Meeting held : 21 August 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 21st AUGUST 2008
IN THE TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM
AT 4 GOULBURN STREET, SYDNEY, AT 6:05 PM
The Acting President, Com. M. Issanchon occupied the Chair.
PRESENT: - J. Robertson [Secretary] M. Lennon [Assistant Secretary],
C. Christodoulou, M. Thistlethwaite, A. Kerslake (Deputy Assistant Secretaries).
MINUTES: -
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be received."
Com. K. Sullivan seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted."
Com. C. Haigh seconded.
CARRIED
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received and accepted for: - S. Moait, A. Tattersall, B. Kruse, M. Thomson, M. Want, B. Johnson, R. Collison, J. Lemaire, C. O'Sheades, J. Diamond, L. Hankinson.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the apologies be received and accepted."
Com. C. Game seconded.
CARRIED
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
1. From the Maritime Union of Australia, Sydney Branch:- advising Unions NSW of the arrest and detention of Liliany Obando, a Columbian trade unionist and human rights worker. The union said that Ms Obando has
been detained on charges of 'rebellion' against the state, a catch-all charge regularly used to imprison those who speak out against the government for long periods without trial. 'Rebellion' also allows the regime to smear those accused of being 'terrorists' and helps to delegitimize their work. The MUA advised that Ms Obando had visited their union in connection with her work with peasant associations as a member of the peak union council Fensuago - CUT on two occasions and had related to us the position in Colombia. Ms Obando had on every occasion advocated openly and with great sincerity peaceful solutions to difficulties facing the people of Colombia. The MUA requested Unions NSW express solidarity with Ms Obando and send a message to the Colombian authorities demanding her immediate release from custody, the dropping of all the alleged charges against her and for the government of Colombia to guarantee her safety and well being.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW support the call for the Columbian Government to release Liliany Obando and to drop all charges against her."<.i>
Com. F. Barnes seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
2. From the New South Wales Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines & Utilities Branch of the Australian Services Union:- advising Unions NSW of the landmark decision of Justice Spender of the Federal Court finding that Etheridge Council, a rural Queensland Council, was not a constitutional trading corporation for the purposes of the former Federal Government's WorkChoices laws. They said that the rationale for the decision was largely consistent with the view held by the USU since 2006, namely that the activities of local councils were predominantly associated with public benefit objectives and lacked the essential qualities of trading corporations. The USU said that the decision had significant implications for local councils in NSW including the inference that the Local Government (State) Award remains the principle instrument for determining wages and conditions for employees engaged by NSW Councils. They said that the Etheridge decision was great news for Australian Council workers and for employees working under State local government awards. There was still a high degree of continuing uncertainty about the constitutional status of Councils. The union said that the Etheridge decision found that this Council, under the relevant circumstances and at the relevant time, was not covered by Federal legislation. The union understands that since the hearing of the Court case Etheridge Council has been amalgamated. Who knows what the legal status of the Council's trading activities are now. Unfortunately the Rudd/Gillard industrial legislation is based upon the same shaky constitutional foundations as WorkChoices. The union said it was absurd to base a system of industrial relations on the idea that state government entities can periodically shift in and out of state and federal jurisdictions depending on the nature of their week to week activities. They said that despite Etheridge the door remains open for endless litigation. This uncertainty needs to come to an end and the USU has demanded urgent action on the part of the State Government as follows:-
1. That the Government pass de-corporatisation legislation similar to that passed in Queensland to remove the uncertainty on an interim basis.
2. That the Premier immediately correspond with Kevin Rudd initiating the Prime Minister's pre-election commitment to excise New South Wales Local Government from the Federal Industrial Relations jurisdiction pending the settlement of an intergovernmental agreement for the establishment of an appropriate national system of industrial relations protecting state awards, unfair dismissal and dispute resolution rights and entitlements.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW welcome the decision of the Federal Court regarding Etheridge Council in Queensland but seek that the State Government remove any uncertainty about the status of local councils in NSW by taking the actions outlined in the correspondence."
Com. M. Wilson seconded.
CARRIED
3. From the NSW Teachers Federation:- requesting Unions NSW convene an urgent meeting of all unions involved in vocational education and training to specifically discuss the impact of the Rudd Government's training agenda. The Federation said that the Rudd Government went to the election with a commitment to an additional 630,000 training places over the next six years. However, in implementing its commitment and in putting vocational education and training under the direction of COAG and the Productivity Working Group, a number of serious concerns had arisen.
1. The Government has moved to make all funding in the VET sector contestable. It was basing its proposals on the report undertaken by the Boston Consulting Group for the Howard Government. As well as all Federal funding being made contestable, through Commonwealth/State funding agreements pressures were being put on State and Territory Governments to make all of their funding also contestable. The Victorian Government is moving to 100% contestability and South Australia 50%. In contravention of the Rudd Government's election commitment, there will be no guaranteed funding for TAFE. Such changes if implemented will mean the end of public vocational education and training, TAFE, as we know it.
2. New funding for training places, such as in Health, are being made available through a voucher system, not much different from that of the Howard Government, which was a failure.
3. The current funding available through the Productivity Places program is so low that neither TAFE nor quality private providers can tender. It has been set at around half the delivery cost per hour for Victorian TAFE colleges, and their costs are the lowest in the country. In many cases the tenders have been won by private providers in areas that are clearly not skills shortage areas.
4. There is very little in the Rudd Government's policies that will really deal with the issues of skills shortages.
5. Consultation is limited. The Australian Education Union has almost no access to the Federal Minister for Education, and she has refused to meet with us to discuss issues on TAFE. The structures and processes for the Industry Skills Councils and Skills Australia are not particularly useful for industry input on training issues.
6. The Federal Minister for Education has just given TAFE Directors Australia the right to introduce a HECs style loans scheme in TAFE. This is despite the opposition of the AEU and our concerns about the effect on TAFE fees and commercialisation of TAFE courses.
The Federation said they looked forward to discussing these issues further and devising strategies that will allow us to effectively raise their concerns with the Rudd Government.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and a meeting of VET and other interested unions be convened to discuss the impact of the Federal Government's training agenda as requested."
Com. L. Simon seconded and spoke to the resolution.
CARRIED
4. From the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, NSW Branch:- regarding the prosecution of Sacco Brothers Pty Ltd and Others regarding the death of Mark Gallace, a rigger who was killed at work on 3rd June 2005 whilst working on an elevated work platform. The union said that Mr Gallace died after being discovered stuck between a purlin and the boom lift platform's handrail. They said that when the director of the company Mr Gallace worked for, attempted to free Mr Gallace be operating the boom lift from the ground controls, Mr Gallace fell to the ground from about six metres. Mr Gallace died from a combination of asphyxiation and head injuries and that Mr Gallace was a trainee and had only been on the site for five weeks. The union said the defendants, two corporate and a director pleaded guilty to breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000. The corporate defendants were fined $180,000 each, the director of a third company and employer of the deceased was fined $18,000 and that the employer's company went into administration. The CFMEU expressed its disappointment in the outcome of this prosecution and that the maximum penalty that each corporate defendant faced was $550,000, the director $55,000. They said that the fines imposed against the corporate defendants and the director represented approximately 32% of the maximum. The union said that the Court found that Mr Gallace had not been properly trained in the operation of the machine, no-one was present at ground level to operate the controls, and that the overhead risks had not been assessed before Mr Gallace commenced work. They said that the consequences of the breach were found to be serious and that the Court also held however, that the objective seriousness of the offences was mitigated by the systems that the three defendants had in place at the time of the offence. The CFMEU said that given the findings made about the manifest failure to provide a safe system of work and the consequences of the failure, such a conclusion was difficult to understand. They said that they considered the outcomes in this prosecution inadequate and requested Unions NSW to obtain advice from WorkCover about the possibility of an appeal as to sentencing by the Industrial Relations Court.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW approach WorkCover regarding the possibility of an appeal against the fines imposed on the employers of Mark Gallace who was killed at work in 2005."
Com. R. Mallia seconded the resolution.
-CARRIED
5. From the New South Wales Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines & Utilities Branch of the Australian Services Union:- advising Unions NSW that they had learnt today that the NSW Auditor General had supposedly "ticked off" the State Government's energy privatisation proposal. The union said that the report was little more than an overview of previous Government reports and enquiries, not of which lacked credibility. They said that the report did not adequately address public interest concerns about price increases and the loss of energy security associated with handing energy generators and retailers to big business. Further, the union said that the social and environmental consequences associated with climate change and the introduction of the proposed federal carbon trading scheme remained significant obstacles for privatisation. They said that most importantly, the Auditor-General appears to have been misled by the Government or has misconstrued the alleged employment protection guarantees associated with the Government's plan. Many workers in the industry have access to no employment protection at all in the event that they transfer to the private sector. Further, those employees who remain in the State sector may well face forced redundancy. The union said that the Government had also misled the Auditor-General regarding the impact on regional employment and that the proposed protection of regional jobs attaches to individuals only and that there is no ongoing protection of core employment numbers in regional areas. Nor has the Government addressed the crucial issue of off-shoring which has been a major concern in the case of privatisation in other Australian states. The USU said that in short, the Auditor-General's report was not the last chapter in energy privatisation and they looked forward to continuing the campaign in association with Unions NSW.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW note the Auditor General's report was not asked to decide on the merits of the proposed sale of electricity assets rather on the structure of the proposed sale and therefore, the Government cannot use the report to support the alleged benefits of its sale proposal."
Com. M. Wilson seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Meet Gilda Chacon Bravo
International Representative of Confederation
Of Cuban Trade Unions
Friday, 22nd August 2008 - 2.30pm
MUA Offices, 365 Sussex Street, Sydney
Gilda will be speaking about events in Cuba
Including dealing with the historic advances made by the Cuban people and the progressive changes in Cuban Society.
2. Union Support for Daffodil Day Tomorrow
- Friday 22nd August 2008
Selling Badges, Pens etc 12 Noon - 2pm
WYNYARD & TOWN HALL STATIONS
Contact Mary Yaager if you are available to assist
0408 931899
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6:28PM
Acting President:____________________________________
About Unions NSW
