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 About Us  About Unions NSWAbout UnionsWho's WhoInformation Centre What's Going On? Annual Reports   
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Chris Christodoulou - Senior Industrial Officer
He joined Labor Council in September 1998 as the Senior Industrial Officer. Chris will have responsibility for the 1999 State Wage Case and will help co-ordinate a New South Wales strategy to combat the increasing growth of precarious employment. Job Security CampaignThe rapid growth of precarious employment, through the use of casuals, labour hire firms and subcontracting out, is having a detrimental impact on workers' living standards. Chris will be involved in the Campaign and Organising Committee which will have as one of its priorities in 1999 a recruitment campaign centered around the issues of job security and precarious employment. OlympicsChris' main work since coming to Labor Council has been to co-ordinate negotiations with the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) for an Award which will cover the expected 50,000, paid workforce at the Year 2000 Olympic Games. The negotiations over the last six months have been intense. The result is a consent award being made by the President of the NSW Industrial Commission The award is both historic and unique. It overrides some 30 other industrial instruments and provides priority of employment to employees who currently work at venues which will be utilised for the Games. As one would expect, the award contains a number of flexible working arrangements including provisions for 12 hour shifts and the flexible use of paid crib break arrangements, which are necessary for an event of this nature. However, these arrangements are matched by the best event rates of pay regime in the country with penalty rates still applying for late night work and weekends. Other notable features of the award include the minimal application of junior rates, that is; there will only be a single junior rate for hospitality employees under the age of 18. There will also be free transport along special Olympic routes, refreshments at no cost and an attendance bonus of $1.50 per hour for all persons covered by the Award The award also acknowledges the important role that unions will play in dispute resolution during the Games by the creation of a special disputes committee, which will attempt to resolve matters immediately. In addition the award places an obligation on employers not to unreasonably withhold consent to requests by unions as to arrangements for the collection of union fees. In addition Chris has assisted public sector affiliates and the Premier's Department to secure a set of guidelines for public sector employees to participate in the Olympic Games Volunteers Program. For each ten days a public servant volunteers, they shall receive five days special paid leave. Chris has also been working on a range of other Olympic related issues, including recruitment strategies, the interface between volunteers and the paid workforce, and labour hire issues. Whilst the making of the Olympic award is a major achievement it will need to be backed up by an innovative and well resourced campaign to recruit the tens of thousands of workers who will be covered by the award. The year 2000 Games provides the union movement with a unique opportunity to develop and test a range of recruitment initiatives in what will obviously be a very transient workforce. It will provide us with an opportunity to promote our wares to thousands of young workers, some of whom will have never experienced unionism and working conditions before. Other ResponsibilitiesChris has also worked with a number of affiliates in areas such as the Botanic Gardens (Market testing) and at the Royal Agricultural Society where Labor Council was successful in establishing a protocol on the use of contract labour.
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