Meeting held : 14 August 2008
Chair of Meeting: The President, Comrade. Sandra Moait
Location of the meeting : Trades Hall Auditorium, 4 Goulburn St Sydney
UNIONS NSW MEETING MINUTES
MEETING HELD THURSDAY 14TH AUGUST 2008
IN THE TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM
AT 4 GOULBURN STREET, SYDNEY, AT 6:03PM
The President, Com. S. Moait occupied the Chair.
PRESENT: - J. Robertson [Secretary] M. Lennon [Assistant Secretary],
M. Thistlethwaite, (Deputy Assistant Secretary).
MINUTES: -
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be received".
Com. B. Johnson seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted".
Com. G. Derrick seconded.
CARRIED
CREDENTIALS
From The Australian Workers' Union, Greater New South Wales Branch appointing: - S. Barber in place of P. Farrow.
From The Real Estate Association of New South Wales appointing:- Eric Lundberg as a delegate and Trish Ellis as alternate delegate.
From The Textile Clothing & Footwear Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch appointing:- H. Nguyen in place of P. Lane.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the credentials be received and the delegates welcomed".
Com. V. Higgins seconded.
CARRIED
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received and accepted for: - C. Christodoulou, A. Kerslake, A. Tattersall, A. Claassens, M. O'Halloran, B. Holmes, J. Kiejda, R. Collison, C. Gambian, C. O'Sheades, N. Lewocki, C. Game, D. Shearman, A. Ferguson, G. Dwyer.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the apologies be received and accepted".
Com. B. Johnson seconded.
CARRIED
GUEST SPEAKER:
The President, Com. S. Moait, introduced Mr Walter Shaw from Alice Spring's Tangentyere Council. Com. Shaw thanked delegates for the opportunity to address them. He said he wanted to focus on one aspect of the intervention, the cessation of the CDEP programs. Com. Shaw said the CDEP program allowed aboriginal people to become job ready and start to enter the employment market. Now with the removal of the scheme people are returning to a paternalistic culture. People are not looking at a future; lives are blowing in the wind he said in closing.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson thanked Com. Shaw for his address and said the intervention was a blot on our history. He hoped the Federal Government would restore the CDEP.
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
1. From The NSW Department of Community Services:- advising Unions NSW that the NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS) was responsible for the regulation of children's services under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the Children's Services Regulation 2004. The Department advised that they were commencing a review of the Children's Services Regulation 2004 with a view to a revised Regulation taking effect from early 2010. They said that a strong children's services sector that meets the needs of NSW families was a priority for DoCS. It was hoped that the review can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of regulation and reduce unnecessary regulatory burden. The Department advised that they were establishing a high level Industry Reference Group for the review of the Regulation and invited Unions NSW to nominate a representative to join the Group. They advised that the role of the children's services Industry Reference Group was to:
1. provide expertise and industry knowledge to inform the regulation review;
2. provide advice to the Department on the process by which the Children's Services Regulation is reviewed, the approach to sector consultation and communications, and suitable sources of information about the sector; and
3. provide advice to the Department on possible approaches to implementing the new Regulation.
They advised that the regulatory review presented important opportunities in many areas, including improving outcomes for children who attend children's services, making the regulation more meaningful and useful for parents, and easing the regulatory and administrative burden for the industry and government.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW liaise with DoCS unions regarding an appropriate representative on the Industry Reference Group for the Review of the Children's Services Regulation."
Com. B. Johnson seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
2. From The Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, New South Wales Branch:- regarding the Iranian regime giving the death sentence to an Iranian teacher, Farzad Kamangar. The union said that he was facing execution and that his life was in danger. They said that Farzad Kamangar, a teacher, journalist and civil society activist was sentenced to death for alleged membership of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey. The union said that this had taken place in a closed-door extremely brief court hearing. The CFMEU requested Unions NSW write to the Iranian Government asking for the immediate release of Farzad Kamangar.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW nominate write to the Iranian Government seeking the release of activist Farzad Kamangar as requested."
Com. B. Parker seconded the resolution.
Delegate Mansour Razaghi spoke.
Delegate F. Barnes also spoke.
CARRIED
3. From the Rail Tram and Bus Union, NSW Branch:- advising Unions NSW that in addition to the Tax Review mentioned last week, the Federal Government was also conducting a review into the nation's pension system. The union said that the background paper on this review released earlier in the week reinforced the concerns about the level of pension payments in this country that were raised when the budget was handed down in May. They said that the rate for a single pensioner in this country of $546.80 per fortnight was shameful and that in a country which has had over fifteen years of unbroken economic growth we can do better for our pensioners. The RTBU said that Unions NSW had previously called for an increase in the level of income support for pensioners in this country. They requested Unions NSW take an active role is seeking improvements to pension rates through the review process.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW pursue improvements to pension rates through the upcoming review as requested."
Com. M. Cartwright seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
4. From the Finance Sector Union of Australia, NSW Branch:- regarding an announcement via a press release by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that it had decided not to oppose the Westpac takeover of St George Bank. The union said that this decision was curious and disappointing and on competition they simply had got it wrong. They said yesterday's press release said:
"The ACCC reached the conclusion that, while St George Bank is a relatively innovative and dynamic competitor with a strong focus on customer service, other competitors to the merged entity which remain in the market will continue to play a similar role.
In particular, the ACCC considered that competition in retail banking markets provided by the other major banks and regional banks along with credit unions, building societies and niche players, would be sufficient to constrain the merged firm after the acquisition."
They said that the ACCC said banking was a national market then tried to force fit this "do nothing" decision into an acknowledgement that constraining the market power of the big banks requires strong local players. While big banks set their prices nationally, consumers make their decisions locally. The truth is that outside Newcastle and Wollongong there are no building societies that complete with the big banks and credit unions and so called "niche players" do not challenge the big banks across the full range of banking services. These "niche players" and non bank financial institutions are currently losing market share in many cases because of the global credit crisis. The FSU said that the proposed takeover was predicted to cost up to 5,000 jobs - most of which will be in NSW. The ACCC presumably thinks this is either irrelevant or a good thing - we do not. The union said that the next critical step in the campaign to protect jobs and consumers from arrogant banks is the Federal Treasurer's assessment of the national interest under the Federal Banking Act. They said that the proposed takeover was not in the national interest and with the assistance of Unions NSW and the community they intend to prove this to the Treasurer, regardless of the curious perspective of the ACCC.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW express its disappointment at the ACCC's decision on the takeover of St George and that Unions NSW support the FSU's campaign of opposition as they press the case with the Treasurer."
Com. G. Derrick seconded and spoke to the resolution.
CARRIED
5. From the Australian Workers' Union, Greater New South Wales Branch: - advising Unions of today's revelation that Telstra were seeking to do non union agreements with their workforce should be no surprise given their track record during the Howard years. They said that Telstra may say that they are within the law and they were not trying to use the WorkChoices legislation but their intentions were clear that they want a non-unionised workforce with as many people as possible on non-union contracts. The AWU said that what made their tactics even worse was the announcement that the Chief Executive Officer, Sol Trujillo's salary had been boosted to 13.4 million dollars per year. They said that this case showed the need for good, fair and balanced industrial relations which ensured employers bargain with their workers in good faith. The union calls on the government to enact legislation to stop the Telstra's of this world attempting to deny workers the right to bargain through their authorised representative, the trade union movement.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW condemn Telstra's tactics to avoid negotiating a union collective agreement.
Further, Unions NSW believes Telstra's actions are a shining example of the need for strong industrial legislation that protects the rights of workers to be represented by their union in negotiations with employers."
Com. S. Bali seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
REPORTS
1. Super Saturday
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Com. M. Thistlethwaite outlined the final details of Super Saturday to delegates. He said there would be a presence in 52 seats around the state.
Com. J. Robertson moved:-
"That the report be received and noted."
Com. G. Derrick seconded.
CARRIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. IR Society of NSW Annual General Meeting & Luncheon
Friday, 15th August 2008
AGM 12 Noon - "Jubilee Room" Parliament House
Luncheon 12.45pm - "Strangers Dining Room"
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney
For further information contact IRS on 9630 5211
2. Save The Eveleigh Blacksmiths Workshop!
Open Day - Watch the Blacksmiths forging! Have a tour of the largest and most integral collection of steam powered blacksmithing equipment remaining in the world.
Sunday, August 17th 2008
10.00am - 3.00pm
Cnr. Garden & Boundary Street, Eveleigh (REDFERN)
Further information from info@wroughtartworks.com.
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6:31PM
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