Organise Issue 3, May 2013 ASU Victorian Private Sector Branch, L1, 117 Capel Street North Melbourne 3051

Tony Abbott needs to be honest with workers about whether he will get rid of penalty rates if elected, the ACTU hs said

ACTU President Ged Kearney said Mr Abbott had been caught out telling a community forum in South Australia that a Coalition Government might back applications to Fair Work Australia to change penalty rates.

“Mr Abbott has been trying to avoid scrutiny of the Coalition’s IR policy, but remarks like this show that a Coalition government would put penalty rates at risk,” Ms Kearney said. “The Coalition needs to spell out exactly what it plans to do to penalty rates if elected, so workers have a clear choice.

“Removing penalty rates would be a pay cut for 500,000 workers,” Ms Kearney said.

“Working late nights or week-ends is still a sacrifice for workers, particularly those with families and penalty rates must remain to reflect this.”

A recent bid by major employers to remove penalty rates had been rejected by the Fair Work Commission, which found employers did not have evidence to back up their claims.

The Government has promised to enshrine penalty rates in law, to give workers greater certainty.

ASU Secretary Ingrid Stitt noted the large number of ASU members working shift work who rely on penalty rates to make ends meet.

“If you work unsociable hours on weekends and nights you need to be compensated through appropriate penalty rates” Ingrid said.

“The ASU will strongly defend any attempts by politicians or employers to erode this important workplace condition”.

Penalty rates protect our weekends!

500,000 workers

rely on penalty rates as an important part of their pay package.

One in 23 australian workers would get a pay cut if penalty rates were attacked.

87% of aussies support the idea that if you work weekends, you should get a higher rate of pay

penalty rates mean that workers’ weekends are

PROPERLY VALUED AND COMPENSATED.

Tony Abbott shows true colours on penalty rates.

Authorised by Ingrid Stitt, Secretary Australian Services Union Victorian Private Sector Branch, Level 1, 117 Capel Street North Melbourne 3051

ASU members at Manpower, a defence recruitment service provider, were recently stumped with that bizarrely persistent office problem: cutlery would mysteriously disappear from their office kitchen.

Even more bizarrely, Manpower management’s solution to the issue was to refuse to provide cutlery at all! ASU members were thus left up the soup without a spoon.

ASU Assistant Secretary, David Leydon, took it upon himself to intervene. For a total of $20 he provided every ASU member with their own cutlery set.

Of course this level of basic amenity should be provided by your employer!

Left:Manpower Delegate Rebecca shows off the cutlery set she delivered to ASU members.

ASU reps spoon out some common sense at Manpower

Virgin votes down agreementLate on Saturday night (4th May, 2013), Virgin finally advised staff that, as expected, the Virgin Ground Crew Agreement 2013 was rejected by a majority of staff.

79% of all staff voted in the ballot, with a thumping 84% voting “No”.

Virgin management are now looking to speak to staff about how to improve the proposed agreement. ASU members will be telling them to return to negotiations with the ASU’s National Negotiating Team.

ASU members at Virgin are calling for:• An improved pay offer• Recognition of seniority and skills within the pay structure• A trigger for part-time conversions to full-time• Secure jobs, through priority of work to Virgin staff before

contractorsas well as other provisions.

The proposed agreement put out to vote by Virgin management failed to meet staff expectations on many of these considerations. Virgin staff also recognised that the proposed agreement contained “motherhood statements” that would allow Virgin to disregard key agreement provisions around part-time conversion, and excluded some members from coverage.

Congratulations to all ASU members and representatives who worked hard to ensure there was a “NO” vote and that we did not accept a poor agreement.

The Campaign continues.

Take Some Action!

ASU Delegates Conference 201318 October 2013ANF Conference Centre

Learn. Be inspired. Take some action!

(03) 9320 6700 info@asupsvic.org

Authorised by Ingrid Stitt, Branch Secretary Australian Services Union Victorian Private Sector Branch Level 1, 117 Capel Street North Melbourne 3051

Save the date!

A great opportunity to network and learn from fellow ASU delegates, hear from inspirational speakers and help shape the ASU’s future direction.

Under the National Employment Standards, every employee is entitled to receive an information statement detailing key workplace rights. These include the ten minimum National Employment Standards, the right to be involved in agreement making, and the right to join and be active in a union.

Why is this entitlement important? Workers who don’t understand their rights can be easily taken advantage of.

As union members, we have access to huge information resources and expert advice about our rights at all times. People who are new to the workplace may not understand their rights, or how union members have fought to achieve them. They may also have come from different cultures, where workplace rights and entitlements may not be as strong as in Australia.

The Fair Work Information statement is a very basic introduction to workplace rights.

The Fair Work Information Statement has information about:

• the National Employment Standards (10 basic rights)• how a transfer of business affects entitlements• modern awards• agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009• individual flexibility arrangements• freedom of association (right to join and participate in

a union)• termination of employment• union right of entry (including privacy laws to protect

personal information)• the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work

Commission. Your employer is legally required to give the statement to all new employees. If you believe your employer is not doing this, you should discuss it with them. It’s a good idea to speak to all new employees about their rights and why you’re a union member. It keeps your workplace strong!

The Fair Work Information Statement

After many months of discussion, the Victorian State Labor Opposition, lead by Daniel Andrews, has agreed to a number of important policies to stop the flow of Victorian services jobs offshore.

Labor have agreed to:• Develop a service sector industry plan to grow our

industries• Give preference (in government contracts) to

companies that provide local jobs• Lead the way for Victorian businesses by procuring

services only from suppliers with ethical employment practices. “This means that government should not be associated with the purchase of services produced from the labor of exploited workers”

• Only contract call centres that comply with the Victorian Government Call Centre Code

• Call on COAG to introduce “country of origin” legislation for services, to allow consumers to make decisions where their services are delivered from, and where their data is stored.

These fantastic policies, which will go a long way to discouraging services offshoring in Victoria, would

never have been agreed to if it weren’t for the sustained pressure of your union, and the involvement of union members.

We have more work to do. The ASU and our friends at the Finance Sector Union must make sure these model policies become a reality by forcing the Victorian State Government to follow Labor’s lead and sign up to Secure Jobs and Secure Data. If they don’t, services workers will have a very good reason to look to the opposition at the next election!

Delegates who would like to take an active role in the Secure Jobs Secure Data campaign should email ebyrne@asupsvic.org, and register to receive a workplace activist kit including posters, a workplace petition and more.

Secure Jobs gets a policy boost

SECURE JOBS SECURE DATA