PALEA, PM picket Qantas office, Oz embassy in support of #Qantas workers

via allvoices.com

The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) and Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) picketed the Qantas office and Australian embassy in a show of solidarity for the embattled workers of the Australian flag carrier. “We extend the hand of solidarity to our brothers and sisters who are for fighting for job security, decent pay and better working conditions. The struggles they are waging mirror the same demands that we are currently fighting for at PAL,” declared Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and PM vice chair.

Some 50 members of PALEA and PM held picketed the Qantas office at a building in Paseo de Roxas in Legaspi Village, Makati by 11:00 a.m. After holding a short program and chanting slogans in support of Qantas workers, the group then proceeded to the Australian embassy in the RCBC Plaza along Ayala Ave.
“Ang laban ng Qantas ay laban ng PALEA. We are all Qantas workers,” the protesters shouted. Rivera explained that “PALEA condemns the drive by Qantas to slash labor costs, undercut labor standards and weaken job security, all in the name of competitiveness. This is a mere myth as Qantas top management has taken salary hikes while forcing sacrifices on workers.”
Meanwhile PALEA dismissed a PAL announcement that it is readying charges against people who blocked a catering truck from leaving the In-Flight Center (IFC). “It is PAL’s habit to threaten its workers in a futile effort at intimidation.

They threatened administrative cases against employees for joining mass actions and they said they will file an illegal strike charge but none come of it. But this time, the threat is also a means for PAL to divert attention from its culpability in the violent daybreak attack on the PALEA protest camp which led to the death of one bystander and injuries to seven of our members. PAL’s best defense is offense,” Rivera insisted.

He added that “PAL could only invent the lamest excuse—that PALEA foisted the attack on its own campout. Unfortunately for PAL and its outsourced goons-provider, one of the attackers was caught and gave some damning admission. But the bigger question that people should ask is this: Why does PAL want the IFC to operate when it has declared that the airport services, call center reservations and catering departments have been closed? If Sky Kitchen and Sky Logistics need the IFC then these are illegal labor-only contractors not independent service providers.”

PALEA and PM also criticized the Australian labor court called Fair Work Australia (FWA) for “surrendering to the lockout blackmail of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.” In a ruling, the FWA lifted the lockout but also stopped strikes by the three Qantas unions. “Workers now have 21 days within which to negotiate with the hardline Qantas management without the leverage of strike action. In the face of intransigence by Qantas, only industrial action can force employers to heed the demands of workers,” Rivera argued.

The Qantas union Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) had expressed solidarity for PALEA after some 2,400 its members were retrenched as part of a controversial outsourcing scheme that has been slammed as “a bid to demolish job security and also bust the union.”
JuanManggagawa is based in Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

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#AusUnions rally to support staff hurt by #qanats groundings

via smh.com.au

THE union movement will show its disgust at Qantas for locking out workers and grounding its fleet with a snap rally today at Sydney Airport.
The secretary of Unions NSW, Mark Lennon, said the protest would demonstrate the "groundswell of anger" over Qantas's hardline industrial tactics.

Leaders of the three unions at the centre of the disputes - representing engineers, ground staff and long-haul pilots - have lashed out at the airline's managers, accusing them of an unjustified and premeditated industrial attack.

Qantas planes sit grounded at Sydney International Airport on October 30, 2011 a day after the country's national carrier grounded its entire fleet due to a bitter industrial row. Photo by AFP

The secretary of the ACTU, Jeff Lawrence, joined the condemnation, describing Qantas's actions as "absolutely out of proportion to any action that has been engaged in by the union movement".
Concerns about job security and outsourcing - rather than pay - are the main issues in the disputes. The three unions are pushing Qantas for similar things, albeit in different ways.
The engineers, vulnerable to their work being sent overseas, want limits on outsourcing; the pilots union wants to ensure Qantas flights are operated by pilots paid at Qantas rates, not the lower Jetstar rates; the Transport Workers Union, which represents baggage handlers and catering staff, wants to restrict work being sent outside Qantas.

Qantas, which has been seeking to cut costs and shift its focus to Asia, argues its survival is at risk and it needs to be able to manage its business in response to competitive pressures.

Richard Woodward, the vice-president of the Australian International Pilots Association, said Qantas's decision to ground the fleet was an ''insane reaction'' that possibly broke the law.

''We think that Alan [Joyce, Qantas's chief executive] may have been in breach of the Fair Work Act by his actions,'' he said. ''He has locked out the short-haul pilots; they are not in this dispute - their award is not up for negotiation until next year.''
Captain Woodward said Qantas pilots were "very conservative people" and there were no plans for strike action. The only action Qantas pilots had been taking was inflight announcements about the industrial dispute, as well as the donning of red ties that carry the message ''Qantas flight, Qantas pilots'', he said.
The federal secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, Steve Purvinas, said the Qantas reaction was disproportionate given his members had suspended industrial action for three weeks.

The TWU national secretary, Tony Sheldon, said his members had conducted only about six hours' worth of industrial action during seven or eight months of negotiations.
The national president of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, Tony Maher, said Qantas was following a game plan honed by its law firm, Freehills. ''Freehills came to prominence in the Reith years and they spearheaded all the major disputes where employers were testing out Work Choices and its predecessor act. They were in the waterfront dispute, they were in the Rio Tinto dispute,'' he said.

''They stonewall in negotiations, they have an amiable looking spokesperson, that's Alan Joyce in this case, and they exaggerate the impact of industrial action.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/unions-rally-to-support-staff-hurt-b...

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Unions welcome Fair Work Australia decision | ACTU

via actu.org.au

31 October, 2011 | Media Release | ACTU
http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/UnionswelcomeFairWorkAustraliadeci...

Qantas must immediately resume flying its planes following Fair Work Australia’s decision early this morning to terminate the airline’s industrial action.

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce now had no excuse not to restart all services after his extraordinary and pre-meditated decision to ground the entire Australian fleet on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Lawrence said Qantas employees would turn up for work today ready to do whatever was necessary to get the planes back in the air. He welcomed the government intervention which had been the circuit breaker in the dispute, and said the next priority was to resume negotiations in a spirit of reconciliation.

“This decision by Fair Work Australia removes any reason for Qantas to ground its planes,” he said. “The tribunal has sheeted home to Alan Joyce full responsibility for the actions which caused massive disruption to the travel plans of thousands of Australians and the economy.

“The decision means Qantas must negotiate about the legitimate claims over job security and outsourcing unions have been pursuing for 15 months. This is a sensible decision by the bench.

“It is a pity it took government intervention to force management back to the bargaining table after such needless disruption. But it now means we can get back to negotiating in good faith, as unions have been seeking to do for weeks.

“But Australians have a right to ask: what did Alan Joyce achieve with this decision to ground the fleet? Qantas has made headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons due to this management action. The damage to the brand is immeasurable.

“Thousands of passengers around Australia have been stranded because of Mr Joyce’s action. And Qantas’ entire workforce are now fearful about their future. And Qantas has failed in its meanspirited attempt to lock out workers pursuing legitimate industrial claims. Did Mr Joyce ever consider the innocent bystanders who would be affected by his action?

“But despite their shock and dismay at what Mr Joyce has done, Qantas workers have performed magnificently in the face of enormous pressure, and we pay tribute to them.

“It needs to be repeated that workers at Qantas are simply seeking to negotiate new pay and conditions, and some guarantees from management about job security. But bargaining at Qantas had broken down because of management’s refusal to negotiate.

“Our immediate priority now is to work with management to get the planes back in the air, but then we will approach negotiations in a genuine spirit of conciliation and expect Qantas management to do the same.

“The key issue for negotiation is the future of Qantas jobs in Australia, and there must be a continuing role for the government during these talks to ensure job security.”

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Electrical kiosk fire

Taken at Kanahooka Point

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Your Rights at Work - Return #Qantas to the negotiating table

Check out this website I found at rightsatwork.com.au

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The decision by Qantas to ground its fleet and lock out its workforce is a serious overreaction by management that will hurt all Qantas employees and customers.

ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence called on Qantas management to reconsider their decision and get back to the negotiating table to get an agreement with their workforce.

"Alan Joyce needs to urgently reconsider this lock-out and grounding,” Mr Lawrence said.

“This is a most unusual decision which is completely unwarranted, and will only hurt Qantas’ brand and customers.

“Qantas employees are as shocked and stunned at this extreme decision as passengers are.

“Workers at Qantas are simply seeking to negotiate new pay and conditions, and some guarantees from management about job security.

“But bargaining at Qantas has broken down because of management’s refusal to negotiate.

“Industrial action at Qantas has been limited, and some unions have actually called off industrial action for several weeks, but Qantas has continued to snub its workforce.

“This irresponsible action by Alan Joyce will hurt innocent bystanders, including the travelling public and the majority of the Qantas workforce who are currently not in bargaining with management.

“We call on Qantas to calm down, and immediately reverse this rash decision because the only way this dispute will be resolved is through negotiation, not by holding Australian workers and the public to ransom.”

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Qantas Lockout: What the #Ausunions want & what #Qantas says| The Infrequent Rant

via infrequentrant.blogspot.com

via: Keep Calm Abbott is not PM

http://infrequentrant.blogspot.com/2011/10/qantas-lockout-what-unions-want-wh...

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2011

Qantas Lockout: What the unions want & what Qantas says

As we all know Qantas has ceased its operations in response to industrial reaction; this is a lockout of workers for fighting for their industrial rights.
Here is a summary of the union position and Qantas position according to the

Australian Financial Review:

Transport Workers Union

The TWU, which is negotiating a new agreement for 3800 baggage handlers, ground staff, and ramp services staff such as caterers, asked for a 5% rise, but has already indicated this figure is negotiable and it will settle at a lower rate.
But the TWU is concerned about Qantas’s use of cheaper contract Labour that threatens the livelihood of its members.

The union says most of its workers on the agreement are paid a base salary of $38,000 a year and rely on shift penalties and overtime to make a wage that covers the cost of living. It says this overt time work has been undermined by contracting out over the past 18 months.

The TWU says it understands the company needs “operational flexibility” but wants only 20% of work to be done by contracted, compared with Qantas’s preferred level of 55%.

The TWU is also seeking:

Protection for terms and conditions in terms of safety, training and standards – to apply to Qantas staff AND contractors.

Qantas to resolve what it says are long-standing aviation security issues and a lack of safety protocols for employees.

Rights of injured workers to be treated with dignity and respect
Commitments to a mutual relationship and good faith bargaining

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association

The ALAEA is negotiating on behalf of 1600 licensed Qantas engineers for an agreement that expired on January 1st.

It is seeking a 3% per annum pay rise and faster progression by engineers through the payscale.

The engineers’ most contentious clause is that the Qantas commit to local engineers doing heavy maintenance on the company’s growing fleet of new A380s in the coming years. Local engineers already do line-maintenance, or the day-to-day upkeep of planes, but heavy maintenance engineering starts on an aircraft only after several years of operation. A380s were introduced in late 2008.

Qantas management says it does not have the scale of operation to establish a A380 maintenance hangar in Australia that would be viable. But the union says the likely alternative of “offshoring” the maintenance to the Philippines raises safety concerns.

Australian International Pilot Association

The AIPA is negotiating the current agreement on behalf of the 1700 long-haul Qantas pilots who fly larger aircraft like Boing 747s, 767s, and Airbus A380s and A330s, and has not staged industrial action in 44 years
The union wants a 2.5% a year wage rise which it says is negotiable
The key issue is a Qantas flight/Qantas pilot clauses which would see all Qantas flights operated by Qantas pilots.

Without this clause, the pilots group say the airline’s management will look to employ foreign pilots or use the lower-paid Jetstar pilots on Qantas-coded flights. The pilots are worried Qantas’s plans to move to Asia will mean that lower-skilled foreign pilots will be flying Qantas-branded flights, raising safety concerns and reducing the amount of work available for them.

Qantas argues it cannot continue to operate if it is forced to pay all the pilots the same pay and conditions.

AIPA says it industrial action has not cost the company a cent in revenue, delayed passengers or grounded any flights and that its entire public industrial action over the past four months has been to make a positive in-flight announcements and to wear red ties with a campaign message on them.

What Qantas says

There are 15 unions involved with Qantas and in the past 15 months it reached agreements with 10,000 workers represented by 4 unions over 5 enterprise agreements or 1/3 of the Qantas workforce.

Qantas says the TWU staff are the best paid in the country – 12% high than their equivalents in Virgin Australia – and its pilots and licensed engineers are among the best compensated in the world with its long-haul pilots for example earning 50% more than their peers at Virgin.

It claims the 3 unions are seeking pay and conditions that would put Qantas staff further beyond its competitors and that they want the right to control key elements of how the company is run.

My take on Qantas’s argument that they pay more than their competitor Virgin is that a fair day’s work ought to entitle someone to a fair day’s pay. If Virgin is paying its staff an unsatisfactory wages then it ought to have industrial action taken upon it. But that does not stop Qantas from the criticism that it should receive for paying its average worker $38,000 – which is certainly not a living wage.

The unions are well within their right to protest Qantas the national carrier from outsourcing its services to other countries; and ensuring that if Qantas does that they pay equivalent and equal wages. Moreover $38,000 is a disgusting wage for a full time job in any environment which requires security checks like and international airport. Having poor pissed off workers is never a good thing in that sort of environment.

via: http://infrequentrant.blogspot.com/2011/10/qantas-lockout-what-unions-want-wh...

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Bob #Katter claiming both state and federal taxpayer benefits | The Australian | #Auspol

via theaustralian.com.au

MICHAEL MCKENNA, QUEENSLAND POLITICAL EDITOR From: The Australian October 29, 2011 12:00AM

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/katter-claiming-both-state-a...?t=1319856228

FEDERAL independent MP Bob Katter is getting both federal and state taxpayer-funded entitlements, with the commonwealth paying about $20,000 a month for his flight and car expenses and him claiming benefits from his time as a Queensland state parliamentarian.

Almost two decades after quitting state politics, documents reveal Mr Katter is among the few politicians from the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era still claiming the travel benefits for former MPs, ministers and premiers.

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Maldives leader backs #carbontax

via news.ninemsn.com.au

The president of the tiny island nation of Maldives has spoken up in favour of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's controversial carbon tax proposal, saying other developed countries should follow Australia's lead.

Mohamed Nasheed told a media conference at the close of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth on Sunday that the summit had accepted key recommendations to tackle climate change.

"We will therefore be able to much betterwork through the Commonwealth in saving our islands," Mr Nasheed told reporters at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

He praised the "brave steps" taken by Australia to introduce a carbon tax.

"I think these are the kinds of measures that we would like to see from the rest of the developed world."

Ms Gillard's proposed carbon tax has proved highly controversial and cost her public support, with fears it will increase costs for families and businesses.

The prime minister told Sunday's media conference that climate change was impacting on small island nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu and the issue was at the centre of their concerns.

The final communique of CHOGM called for concerted global action on climate change.

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What are the most frequently used # by Australian MPs on #Twitter | #auspol (( tags: politics, twitter, Australia))

Check out this website I found at mptweets.com.au

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What are the most frequently used # by Australian MPs on #Twitter | #auspol (( tags: politics, twitter, Australia))

Check out this website I found at mptweets.com.au

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Alan Joyce turns #qantas into "WorkJoyces" | #Auspol

Taken at Kiama

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Resting up to prepare for another week of industrial shenanigans from employers out of control @nswfbeu

Taken at Gainsborough

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Worker rights in Fiji sink to a new low | ACTU #Ausunions

via actu.org.au

Worker rights in Fiji sink to a new low; Australian unions condemn arrest of Fijian union president

30 October, 2011 | Media Release
Australian unions have serious concerns about the welfare of the head of the Fiji Trades Union Congress after he was reportedly arrested and detained on his return from a visit to Australia yesterday.

ACTU President Ged Kearney said Australian unions had been informed by sources in Fiji that Daniel Urai had been arrested as soon as he stepped off his plane in Nadi yesterday when he returned from the Commonwealth Trade Union Group meeting in Perth.

Mr Urai was believed to have then been taken to Suva for further questioning. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Ms Kearney said Australian unions were unaware of the reasons for his arrest, but suspect they are linked to his visit to Australia, where he took part in meetings to discuss the increasing abuse of trade union and worker rights by the military dictatorship in Fiji.

“If these reports of Mr Urai’s arrest are correct, then the repression of human and trade union rights has sunk to a new low when a union leader is arrested simply for telling the world about what is happening in his own country,” Ms Kearney said.

Last week during the Commonwealth People’s Forum in Perth, the CTUG, which represents more than 30 million workers in 30 countries, condemned the Fijian Government for its violations of international workplace rights, including the recent Essential National Industries (Employment) Decree, which bans all industrial action, bans unions from representing workers, voids all collective agreements, and scraps minimum wages, conditions and overtime pay.

Ms Kearney noted that Mr Urai still faced charges after he was also arrested in August this yearfor organising a meeting of hotel workers in Nadi who were seeking a collective agreement.

She said the Fijian Government was becoming increasingly arrogant in its persecution of the union and opposition leaders, despite growing international condemnation.

“It appears the intimidation of workers and their representatives in Fiji has entered a dangerous new phase,” Ms Kearney said.

“Worker and trade union rights are a fundamental element of a democratic society. Independent trade unions are needed in Fiji to deliver decent work to its people, 40% of whom live below the poverty line. The world cannot allow this abuse and disregard of human and workers’ rights to continue.”

Ms Kearney said a number of large Australian companies, including airlines and banks, were effectively condoning the actions of the regime of military dictator Frank Bainimarama by continuing to operate in Fiji.

“We urge those businesses to distance themselves publicly from the Australia-Fiji Business Council, which is one of the most enthusiastic mouthpieces for the military regime,” she said.

Contact Details
Mark Phillips
Ph: 0422 009 011
Download File:
PDF of media release

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Battle for hearts and minds invokes waterfront dispute #qantas

NOT since the waterfront dispute of 1998 has a company turned to such shock tactics in a bid to force change upon its workforce.

Qantas's decision to ground its entire fleet to bring its unionised workforce to heel could well be as spectacular, disruptive and as divisive within the Australian community as the notorious dispute that rocked the nation in that year.

Chris Corrigan, the major shareholder and boss of Patrick stevedores, was facing business pressures not dissimilar to those of Qantas. He was losing money and he was unable to get workplace changes from the powerful Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) that he believed were necessary to drag Australian ports up to world's best practice.

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Watershed … a sacked worker is removed from outside Patrick Stevedores' Port Botany terminal in April 1998. Photo: Reuters

He had tried via talks and via a reform process sponsored by the ACTU and the previous Labor government.

But it was not fast enough for Corrigan. By the time the Howard government had been elected in 1996, Corrigan was so desperate that he was prepared to consider a radical plan to secretly train an entire new workforce in Dubai and then move to sack his unionised workforce.

What followed was one of the most protracted and fiery industrial disputes in Australia.

The wharves around the nation stopped. MUA workers were turfed out of their cranes and forklifts by the new ''waterfront mercenaries'' trained in Dubai, accompanied by snarling guard dogs.

For a month, unionists, joined by sympathetic members of the public, picketed the docks around the nation as lawyers slugged it out in the Federal Court and later the High Court.

Daily there were confrontations as minibuses of the new workers drove through angry, shouting protesters. A trickle of cargo made its way out.

Over dinner tables around the nation, families debated the rights and wrongs of Corrigan's actions and the union response.

The Qantas dispute is shaping as our next watershed moment in industrial relations. On the one hand Alan Joyce claims the very future of the airline is at stake - it will lose $2 million a day if the disputes continue - and it will become unviable if he cannot move more of its operations offshore.

Yet many Australians feel uncomfortable with the idea of Australian jobs inexorably being lost. Like the waterfront dispute, this will become a battle for the hearts and minds of the Australian public. But the big difference between this dispute and the waterfront is that Corrigan not only had the Howard government's support but arguably members of the government in concert with operatives with roots in the right-wing HR Nicholls Society, which actually drafted Corrigan in their quest to crush the MUA.

Joyce and Qantas will have a far more equivocal government to deal with in Julia Gillard's Labor Party.

Joyce will need to convince the government his claims for future flexibility are essential to the airline's future. But the Transport Workers Union has friends at court as well. The only sure thing is this dispute will again divide the public.

Anne Davies covered the 1998 waterfront dispute for The Sydney Morning Herald and co-authored with Helen Trinca Waterfront: The Battle That Changed Australia. It was later turned into a television series on the ABC.

via smh.com.au

Darin Sullivan
Key point on qantas strike. Only 6 hrs strike action in 7 months. Virgin air cancelled more flights with no industrial action.This is employer terrorism, and a CEO who just took a 71% pay rise, holding Australia hostage. Resign now Alan Joyce, EPIC FAIL.

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#Qantas must reconsider rash and reckless action | ACTU (( tag: Qantas, union, strike, Alan Joyce, Awu, Australia))

Qantas must reconsider rash and reckless action to ground its fleet

Published: 29/10/2011

This afternoon’s decision by Qantas to ground its fleet and lock out its workforce is a serious over-reaction by management that will hurt all Qantas employees and customers, the ACTU said today.

 ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence called on Qantas management to reverse their decision and get back to the negotiating table to get an agreement with their workforce.

 “Alan Joyce needs to urgently reverse this lock-out and grounding,” Mr Lawrence said.

 “This is a most unusual decision which is completely unwarranted, and will only hurt Qantas’ brand and customers.

 “Qantas employees are as shocked and stunned at this extreme decision as passengers are.

 “Workers at Qantas are simply seeking to negotiate new pay and conditions, and some guarantees from management about job security.

 “But bargaining at Qantas has broken down because of management’s refusal to negotiate.

 “Industrial action at Qantas has been limited, and some unions have actually called off industrial action for several weeks, but Qantas has continued to snub its workforce.

 “This irresponsible action by Alan Joyce will hurt innocent bystanders, including the traveling public and the majority of the Qantas workforce who are currently not in bargaining with management.

 “We call on Qantas to calm down, and immediately reverse this rash decision because the only way this dispute will be resolved is through negotiation, not by holding Australian workers and the public to ransom.”

 The ACTU has called an urgent hook-up of Qantas unions tonight to discuss the developments.
View the article here

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URGENT BULLETIN: To all AWU members at #Qantas #AusUnions | The Australian Workers Union

URGENT BULLETIN: To all AWU members at Qantas

29 October 2011

The Australian Workers' Union is as shocked as the travelling public by this extraordinary and unprecendented act by Qantas.

Words can't express our anger at the unilateral decision Qantas management has taken – as well as the impact it will have on all Qantas workers and the thousands of travellers now left stranded in Australia and around the world.

Unions rightly give 72 hours notice before industrial action, but Qantas management has given no notice before this wildcat grounding of their fleet.

Make no mistake: this is an ambush on the Australian people.

We deal with large corporations day in and day out, and one thing we know is that they don't make decisions like this on the spot.

I've already told Qantas that we believe their action is irresponsible, unnecessary and endangering future viability of airline.

At no stage did Qantas request for the Government to intervene – nor use many of the other provisions under the Fair Work Act which could have resolved this dispute earlier.

Let me be clear: the AWU will not stand by and allow our members at Qantas to be unfairly impacted by this decision.

We understand that at this stage, the lockout does not begin until 8pm, Monday 31 October 2011.

Members should also be aware that the Federal Government has now applied to Fair Work Australia to suspend the lockout – we should know the outcome of this application within the next few hours.

The AWU leadership will meet tomorrow morning, the ACTU leadership is meeting this evening and we will notify members of next steps by 11am tomorrow, Sunday 30 October 2011.

We have attached correspondence received by the union from Qantas at 5:15pm today for your reference.

Further information will be provided to members and delegates from their Branch Organiser over the next day.

via awu.net.au

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At home with my girls

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Call for extra firepower at Orange station @fbeu #frnsw (tag: firefighters, union, FBEU, FRNSW, fire truck, station))

via centralwesterndaily.com.au

THE FIRE Brigade Employees Union says Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) must guarantee trucks will not be put offline because of a lack of staff at the Orange fire station.
The union has responded to a statement from FRNSW that it is employing more retained firefighters, by saying the recruitment process is too slow and that positions have been vacant for more than 18 months.

Union organisers said the station needed five more recruits to reach its full complement of 22 retained firefighters, who are part time officers that work on call for the fire service.

The staffing situation has resulted in only one truck of permanent firefighters attending some blazes that require at least two crews.

“This appliance should be kept online 24/7, 365 days of the year,” senior firefighter and union delegate Shane Brinkworth said.

“It’s important for the community of Orange to have a fire service that can rapidly respond.”

Country union organiser Tim Anderson said the fire service was putting trucks offline for minutes, hours, or up to a day, depending on the availability of retained firefighters.

Fellow organiser Greg Mitchell said the recruitment process was taking, in some cases, between 12 and 14 months.

“For over 18 months we’ve been short retained firefighters in Orange,” he said.

“They say they’ve been recruiting, but the recruitment has been very sub standard and the turn over of retained firefighters is such that they’re not recruiting quickly enough,”

Mr Anderson said relying on back- up crews from Molong, Blayney or Kelso delayed response times and deprived other towns of their fire service.

He said the Rural Fire Service could not be guaranteed as a backup, because it relied on a roster of volunteers and was better equipped for bushfire fighting than structural firefighting.

He said FRNSW needed to give an assurance that Orange’s second truck would be available at all times and would not be taken offline.

“How they do that is up to them, they can recruit more retained firefighters, they need to adequately resource the truck,” he said.

“The concern I have is that it’s going to take a tragedy before someone says we can’t take that appliance offline.”

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NSW Fire Union- SITREP 41/2011 | @FBEU

SITREP 41/2011

October 28, 2011

Inside this issue:

• LSV dispute victory – but what’s next?
• Plans to close Wollongong and Katoomba Comms
• Union medal approved, issue imminent
• Promotion to S/O Level 2
• Retained Training: Phase 1 not to be phased out
• Sacking contagion crosses the border
• Exercise and mental health
• Mental Health event cancelled

LSV dispute victory – but what’s next?

 Last week’s industrial action over the staffing of the LSVs was resolved by Department agreeing to honour its agreement with the Union. If it had done this in the first place, as it should have done, there would have been no dispute.

It was a good result, particularly given that management chose to escalate the dispute by closing fire stations statewide, rather than recalling members to duty, and then directing crews to respond with less than safe and effective minimum crewing of SO&3.

So what next? Last weekend the Department demonstrated that it is prepared to compromise both community and firefighter safety in order to satisfy the NSW Treasury.

But last weekend we demonstrated the resolve and solidarity that is the heart of the FBEU by refusing to carry out unsafe orders, and making it clear that our safety can not be used as a bargaining chip by the employer.

As I noted on the Member’s Forum Saturday evening – while this was a great result, it was also no more than the first round in what is shaping up to be a bitter fight. The substantive issue of the LSV staffing was won. But expect further provocations in the weeks and months to come.

 Plans to close Wollongong and Katoomba Comms

And speaking of further provocations, after more than 12 months of rumour the Department has finally confirmed its plans to close both Wollongong and Katoomba Communications Centres in 2012. Management’s proposal contains a great many reasons for concern, setting the scene for yet another ugly dispute. More to follow.

 Union medal approved, issue imminent

Members will recall that the Centenary AGM of the Union endorsed the creation of a Medal to be awarded to FBEU members of good standing with 25 years’ Union membership. The first medal has now been struck, and last week’s Commissioner’s Orders 2011/22 confirmed that recipients may now wear this award on FRNSW uniform.

The Union policy governing the awarding of the medal can be found here http://fbeu.net/about-2/medal/. As there are several hundred serving members entitled to the Award, it will take us some time to formalise the awards and arrange for all the presentations. Stay tuned for further details.

Promotion to S/O Level 2

In 2009 the Union implemented bans following the Department’s refusal to promote members who had completed SOPP Class 25 to the rank of Station Officer (SITREP 14/2009). While the Union was able to hold off the Department for Classes 25, 26 and to a lesser extent, Class 27, the IRC eventually closed the gate on the members of Class 28 and beyond by allowing the Department to in future apply subclauses 13.9 and 13.10 to the letter.

Members are advised that S/O promotions are to occur as follows:

Class 24 and prior – all members promoted to S/O Level 2 two years after completion of SOPP

Class 25 – all members promoted to S/O Level 2 on 2 October 2011

Class 26 – all members promoted to S/O Level 2 on 18 December 2011

Class 27 – all members promoted to S/O Level 2 on 28 May 2012

Class 28 and onwards – each member promoted to S/O Level 1 upon occurrence of a vacancy, but in any event prior to completion of the following SOPP class, with each member to be promoted to S/O Level 2 two years after promotion to S/O Level 1.

Disturbingly, the Department last week advised a member of Class 25 that his promotion would not take effect until 18 December 2012. The Union has since written to the Department, noting that this is not correct and demanding that the members of Classes 25, 26 and 27 all be promoted on and from the above dates.

Members who are not promoted in accordance with the above timetable are advised to contact the Union immediately.

Retained training: Phase 1 not to be phased out

The Department has form in trying to avoid costs associated with face-to-face training for Retained Firefighters. Previously management shifted Phase 1 training from weekends to weekdays in order to save instructor overtime. Good for the Department’s bottom line, but no good at all for retained members, who had to use leave entitlements from their primary employment in order to attend. Now the Department is trying to load up our newest members with pre-course assignments, to be completed prior to attending a training facility for Phase 1 training.

The Union has two main concerns here, the first being the amount of unpaid time it would take a new member to research and complete the assignments, and the second being the impact on Captains and Deputy Captains in assisting those members. Then there are the questions themselves, such as this doozy ‘Can the Commissioner terminate an employee’s appointment because he/she has not passed an examination?’ At least they should know what to expect from the ‘Fire Brigade Family’.

Further, there has been no mention of additional authorised duties to cater for this additional station based training. These assignments were first provided to the Union in late August, and we have still not been provided with an explanation as to how the existing face-to-face training is to be amended. Consequently the Union had the matter heard before the Industrial Relations Commission today, with IRC recommending that the Department’s new training regime should cease immediately and that the proposal should be referred back to the joint FRNSW/FBEU Training Review Committee (TRC) operating under both Awards – as should have been the case all along.

Another unnecessary IRC hearing resolved in the Union’s favour.

Sacking contagion crosses border

It appears that QFRS management over the border this week took a leaf out of the book of our blow-in FRNSW bosses by sacking a light duties firefighter. In disturbing parallels to the current situation in NSW, the firefighter in question was terminated without warning after having been engaged for several years in meaningful alternative duties.

The Queensland Union yesterday implemented bans on paper work and non-emergency response, which were then lifted on the direction of the QIRC. Members were meeting today to consider a vote of no confidence in their Commissioner. I have been in touch with the Queensland President and offered whatever support we can muster. Queensland members view this as a test case, and rightly so. As with our own alternative duties dispute, if they can do it to one of us, they can do it to all of us.

Exercise and mental health

Organisations like the Black Dog Institute have long advocated the benefits of regular exercise for promoting good mental health. In its fact sheet “Exercise and Depression” Black Dog explains that ‘Research suggests that regular exercise may increase levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep, libido, appetite and other functions, and has been linked to depression. Exercise may also increase endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain with ‘moodlifting’ properties’ (www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/ExerciseandDepression.pdf). The Mental Health Association also recommends exercise, advising that ‘exercise or physical activity is particularly important for our wellbeing and some research has shown it to be useful in managing depression’ (www.mentalheatlh.asn.au).

So how much should you do? The Mental Health Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days. For more information about physical fitness and its benefits for mental health, check out the Union website under the Mental Health Month banner.

Health Month event cancelled

Regrettably, Monday’s Mental Health Month morning tea has been cancelled. The Union has various resources available, including fact sheets, posters and booklets on a number of mental health related topics that can be obtained by emailing glawrence@fbeu.net. Promoting good mental health remains an important issue for the Union and there will be further events in due course.

Given current management treatment of firefighters on alternative duties, I advise any member who is experiencing poor mental health to seek medical assistance, but informing the Department is a different matter. As things stand it could cost you your job.

 

Jim Casey

State Secretary

via fbeu.net

Posted via email from The Left Hack

The Care Factor | New Matilda | #Ausmedia

via newmatilda.com

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Firefighter shortage places lives at risk @fbeu

via centralwesterndaily.com.au

Firefighter shortage places lives at risk

28 Oct, 2011

“At the moment, the fire brigade are cutting costs and they’re not funding the full service in town,” he said.

A FRNSW spokesman said there were sufficient resources to respond to all emergencies in the central west.

“If retained firefighters are unavailable to provide back-up to the permanent crew due to work or other commitments, then the retained crew is taken off-line, sometimes for as little as 20 minutes, until the required resources are located,” he said.

He said more retained firefighters were being recruited for Orange, the positions had been advertised and all would be filled in coming months.

He said those interested in becoming a retained firefighter in Orange should contact the FRNSW Zone Office on 6331 6372.

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Life Among the 1% ...a letter from Michael Moore #occupy

Life Among the 1% ...a letter from Michael Moore

October 27th, 2011

Friends,

Twenty-two years ago this coming Tuesday, I stood with a group of factory workers, students and the unemployed in the middle of the downtown of my birthplace, Flint, Michigan, to announce that the Hollywood studio, Warner Bros., had purchased the world rights to distribute my first movie, 'Roger & Me.' A reporter asked me, "How much did you sell it for?"

"Three million dollars!" I proudly exclaimed. A cheer went up from the union guys surrounding me. It was absolutely unheard of for one of us in the working class of Flint (or anywhere) to receive such a sum of money unless one of us had either robbed a bank or, by luck, won the Michigan lottery. On that sunny November day in 1989, it was like I had won the lottery -- and the people I had lived and struggled with in Michigan were thrilled with my success. It was like, one of us had made it, one of us finally had good fortune smile upon us. The day was filled with high-fives and "Way-ta-go Mike!"s. When you are from the working class you root for each other, and when one of you does well, the others are beaming with pride -- not just for that one person's success, but for the fact that the team had somehow won, beating the system that was brutal and unforgiving and which ran a game that was rigged against us. We knew the rules, and those rules said that we factory town rats do not get to make movies or be on TV talk shows or have our voice heard on any national stage. We were to shut up, keep our heads down, and get back to work. If by some miracle one of us escaped and commandeered a mass audience and some loot to boot -- well, holy mother of God, watch out! A bully pulpit and enough cash to raise a ruckus -- that was an incendiary combination, and it only spelled trouble for those at the top.

Until that point I had been barely getting by on unemployment, collecting $98 a week. Welfare. The dole. My car had died back in April so I had gone seven months with no vehicle. Friends would take me out to dinner, always coming up with an excuse to celebrate or commemorate something and then picking up the check so I would not have to feel the shame of not being able to afford it.

And now, all of a sudden, I had three million bucks! What would I do with it? There were men in suits making many suggestions to me, and I could see how those without a strong moral sense of social responsibility could be easily lead down the "ME" path and quickly forget about the "WE."

So I made some easy decisions back in 1989:

1. I would first pay all my taxes. I told the guy who did my 1040 not to declare any deductions other than the mortgage and to pay the full federal, state and city tax rate. I proudly contributed nearly 1 million dollars for the privilege of being a citizen of this great country.

2. Of the remaining $2 million, I decided to divide it up the way I once heard the folksinger/activist Harry Chapin tell me how he lived: "One for me, one for the other guy." So I took half the money -- $1 million -- and established a foundation to give it all away.

3. The remaining million went like this: I paid off all my debts, paid off the debts of some friends and family members, bought my parents a new refrigerator, set up college funds for our nieces and nephews, helped rebuild a black church that had been burned down in Flint, gave out a thousand turkeys at Thanksgiving, bought filmmaking equipment to send to the Vietnamese (my own personal reparations for a country we had ravaged), annually bought 10,000 toys to give to Toys for Tots at Christmas, got myself a new American-made Honda, and took out a mortgage on an apartment above a Baby Gap in New York City.

4. What remained went into a simple, low-interest savings account. I made the decision that I would never buy a share of stock (I didn't understand the casino known as the New York Stock Exchange and I did not believe in investing in a system I did not agree with).

5. Finally, I believed the concept of making money off your money had created a greedy, lazy class who didn't produce any product, just misery and fear among the populace. They invented ways to buy out companies and then shut them down. They dreamed up schemes to play with people's pension funds as if it were their own money. They demanded companies keep posting record profits (which was accomplished by firing thousands and eliminating health benefits for those who remained). I made the decision that if I was going to earn a living, it would be done from my own sweat and ideas and creativity. I would produce something tangible, something others could own or be entertained by or learn from. My work would create employment for others, good employment with middle class wages and full health benefits.

I went on to make more movies, produce TV series and write books. I never started a project with the thought, "I wonder how much money I can make at this?" And by never letting money be the motivating force for anything, I simply did exactly what I wanted to do. That attitude kept the work honest and unflinching -- and that, in turn I believe, resulted in millions of people buying tickets to these films, tuning in to my TV shows, and buying my books.

Which is exactly what has driven the Right crazy when it comes to me. How did someone from the left get such a wide mainstream audience?! This just isn't supposed to happen (Noam Chomsky, sadly, will not be booked on The View today, and Howard Zinn, shockingly, didn't make the New York Times bestseller list until after he died). That's how the media machine is rigged -- you are not supposed to hear from those who would completely change the system to something much better. Only wimpy liberals who urge caution and compromise and mild reforms get to have their say on the op-ed pages or Sunday morning chat shows.

Somehow, I found a crack through the wall and made it through. I feel very blessed that I have this life -- and I take none of it for granted. I believe in the lessons I was taught back in Catholic school -- that if you end up doing well, you have an even greater responsibility to those who don't fare the same. "The last shall be first and the first shall be last." Kinda commie, I know, but the idea was that the human family was supposed to divide up the earth's riches in a fair manner so that all of God's children would have a life with less suffering.

I do very well -- and for a documentary filmmaker, I do extremely well. That, too, drives conservatives bonkers. "You're rich because of capitalism!" they scream at me. Um, no. Didn't you take Econ 101? Capitalism is a system, a pyramid scheme of sorts, that exploits the vast majority so that the few at the top can enrich themselves more. I make my money the old school, honest way by making things. Some years I earn a boatload of cash. Other years, like last year, I don't have a job (no movie, no book) and so I make a lot less. "How can you claim to be for the poor when you are the opposite of poor?!" It's like asking: "You've never had sex with another man -- how can you be for gay marriage?!" I guess the same way that an all-male Congress voted to give women the vote, or scores of white people marched with Martin Luther Ling, Jr. (I can hear these righties yelling back through history: "Hey! You're not black! You're not being lynched! Why are you with the blacks?!"). It is precisely this disconnect that prevents Republicans from understanding why anyone would give of their time or money to help out those less fortunate. It is simply something their brain cannot process. "Kanye West makes millions! What's he doing at Occupy Wall Street?!" Exactly -- he's down there demanding that his taxes be raised. That, to a right-winger, is the definition of insanity. To everyone else, we are grateful that people like him stand up, even if and especially because it is against his own personal financial interest. It is specifically what that Bible those conservatives wave around demands of those who are well off.

Back on that November day in 1989 when I sold my first film, a good friend of mine said this to me: "They have made a huge mistake giving someone like you a big check. This will make you a very dangerous man. And it proves that old saying right: 'The capitalist will sell you the rope to hang himself with if he thinks he can make a buck off it.'"

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@MichaelMoore.com
@MMFlint
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. I will go to Oakland tomorrow afternoon to stand with Occupy Oakland against the out-of-control police.

Join Mike's Mailing List | Follow Mike on Twitter | Join Mike's Facebook Group

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House fires prove fire station closure=madness

via news.ninemsn.com.au

A woman is dead, three people are in hospital and 20 people have been evacuated after a series of house fires in NSW.

A woman's body was found at the scene of a house fire in Wollongong about 2.30am (AEDT) on Thursday, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Ian Krimmer said.

The cause of the fire and death is being investigated.

Earlier, a woman and two children were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation after a fire in the western suburb of Wentworthville.

Firefighters were called to the house at 12.10am and contained the fire at the front of the house.

In a separate incident, seven people were evacuated after a fire broke out at Macquarie Fields in southwest Sydney at 9.45pm on Wednesday.

A further 13 people were evacuated after a blaze started on the second floor of a unit block at Granville in western Sydney. No injuries were reported.

Still in the west, a vacant house at Blacktown was also extensively damaged by a fire.

"It has been an unusually busy night," Supt Krimmer told AAP.

"We have a number of house fires being investigated."

A cold snap overnight and the use of heaters may have contributed to the blazes but it was too early to say, he added.

Firefighters also fought a blaze at a waste transfer station in Homebush, with 30 personnel working to bring it under control.

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Occupy Melbourne/Sydney | #OccupyWallStreet

via theage.com.au

On the wall next to the ATM outside the Commonwealth Bank branch on Queens Parade, North Fitzroy, a new piece of graffiti appeared last weekend: ''I am 99%'', a version of the catchcry of the Occupy protests that began in New York's Wall Street district last month. The shops along Queens Parade service the Edinburgh Gardens district, a ''tightly held'' pocket of houses, which is real-estate-speak for expensive. Single-fronted, single-storey terraces can cost more than $1 million there.

The neighbourhood is politically distinguished. Situated in the north-eastern corner of the federal seat of Melbourne, its former Labor member, Lindsay Tanner, was known to refer to the streets around that bank branch as the national centre of green politics. At last year's federal election, when Adam Bandt won the seat for the Greens, voters at the nearby Fitzroy High School polling place voted 58 per cent Green and 42 per cent Labor.

It's no surprise that the bumper-sticker message of the Occupy movement would get a bit of display in that part of town. It's also a safe bet that at least a few locals attended the Occupy Melbourne protest in the City Square last week.

Since the police, at lord mayor Robert Doyle's request, broke up the protesters' encampment last Friday, links have been drawn between the Greens and the Occupy Melbourne group. Sympathetic noises have come from Bandt and from Melbourne City Greens councillor Cathy Oke, who wants an inquiry into Friday's events. Other prominent Greens members have been involved in the local protest.

But is the Australian manifestation of the Occupy movement - if the local chapter can be called a movement - all good news for the Greens? The local version is a series of protest groups in the literal sense: they are protesting about just about anything you can name, from a left perspective. If interviews with members are any guide, they are variously against rising inequality, corporate and financial greed, our system of representative democracy, political parties and their leaders, failures of social justice and environmental degradation.
That is not an exhaustive list, nor is it necessarily the case that any single protester would subscribe to any more than one of these beliefs. It is difficult to divine the group's common purpose apart from a general expression of grievance with the status quo.

The local Occupy groups, like their foreign counterparts, eschew the concept of formal organisation. They do not have, nor do they appear to want, leaders or a manifesto. The amorphous nature of the protest is advanced by its members as a key virtue.

Which raises the question of where the Greens fit within all of this. The Greens have, after all, fashioned themselves as the formal vehicle for political protest against rapacious, excessive capitalism.

Since the 2004 election, the Greens have become the purist left-wing protest party. Initially, the party's protests were directed at the Liberal-National Coalition. Since Labor took office in 2007, they have been widened to include the ALP, armed with the compromises and sidesteps that have come with Labor's incumbency.

Unlike in the United States or Britain, Australians who are unhappy with the economic and political systems have their own representatives in both houses of Parliament in the form of the Greens. And those Green MPs have an alliance with the Gillard government in the lower house and hold the balance of power in the Senate. For an organisation that attracted 12 per cent of the vote in 2010, the Greens have a lot of power; because of them, the nation is about to get a carbon tax.

This contrasts most dramatically with the birthplace of the Occupy movement, America. Unlike Australia, the US did go through a recession and it has not yet recovered. Unemployment is at 9.1 per cent. An uncomfortably large proportion of Americans who managed to get a job operate in substandard conditions. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and its real value has halved since its historical high in 1969. Australia's wage, health and welfare systems are far more generous.

That the American protests began in Wall Street made absolute sense. The ungrateful, insensitive, greedy response of the US financial sector to the public bailouts of 2008-09 was contemptible. While there's no doubt that there are serious income inequities in Australia, they pale when compared with the American experience.

On top of that, the American political system has ground to a halt. The challenges of a world in which China and India are taking off are proving too much for the Republicans and Democrats. As a consequence, we see the emergence of the Tea Party on the right and the Occupy Wall Street movement on the left. The groups are two sides of the one coin. In different ways, they carry the same message of condemnation of mainstream political and economic activity. Both start from the same point of resentment at government bailouts of big business.

In Australia, the Occupy groups, denied the overwhelming political and economic failures that have energised their American comrades, have allowed themselves to get sidetracked by their rough dealings with the police. This is confounding given their objective, which is, from what they've said so far, to rewrite Australia's power structures. That would involve conferring greater influence and higher incomes to millions of Australians. If they want to achieve that, they'll have to endure more discomfort than a few chokeholds and bloody noses on a rainy Friday.

Shaun Carney is an Age associate editor.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/occupying-a-green-space-20111025-1m...

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ABC audio from news of last weeks fire dispute

Darin Sullivan
President
FBEU

(Sent from my iPad)

702_ABC_Sydney_20111021 GloverCasey FireBrigadeBans.wma Listen on Posterous

> >> >

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Privatising the Public Good and the Profitability of Public Interest – Opinion Piece by @johnalchin

Check out this website I found at u4change.wordpress.com

Reading this again in the light of the generally unexpected budget night announcement to divert funds from the Better Access scheme primarily to the programs of Orygen Youth Health; the ad-hominem attacks against opponents of these funding changes by the Orygen-associated Professors, Dr. Ian Hickie and Dr. Patrick McGorry; the pushing ahead of these ‘reforms’ by the Minister, Mark Butler MP, despite the many hundreds of submissions to the Senate Inquiry against them; and the rollout of e-health (and e-mentalhealth initiatives) tied in with the introduction of managed competition into the Australian health system under Medicare Select (yes folks, don’t miss the often non-disclosed links between eHeadspace/Headspace/, McGorry, Hickie, the NHHRC, Christine Bennett, Bupa Australia (formerly MBF, HCF, Manchester Unity, HBA, Community Mutual, etc.) & Colonial Foundation (fmr. Colonial Mutual insurance society Trust), I’d like to give the Hon. Frank Walker an Order of Australia for his service to Australian mental health.

Frank, you’re right. There’s a lot of bullshit going on under the guise of reform.

Let’s get the private insurance corporations, the pharmaceutical companies and their compromised lobbyists out of OUR health policy decisions and instead work by all means to place the power back in the hands of consumers/patients/clients.

Let’s investigate and support those not-for-profit community-guided mental health organisations whose charitable objectives encourage the care, compassion, and ‘consumer’ & carer participation in service provision that could truly make a positive difference. And finally, let’s keep our GPs and psychologists from becoming solely employees of public-private partnerships if the current UK NHS ‘reforms’ are anything for us to go by.

By: John Alchin

Posted via email from The Left Hack

MENTAL HEALTH MONTH @FBEU

Www.fbeu.net

Darin Sullivan
President
FBEU

(Sent from my iPad)

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Testing iPad post

Attaching a shot of covered Image.

Darin Sullivan
President
FBEU

(Sent from my iPad)

Posted via email from The Left Hack

Fire Union (@FBEU) warns of station closures by Fire and Rescue NSW #FRNSW

Fire Union (FBEU) warns of station closures in NSW

Fire Brigade Employees' Union President, Darin Sullivan, reports that FRNSW closed fire stations during a dispute in Oct 2011. The Union also believes the NSW government will start to do this on a regular basis.

If that is the case, serious industrial action will ensue. the fire union believes this will endanger NSW residents, and will also endanger firefighters.

Released by:

Darin Sullivan

President

FIRE BRIGADE EMPLOYEES' UNION 

1-7 Belmore St | Surry Hills | NSW | 2010

P 02 9218 3444 | M 0422436044 | W fbeu.net

Dapto Fire Stn  | "C" Platoon | P 0242 611233

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#CPSU Media release: Customs strike on Thursday 27/10 if pay crisis talks fail

Read online: http://www.cpsu.org.au/agency/news/26006.html

 

Customs strike on Thursday 27/10 if pay crisis talks fail

Customs staff at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth international airports will hold 24-hour stoppages on Thursday to protest lack of progress on a pay deal with the Federal Government.

Staff at all other Customs sites will hold a 4-hour stoppage from the beginning of their shifts, as industrial action escalates in response to a refusal from the Government to genuinely negotiate with Customs staff.

CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said “We would urge people collecting inbound international passengers on Thursday to factor possible delays into their plans.”

The industrial action will also impact on other Customs services including cargo inspections, Ports, International Mail centres, and Customs state and national offices. For the first time the Customs Marine Unit will take part in the industrial action – with a 2-hour stoppage on Thursday. This will not affect the Marine Unit’s ability to cope with situations where life is in peril at sea.

Customs management and CPSU delegates will sit down for crisis talks tomorrow aimed at resolving the bargaining impasse.

Ms Flood said that while negotiating a pay deal was still the CPSU’s preferred option, the refusal of the Federal Government to allow Customs freedom to negotiate had led to the stalemate.

“Previous talks have broken-down due to the intransigence of the Government, but we’ll keep trying so that this can be resolved with as little inconvenience to passengers as possible,” Ms Flood said.

“Our members only take industrial action as a last resort but they are becoming very frustrated by what they see as pointless delays and third party interference.

“If Customs put forward a reasonable deal that Government is prepared to support, this dispute will be over. But if the Government continue to overturn potential solutions the action will continue to escalate.

“Customs officers have difficult, dangerous and dirty jobs. They deserve a pay rise that keeps up with the cost of living rather than the 3% a year the Government is trying to impose.

“We have recently made 14 new agreements including in the Department of Immigration and the Australian Bureau of Statistics that deliver pay raises which keep up with the cost of living.”

“This shows it is possible to reach agreements that staff are happy with. It is up to the Federal Government and Special Minister of State Gary Gray to show leadership and end this impasse.

“We understand the Government’s focus on balancing the Federal budget but their current approach is putting the morale and capacity of the public service at risk.

“We are already seeing the damage done by the increased efficiency dividend to frontline services.  Not paying a fair wage to public servants would only make it harder for the public service to keep experienced and dedicated staff.”

For comment Nadine Flood 0407 731 330 or Michael Tull 0418 557 380.

Timetable for industrial action Thursday 27 October

City	Times
Perth International Airport	24 hr stoppages from 12 midnight Wednesday 26 October
Sydney International Airport	24 hr stoppages from 12 midnight Wednesday 26 October
Melbourne International Airport	24 hr stoppages from 12 midnight Wednesday 26 October
Brisbane International Airport	2 hour stoppages from 10.15am, 12 midday, 8pm, 9:45pm on Thursday 27th October
Gold Coast International Airport	Please contact Jess Nelson on 0459 168 514 on Tuesday for details
Darwin International Airport	4 hour stoppages from 2:30am, 9am and 4pm on Thursday 27th October
Cairns International Airport	Please contact Jess Nelson on 0459 168 514 on Tuesday for details
Adelaide International Airport	2 hour stoppages from 11:45am, 12:40pm, 2:55pm, 3:55pm on Thursday 27th October

 

 

 

Jess Nelson | Communications Officer | Campaign and Communications Unit | 02 8204 6908 | mob 0459 168 514 | website www.cpsu.org.au | member service centre 1300 137 636

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Calm returns to NSW as #NSWfireStrike is settled for now @fbeu

Commissioner finally agrees to FBEU (Fire Union) terms, after Fire Dept threatened NSW communities and firefighters by temp closing fire stations over weekend.

Firefighters remained united, and Fire and Rescue NSW lost the dispute.

Darin Sullivan

President

FIRE BRIGADE EMPLOYEES' UNION 

1-7 Belmore St | Surry Hills | NSW | 2010

P 02 9218 3444 | M 0422436044 | W fbeu.net

Dapto Fire Stn  | "C" Platoon | P 0242 611233

Latest from FBEU Code Red – LSV dispute breakthrough, bans lifted from 1800 hours.

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#Occupywallstreet protest and arrests

Occupy Wall Street vs. Police: Fighting Breaks Out as Protesters March 

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Dawn action by police @occupySYDNEY fails to deter protests | #SMH

via smh.com.au

ORGANISERS of the week-long Occupy Sydney protest say their activism will continue despite police forcibly evicting about 100 people from Martin Place before dawn yesterday.

''We have been removed … today but Occupy Sydney lives on, stronger than ever,'' organisers said in a statement.
The activists, who had been at the Reserve Bank's headquarters for more than eight days as part of a global campaign against capitalist greed, said police bashed and manhandled protesters.

Last night, more than 100 protesters met and decided to hold another protest on November 5.
The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, said the Occupy demonstrations - which have occurred in Australia and around the world - have intensified debate about social and economic inequality.

''There seems to be a growing sense of frustration in many countries that opportunities are not being evenly shared and that the burden of the global economic downturn has been carried by those that can least bear it,'' he said. ''It's disappointing this important discussion has been obscured by instances of violence over the past few days.''

An Occupy Sydney spokesman, Mark Goudkamp, said sleeping protesters were given little warning before police descended.
''I saw bloody noses, I saw police throwing punches and I myself was put into a wrist lock like I have never experienced before - I was screaming in pain,'' Mr Goudkamp said.

The NSW Police Assistant Commissioner, Mark Murdoch, said claims police used excessive force were ''grossly exaggerated''.
He said police made the ''deliberate decision'' to end the protest after negotiations over an agreement to allow the protest to continue during daylight hours only broke down. ''They certainly can't say they weren't warned,'' Mr Murdoch said.

Forty people were arrested, four of whom were charged with criminal offences. The rest were issued with infringement or court attendance notices for breaching the Local Government Act.
Akin Sari, 33, of Northcote, Victoria, appeared in Parramatta bail court yesterday charged with striking a police officer in the head with a metal torch. He was granted conditional bail and will appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on November 25.

A second protester, Annaleis du Pille, 31, was also granted bail but was ordered to remain in custody after she refused to sign a bail undertaking. Police alleged she bit an officer's hand and repeatedly yelled, ''I do not recognise your authority'' as she resisted arrest. She will appear in Central Local Court today.
The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, said police acted lawfully as it was against council laws to camp at Martin Place.

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, said the council did not ask police to move in. She said references to council ordinances or by-laws were inaccurate.
Cr Moore said the city respected the right of people to protest.
''The police chose to enforce signage in Martin Place that prohibits camping,'' she said

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/dawn-action-by-police-fails-to-deter-protests-20111...

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