Unions fight back in Western Australia

The trade union movement is on the move in Western Australia. Unions are 
involved in a number of important struggles and face a number of serious 
issues. Workers' compensation, wages, collective agreements and individual 
work contracts, the importation of overseas labour, unemployment, 
occupational health and safety, industrial relations legislation and 
relations with the WA State Labor Government are among the issues mentioned 
by Stephanie Mayman, Secretary of Unions WA when she recently spoke The 
Guardian editor Anna Pha in Perth.

Last week construction workers took strike action and this week are to hold 
a rally and march on the issue of workplace safety.

In the public sector workers are seeking wage rises — teachers are 
striking this week, the police union has imposed work bans.

Cleaners in public schools are fighting to retain their jobs as the State 
Labor Government plans to use contract cleaners.

Stephanie Mayman listed workers' compensation as one of the main "hot 
issues" with the government.

She explained that the previous Liberal Government of Richard Court had 
"turned the clock back about 80 years" undermining statutory benefits and 
common law access for workers.

"We keep hearing that these issues will be addressed and that there is 
legislation being drafted but they've almost forgotten how to spell 
workers' comp. But individual workers haven't", said Ms Mayman.

Workplace safety

She said that the fines for employers who breach the safety laws are 
"horrendously low".

Two weeks ago Transfield was found negligent and fined $50,000, the biggest 
fine previous to that was $35,000. The case, which relates to the death of 
Joe Guliardo, is going to be appealed by Transfield. Joe, aged 37, was 
killed in September 2000 at the Acacia prison, the first privately run 
prison in the State.

The widow cannot claim for compensation for the family until the appeal is 
over. She has already waited three years and could wait as many more again 
before receiving compensation. It seems the company, now owned by 
transnational John Holland, is prepared to spend more than the $50,000 fine 
dragging out the case and delaying any semblance of justice for the family 
— not that compensation can replace the life of a family member.

This callous disregard for the widow and family of a worker adds to the 
anger of construction workers who are pressing the government to take 
action over safety and compensation.

The Construction division of the CFMEU has been campaigning for more than a 
year to get more work safe inspectors to prevent fatalities.

This year the number of deaths in the industry in WA has reached 10 
compared to 23 same time last year.

The Government publicly said that it was an acceptable number given that it 
has been a smaller number of deaths this year. As far as the workers are 
concerned this is not acceptable, it is 10 too many. The CFMEU held a 24-
hour strike last Monday over the safety issue and will call for a rally to 
involve the community this week.

Last week's strike affected more than 50 construction sites around Perth 
and involved some 4000 construction workers.

The Labor Party came to office "on the basis that it would amend the 
workers' compensation legislation to return benefits to workers that had 
been removed from them in the last decade", Ms Mayman said.

Still waiting for action

The Government announced that it would amend the legislation to enshrine:

* A maximum fine under the Act of half a million dollars from $200,000.

* That where an employer or corporate director commits a significant breach 
of the Act causing injury or death there is to be a jail term;

* That health and safety reps will have the right to issue provisional 
notices and that the Government will set up an occupational health and 
safety tribunal.

Stephanie Mayman pointed out that WA is now in the third year [of the Labor 
Government] and asks, "Where is it all? Where's the reform?"

"With the Government as an employer there is extreme dissatisfaction. With 
the Government as a policy maker there is also significant dissatisfaction 
given all the delays that are occurring in their alleged policy reform."

Public sector wages

WA's public sector workers are also campaigning on the question of wages. 
They include the police, teachers, fire fighters, nurses and other health 
workers. Teachers in WA are to join teachers in NSW and Victoria this week 
in the first national strike of teachers called by the combined teacher 
unions.

"We've got industrial action happening with the police at the moment and 
the teachers have also taken a decision in relation to action this month", 
said Ms Mayman.

State Governments have done a deal to limit any wage increase to public 
sector workers to three percent per year.

Foreign workers

Another issue is the importation of workers from Korea and other Asian 
countries "paid at below award wages and kept in despicable conditions", 
said Stephanie Mayman. "The latest was a group of Korean welders that were 
brought in under the pretence of being needed. So that is a difficult issue 
that we are trying to confront at the moment."

The Industrial Relations Commission has made a decision to establish a 
foreign standard rate of pay.

Asked about the policy of Unions WA about foreign labour, she said, "We are 
absolutely opposed to it. We are currently in discussions in relation to 
it. [Liberal Immigration Minister Phil] Ruddock's line is shocking."

"What there is in this country is a skills shortage that is not being 
addressed by the vocational education training system. We've got a crisis 
in TAFE. The average age of a lecturer in TAFE is 55 years, so we are 
losing valuable skills. We haven't got enough trainers now let alone what 
happens when these lecturers retire or resign", explained Ms Mayman.

On unemployment she said that with young people it is "shocking", with 
Indigenous people it is "terrible". She said that the unemployment figures 
are irrelevant. "If you work for an hour a week then you're employed. They 
claim that [WA] has the lowest unemployment rates in the country. It's a 
claim that means nothing because there is unemployment out there."

In answer to a question about privatisation, Ms Mayman said that the "Labor 
Government hasn't privatised anything. They are very clear on their 
commitment about that."