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Labor Council of NSW Annual Report 2002 | |
Michael Gadiel, Deputy Assistant Secretary
Industrial
| Michael Gadiel |
|  |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary Industrial |
In 2002 Michael commenced the process of transitioning away from the
transport portfolio passing his responsibilities in this area to Alison Peters
and Mark Morey.
He took up new responsibilities in the Energy Sector from
Mark Lennon and continued with his duties in State Transit, health, training
policy and information technology.
Rail
ARTC
The Australian Rail Track Corporation
(ARTC) manages rail track infrastructure in South Australia, Victoria and
Western Australia. The company is headquartered in South Australia and owned by
the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has backed a proposal by
the ARTC to the NSW Government to take over the NSW rural Interstate and Hunter
rail lines. This proposal is currently under consideration by the NSW
Government.
The Labor Council
and rail unions are opposing the ARTC takeover because they propose to contract
out rail track maintenance work to the private sector. This would result in a
loss of 1,500 rail jobs located mainly in rural and regional areas of the
State.
Under the proposal the ARTC would impose their own rules and
standards regarding safety and network management on the track under their
control. This would result in two safety systems within the NSW network –
contrary to the recommendations of Justice McInerney’s Inquiry into the
Glenbrook disaster.
Michael, assisted by Mark Morey, coordinated the “Keep
Our Railway Together” rail union campaign against the ARTC proposal.
The campaign involved a program of regional stop work meetings and community
rallies. The campaign included a truck displaying a campaign banner as a
backdrop and media focus at each of the rallies. Where possible, the rallies
were complimented by viewings of the film “The
Navigators”.
The film highlights the similarities between the ARTC
proposal and the British rail experience, which followed a similar path of
privatisations and contracting out of track maintenance culminating in the
Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield rail disasters.
The campaign supported by the
regional labor councils attracted significant local media attention and has put
the issue on the agenda in the bush. The local rallies were attended by over
2,500 workers, families and community members and gained significant community
support.
The NSW Government has indicated that in its current form the
ARTC proposal is inadequate in terms of safety, financial arrangements and
employment security. However they have afforded the ARTC the opportunity to
improve their proposal to address the various deficiencies.
The rail
unions will continue the campaign in 2003 highlighting the shortcomings of the
ARTC’s offer and the affect that job losses would have on rail towns.
Rail Infrastructure Corporation
In 2002 Michael, with the assistance of Mark Morey, coordinated the single
bargaining unit for the Rail Infrastructure
Corporation (RIC) Enterprise Agreement negotiations.
This agreement
was of particular importance since it sought to bring the working conditions of
all employees under a single instrument, following the formation of RIC by the
amalgamation of Rail Services Australia (RSA) and the Rail Access Corporation
(RAC). Further, the EBA sought to lock in place the framework agreements reached
with the Government in 2001 through the Change Management Steering
Committee.
In particular, the agreement reflects the commitment from
Government that “Contestability and Outsourcing should not be used to
drive cost efficiencies through the rail business”. The EBA commits the
unions and management to agree on appropriate benchmarks and to work
cooperatively to achieve the agreed outcomes as a more effective mechanism for
achieving efficiencies.
The two-year agreement was settled without
industrial action, and provides for general wage increases of four percent for
each year. In the infrastructure area, the agreement also adopted a full
competency based classification system with automatic progression up the wage
levels based on an individual’s actual skills.
Michael has now
passed responsibility for this area to Mark Morey.
SRA
Michael continued to fulfil the ongoing role of the Labor Council in terms of
assisting with the resolution of disputes. In 2002 Michael dealt with disputes
in relation to Revenue Protection rosters, the Electrical Trouble Office, driver
only operation, use of temporary employees, proposed sale of pre-encoded
tickets, Equipment Examiners and the Fire Protection Service.
In 2002
Michael coordinated the single bargaining unit in the SRA EBA negotiations.
Extensive negotiations resulted in agreement – without industrial action.
The EBA, registered under the Workplace Relations Act runs for two years
with an eight percent increase over that period. It also includes provisions on
union delegates rights and a contracting/outsourcing protocol.
Michael
has now passed responsibility for this area to Alison Peters.
Pacific National
Following the co-sale of FreightCorp and National Rail the new amalgamated
company owned by a consortium headed by Chris Corrigan was re-named Pacific National.
Michael was heavily involved in the negotiations for an eight-month
rollover of the EBA applying to the former FreightCorp component of the new
company (Pacific National (NSW) Pty Ltd). The rollover would bring the expiry
dates of the two sides of the business into line at 16 February 2003.
In
negotiations with Pacific National it emerged that the company was seeking more
than a rollover of the previous agreement – tabling a range of
“workplace initiatives” they claimed would be needed to offset any
wage increase. The company complicated negotiations by seeking a consolidated
industrial instrument, comprehensively defining all the conditions of employment
and explicitly setting aside all previous agreements.
In the negotiations
the Labor Council paid particular attention to the provisions of the agreement
reflecting the “transition package” with the NSW Government
including the superannuation and employment protection provisions –
ensuring that they were properly reflected in the new
agreement.
Following a difficult negotiation, an agreement was reached
with Pacific National for an eight month EBA with a 2.5% (backdated) general
wage increase. The real challenge for the Pacific National unions is now the
2003 agreement covering all employees of the enterprise.
Michael has now
passed responsibility for this area to Alison Peters.
STA
In 2001 Michael continued to maintain responsibility for the State Transit
Authority, which included his role as the mediator in disputes under the Dispute
Settlement Procedure. Such disputes included rostering at North Sydney depot,
roster changes at Newcastle depot, Newcastle depot re-routing, Newcastle Radio
Room, Customer Service Coordinator rosters.
Michael assisted the RTBU (Bus & Tram Division) in
their wages dispute, leading to a 48-hour stoppage in pursuit of their claim for
a 27% wage increase over three years. The dispute gained significant momentum
because the bus operators had come off the back of an agreement providing for 6%
over the previous two years and needed a larger wage increase to maintain parity
with the rest of the public transport sector. Furthermore, recent
rationalisation of bus rosters had resulted in significant reduction in
take-home pay for many workers.
Michael assisted in the dispute by
organising meetings with Government, attending Commission hearings and
addressing the stop-work rally at Wentworth Park. The dispute was eventually
settled with the membership voting to accept an agreement providing for a 10%
wage increase over two years. As a result of the dispute the union achieved a
significant concession from STA – an income protection provision, limiting
the impact of roster changes on driver take-home pay.
Union Management Course
Michael attended the three-week “Union Management Course” run by
the ACTU Organising Centre at Currawong.
In attending this course Michael was trained in media skills, financial
management and organising.
Training
Withdrawal of ITAB Funding
In the 2002 Budget, the Federal Government cut funding for State Industry Training
Advisory Bodies (ITABS). For NSW this meant that the $3 million in Federal
funding to NSW ITABs was effectively withdrawn. Because most ITABs rely solely
on Government funding, this resulted in a number of ITABs closing their
doors.
Michael coordinated the union representations to the Minister for
Education, Hon. John Watkins, seeking additional funding from the NSW Government
to make-up the shortfall. Unfortunately, despite the unions making a strong case
in favour of renewed funding the government indicated that it was not in a
position to make an exception to their general policy of not replacing funding
that has been withdrawn by the Federal Government.
As a result, the
funding for NSW ITABs has been cut by two-thirds. It is not clear how many will
be able to continue with this level of funding, or how effective they will be in
fulfilling their full range of functions.
In response to this crisis the
NSW Government has established a high-level tripartite industry forum to advise
government on training matters. Into 2003 the Labor Council will continue to
advocate for ITABs and will work to pressure all levels of government to restore
the previous levels of funding.
Committees and Working Parties
In the training area Michael represented the Labor Council on the Property Services
ITAB Board, the Board of Studies VET Advisory Committee and the Department of
Education and Training’s VET Consultative Committee. Michael is also a
member of the Vocational Training Tribunal.
Michael resigned from the
Migrant Skills and Qualifications Committee and has been replaced by Alison
Peters.
Information Technology
LaborNET
With the addition of the ACTU and the
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, LaborNET is now unquestioningly the largest
clustering of trade union information in Australasia. New sites include the Bosswatch site and the new OH&S
site UnionSafe.
Michael,
assisted by Paul Howes, Susan Sheather and Glen Hugo, has overseen the Labor
Council’s online activities – with steady and continuous
improvements in the site’s functionality and presentation.
The
most recent addition to LaborNET is the National Union Online Directory.
Employing a Lightweight Directory Application Protocol (LDAP) database this has
been set up as a directory capable of referencing every union in the country.
The LDAP technology has been chosen because it has become the standard for
online directories and is capable of linking with other online directories.
Furthermore the data may be exported and re-presented in any desirable
form.
The Labor Council has approached the ACTU and the other State Labor Councils to
take over control of the other state and national sections of the database. The
successful implementation of this directory will ensure that a worker wanting to
join a union can find the organisation they are looking for quickly and simply
– online.
IT Workers Alliance
Michael, assisted by Susan Sheather, has continued to convene the IT Workers Alliance Steering Committee
to oversee the operation of the IT
Workers Alliance website.
The website has attracted significant
interest from the IT community and provides a unique forum for debate on
workplace issues in the IT industry. In 2002 the site has referred over two
hundred workers to their relevant union and has continued to be a valuable
source of leads for organising campaigns.
Email Privacy
In 2002 NSW Law Reform Commission released its long awaited report into
surveillance. The report contained a wide range of recommendations in relation
to workplace surveillance. In particular the report recommends the extension of
the principles of the Workplace Video Surveillance Act to all forms of
workplace electronic surveillance, including the monitoring of email and
Internet usage.
The application of these principles would prohibit the
covert surveillance of employees in the absence of a Magistrates Warrant and
would require 14 days notice to the affected employees in the case of overt
surveillance.
In lobbying the Government to implement the report, Michael
led a Labor Council delegation to see the Attorney General, the Hon. Bob Debus.
Furthermore, Michael has acted as the Labor Council spokesperson in this area
speaking at forums and conferences gaining considerable coverage for the issue
in the IT media.
Labor Council Online
In 2002 the Labor Council’s official website “Labor Council Online” has become
the most popular site on LaborNET, with
extensive resources for unions, organisers and delegates.
The site
contains a vast range of information including meeting details, submissions,
minutes, circulars and events – reflecting the majority of the Labor
Council’s activities online.
In 2003 the site will be further
upgraded to provide additional functionality such as the ability for unions to
nominate the manner in which the Labor
Council communicates with them – email, facsimile or both. The
functionality will also be extended to allow attachments to circulars to also be
placed on the site.
Power Industry
Delta
Michael has recently taken up responsibility in this area from Mark
Lennon.
The current award expires on 11 March 2003. Michael has
coordinated the establishment of the single bargaining unit, the commencement of
initial discussions with management and the development and adoption of a
combined unions log of claims.
A timetable of meetings has been set down
for the New Year with a view to reaching agreement before the expiry of the
current award.
Transgrid
Michael has recently taken up responsibility in this area from Mark Lennon.
To date, he has assisted the unions by coordinating the Level 1 Consultative
Committee Meetings.
Negotiations for the new Award begin in
2003.
May Day
In his role as the Labor Council
representative to the May Day Committee, Michael was elected Vice-President. The
Committee, coordinated by the Secretary, Sean Chaffer successfully organised
this year’s May Day march, rally and toast.
Breaking with
tradition, as previously reported, the Labor Council sponsored the union anthem
competition as part of the May Day activities, offering a $5,000 prize to the
winning entrant. Swarmy G.
The traditional ceremonies were complemented
by the live performances from the competition finalists, providing a more
contemporary focus for May Day.
Principles of Enterprise Agreements (Bargaining
Fees)
Michael had carriage for the Principles of Enterprise Agreements Case before
the Full Bench of the NSW Industrial Relations
Commission.
Consent with the employers was achieved on all matters
other than the issue of the inclusion of bargaining agents’ fees in
Enterprise Agreements. Following the successful registration of a number of
Enterprise Agreements containing provisions for bargaining agents’ fees,
the National Electrical Contractors
Association and Employers
First sought arbitration for the Commission to adopt a principle
specifically excluding such provisions from registered agreements.
The
Labor Council engaged Jones Staff & Co to brief Jeff Shaw QC and Adam
Hatcher to represent the unions in the proceedings. Michael was responsible for
liaising with affiliates, collecting material for evidence and researching
authorities that assisted with the case.
On Thursday 19 December the Full
Bench handed down its decision, allowing the inclusion of provisions for
bargaining fees in NSW Enterprise Agreements therefore establishing NSW as the
first jurisdiction in Australia to unambiguously sanction the use of such
arrangements.
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