Meeting held : 29 May 2008
Chair of Meeting: The Acting President, Com. M. Issanchon
Location of the meeting : Trades Hall Auditorium, 4 Goulburn St Sydney
UNIONS NSW MEETING MINUTES
MEETING HELD THURSDAY 29TH MAY 2008
IN THE TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM
AT 4 GOULBURN STREET, SYDNEY, AT 6:03PM
The Acting President Com. M. Issanchon occupied the Chair.
PRESENT:- J. Robertson [Secretary] M. Lennon [Assistant Secretary],
C. Christodoulou, M. Thistlethwaite, (Deputy Assistant Secretaries).
OPENING
OF THE
MEETING:- The Acting President, Com. M. Issanchon opened the meeting by recognising the traditional owners of the land on which the meeting was being held the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.
MINUTES: -
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be received".
Com. S. Bali seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted".
Com. K. Sullivan seconded.
CARRIED
CREDENTIALS
From The Australian Workers' Union, Greater New South Wales Branch appointing:- P. Murray in place of R. Collison.
From The Public Service Association of New South Wales appointing: -
G. McNeil in place of J. Cahill and A. Lane in place of S. Walsh.
From The New South Wales Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines & Utilities Union appointing:- S. Sewell in place of G. Golledge.
From The New South Wales Nurses' Association appointing:- K. Sullivan in place of B. Holmes.
From The NSW Teachers Federation appointing:- A. Flohm in place of M. O'Halloran, P. Lang in place of J. Irving, B. Dann in place of J. Lemaire, J. Ainsworth in place of B. Lipscombe, M. Collins in place of B. Seymour and M. Wood in place of J. Dixon.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the credentials be received and the delegates welcomed".
Com. G. Dwyer seconded.
CARRIED
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received and accepted for: - S. Moait, M. O'Halloran, R. Collison, C. Game, M. Boyd, B. Holmes, J. Kiejda, A. Ferguson and E. Cody.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the apologies be received and accepted".
Com. M. Want seconded.
CARRIED
QUESTION WITHOUT NOTICE:
Com. S. Turner asked the Secretary whether he was aware that the Public Sector Workforce Office had today issued a new Managing Displaced Employees Policy without consultation and that the policy contained significant changes.
In reply, Com. Robertson said he was not aware of the release and that Unions NSW would contact the PSWO.
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. From the Hon. John Della Bosca MLC, Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for the Central Coast and Minister Assisting the Minister for Finance:- regarding membership of the Building and Construction Industry Long Service Payments Committee. The Minister advised that the current Committee was due to expire on 31st July 2008 and requested Unions NSW put forward nominations for a new Committee for the period 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2001.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW after consultation with relevant affiliates reappoint its existing members to the Long Service Payments Committee."
Com. B. Parker seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
2. From the Harvard University Law School:- advising Unions NSW that applications to attend the 2009 Harvard Trade Union Program were now open and requested that information regarding the 2009 class be distributed to Australian Unions for their information.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW advise affiliates of the details of the 2009 Harvard Trade Union Program and the opportunities for unionists to acquire a scholarship to attend the program."
Com. G. Dwyer seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
3. From the Goulburn & District Unions:- congratulating Unions NSW, particularly Secretary, Com. J. Robertson on his stand regarding the state power sell off. They said that Com. Robertson's commitment had been most commendable and urged him to continue using whatever means available to stop the sell-off of the electricity industry in NSW.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW thank the Goulburn & District Unions for their support of the power campaign."
Com. S. Turner seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
4. From the Rail Tram and Bus Union, NSW Branch:- advising Unions NSW that the Rail Tram and Bus Union and other rail unions had been negotiating with the Rail Infrastructure Corporation for a new Union Collective Agreement. The union said that on 30th June 2008 the Australian Rail Track Corporation takes over the track maintenance of the interstate and Hunter Valley rail infrastructure. They said that for the previous four years Rail Infrastructure Corporation employees had under a secondment arrangement performed this work. The RTBU said that on 30th June over 400 RIC employees would be taking redundancy so it was imperative that we have a new Union Collective Agreement to replace the 2005 Agreement which expired on 31st March 2008 because the NSW Government would not agree to pay any pay increases negotiated if employees have left the industry. The union said that rail unions had been able to identify cost savings to fund a 4% pay increase associated with the reductions of administrative and supervisory structures that would not be required once these employees had exited the rail industry. The RTBU said they have been advised that RIC management, the Minister's office and the Government Wages Committee have all agreed that these savings would provide for a 4% pay increase. They said that when the matter went before the Treasurer, Michael Costa, he rejected the position claiming that these savings had already been identified in the forward estimates and therefore could not be used for pay increases. This resulted in the workers having to accept a 2.5% settlement so redundancy payouts would reflect this increase. The union said that Premier Iemma should be ashamed of his Treasurer and that rail workers and their families would in 2011 ensure that many current ALP Members of Parliament understood what it was like to lose their jobs.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW condemn the government's refusal to agree to a 4% pay increase for RIC employees who are facing the prospect of redundancy."
Com. N. Lewocki seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
5. From the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, NSW Branch:- regarding the Federal Government's proposed establishment of FuelWatch. The union said that much had been said in recent days by the Federal Opposition about bureaucratic opposition to the establishment of FuelWatch. They said that as with all schemes such as this there would always be doubts about its effectiveness, however no one could be sure until it had been operating for some period of time. The union said that the ACCC supported the concept and that a similar scheme had been operating successfully in Western Australia for over five years. They said we should support the concept as a means of ensuring working people had the opportunity to get a fair go when they made one of their biggest weekly purchases - petrol.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW welcome the Federal Government's decision to establish the FuelWatch Scheme as a positive step in helping working people battle rising petrol prices."
Com. E. Brindley seconded.
CARRIED
REPORTS
1. Stop The Power Sell Off
Amanda Lane a PSA delegate from Bayswater Power Station updated delegates on the "Stop the Sell Off" Campaign. She outlined to delegates that there had been a number of stop work delegates meetings around the state in keeping with the resolution of the delegates meeting held a few months earlier. She said that at all of the meetings there had been positive support for the campaign and members remain strongly opposed to privatisation.
Com. J. Robertson moved:-
"That the report be received and noted."
Com. S. Turner seconded.
CARRIED
2. Paid Maternity Leave Campaign
Com. Linda Everingham addressed delegates regarding the Lindsay Rights At Work Group's support of the Paid Maternity Leave Campaign. In particular, Linda noted the success of the Lindsay Campaign Launch of the campaign which made the front page of one of the local papers.
Com. J. Robertson moved:-
"That the report be received and Unions NSW pass on its thanks to Linda for her hard work on the campaign."
Com. N. Lewocki seconded.
CARRIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson announced that there would be no Unions NSW Executive or General Meeting next Thursday, 5th June, 2008.
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6: 35PM
Acting President:____________________________________
About Unions NSW
