsak, contact: Kim Cain 0419 373 123 | Ruth Snelleman-Smith 0418 330 483

Labels: Woodside

Over the past two years Union Solidarity has been involved in numerous disputes where workers’ basic rights were denied and where traditional union activity was limited by the current repressive IR laws.

Most of these were won. Union Solidarity makes use of very simple tactics of direct action and solidarity. And it has been effective. Workers have been re-instated, redundancies paid out, other employers warned that anti-worker and anti-union behaviours will have consequences. And those of us participating have been empowered – fighting shoulder to shoulder for the kind of world we want, using a successful act of civil disobedience. Realising that the bosses and politicians don’t have all the power!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that we have the right to join and form trade unions in the protection of our interests. This Human Right is now being legally violated. It is therefore our duty to disobey these bad laws, and to stand together in defence of our fellow workers’ rights.

If you join the Union Solidarity SMS database, you will receive a message when solidarity is needed at a dispute. You will normally have a few hours or days notice of where and when a community assembly is forming, and you will be able to come and put your body on the line, in defence of the kind of community you want to live in.

In order to form effective community assemblies we need more people responding to these calls, and more people on the database.

To join the database visit www.unionsolidarity.org and click on ‘contact list’ or ‘add your name’ alternative go straight to SMS list form, http://contact.unionsolidarity.org, enter your details and you will start receiving these alerts. There is no spam or other announcements on this alert system. You will only receive notification when solidarity is needed at a dispute.

Please join this important and effective campaign.

See you on the assembly
Union Solidarity

Labels: What we say

Over the past two years Union Solidarity has been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with many workers and community members fighting for justice. Below are some of the struggles we have been involved with. Download A4 leaflet

2005
Australian Envelope
A bitter and sometimes violent dispute over the sacking of a union delegate results in a settlement. Workers endure harassment by hired thugs and damage to personal property.

Colrain
A two-week strike wins an EBA, income protection and reinstatement of a stood down worker.

Robert Austin
Respected RMIT lecturer Robert Austin is sacked after supporting a student demonstration. A vocal campaign results in a negotiated settlement
Peter Vining
A CEPU delegate unfairly sacked by Australia Post. A series of actions continuing into 2006 finally results in out of court settlement.

Labels: For the Record, What we say