Meeting held : 28 August 1997
Chair of Meeting: The President, Com. J. Whelan
LABOR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
MEETING HELD 28TH AUGUST, 1997 IN THE
TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM
AT CORNER GOULBURN AND SUSSEX STREETS, SYDNEY, AT 6.05 P.M.
PRESENT:- P. Sams (Secretary), M. Costa (Assistant Secretary).
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, moved:-
"That the minutes as circulated be received."
Com. J. O'Brien seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, moved:-
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted."
Com. V. Herman seconded.
CARRIED
CREDENTIALS:-
From The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia - appointing D.
Tritton in place of J. Isaacs.
Moved and seconded:-
"That the credentials be received
and the delegates welcomed."
APOLOGIES:-
Apologies were received and accepted from: M. Lennon, B. Schmidt,
G. Sargeant, G. Lang,
F. Belan, A. Peters.
GUEST SPEAKERS:-
The President, Com. J. Whelan welcomed and introduced the
Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. John Acquilina, MP, and invited
him to address Council.
The Minister addressed Labor Council on the Workplace Communication Skills
Policy and talked about how the policy aimed at getting employers, unions and
government to work together to improve the literacy, numeracy and language
skills of employees in the workplace. He talked about the various programs that
currently existed to assist these employees and advised of the benefits
involved, in improving workplace communications, to the employee and employer,
particularly when it came to issues such as promotion, occupational health and
safety and other issues that related to the workplace.
In moving a vote of thanks to the Minister, the Secretary said that Labor
Council has supported the policy and would continue to be supportive of the
policy and would encourage all unions to oversee the implementation of the
policy in the workplace to ensure that workplace communications skills were
improved to the benefit of all involved.
Com. J. Hennessy seconded.
CARRIED BY
ACCLAMATION
The President, Com. J. Whelan, welcomed and introduced Dr Rhea dela Reyes from
the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD), visiting
Australia from the Philippines, and invited her to address Council.
Dr Reyes informed Council that the IOHSAD was APHEDA's long-term project
partner in Manila and undertakes the training of workplace based occupational
health and safety committees for a wide range of trade unions across a large
number of industries. The CEPU, CFMEU and CPSU were sponsoring its project for
workers in the Philippines and an increasing number of individual unionists
were making regular donations to assist in this work.
In recent years her work had placed a heavy emphasis on developing occupational
health and safety committees for worksites with predominantly women workers.
Their current multi-year program aimed to train over 1,400 occupational health
and safety committees.
In moving a vote of thanks to Dr. Reyes for her address, Com. Sams said Labor
Council also appreciated the importance of occupational health and safety
issues in the workplace, and particularly safety issues in developing
countries which had previously had a poor record on occupational health and
safety issues.
Com. P. McClelland seconded.
CARRIED BY
ACCLAMATION
MOTION OF CONDOLENCE:-
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, advised affiliates it was his sad
duty to report the passing of Com. Ken Gordon formerly of the Federated
Municipal and Shire Council Employees Union. Com. Gordon had been a delegate to
both the Labor Council and the ALP for 15 years.
The Secretary moved a Motion of Condolence to the family and friends of the
late Ken. Gordon.
Com. C. Hodges seconded.
CARRIED BY DELEGATES
OBSERVING A MINUTES SILENCE
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, also advised affiliates of the passing of Mrs
Bessy Kenny, widow of the late Jim Kenny, a former Secretary of the Labor
Council, at age 90 years. Mrs Kenny was also mother of the late Alan Kenny who
was the Labor Council property manager from approximately 1971 until the time
of his death in January 1989.
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE:-
1. From the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
(S.O.C.O.G) - concerning the establishment of consultative arrangements
with the Labor Council. The Committee wished to pursue an agreement to cover
Olympic needs via a consultative steering group with representation from the
relevant unions. Its representative on the consultative steering group would
comprise employees from venue management, games services, personnel and
government relations.
Com. Sams moved Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Labor Council nominate appropriate
representatives to the SOCOG Consultative Group."
Com. V. Higgins seconded.
CARRIED
2. From the Health and Research Employees' Association of New
South Wales - concerning the issue of coverage of drivers at Stockton
Disability Centre. The Union advised that the issue over union coverage of the
drivers remained unsolved, even though a decision had been reached that it
would continue to represent the drivers. The Union requested that a meeting be
convened with the TWU and the Association to resolve the matter.
Com. Sams moved Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and a meeting of the two unions be
convened as requested."
Com. M. Williamson seconded.
CARRIED
3. From the Australian Services Union, New South Wales
Clerical and Administrative Branch - seeking Labor Council's support
regarding its members employed by Auscript. The Union had served a Log of
Claims on the Secretary of the Attorney General's Department in July 1997,
however, management had been delaying negotiations in settling the claim. Its
members had demanded management agree to the threshold issues of redundancy
entitlements for casuals and to commence negotiations for an agreement
forthwith. They had also called on the Union to serve a Notice of the Giving of
Authorisation to engage in industrial action to both the Industrial Registrar
and the Department. The Union requested Labor Council write to the Prime
Minister, the Attorney General and Leader of the Opposition and the Democrats
in support of its members' claims.
Com. Sams moved Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and the request for support of their
members' claims be endorsed and that Labor Council correspond with the
appropriate bodies."
Com. M. Want seconded.
CARRIED
REPORTS:-
1. ENTERPRISE UNIONS
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, reported on the meeting of affiliates
which was held to establish a Labor Council policy on the affiliation of
enterprise unions. A resolution from the meeting was formulated, in the
following terms:
"The response of Labor Council to requests for affiliation of enterprise
unions will depend on the rationale of their formation.
In principle, the Council will not affiliate an enterprise union which
emerges from an existing affiliate or is composed of members that can be
serviced through existing affiliates.
The affiliation of other types of enterprise unions will depend on the
rationale of their formation. Where an enterprise union is established on the
encouragement of an employer to undermine an existing union organisation or an
insurance against the establishment of existing unions their affiliation will
be rejected.
An Enterprise Union Affiliation Committee is to be established to assess
the merits of any application by an enterprise union for affiliation to the
Council."
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, moved:-
"That the report be received."
Com. B. Wooldridge seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, moved:-
"That the report be adopted and the resolution be endorsed."
Com. R. Collison seconded.
CARRIED
2. NSW INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, reported to Council that, following a
request from the Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations, the
Hon. Jeff Shaw QC MLC, for Labor Council to nominate representatives to
participate in a newly created New South Wales Industrial Relations
Consultative Committee, it was proposed that the following people be
nominated;
Mr John Hennessy, General Secretary - NSW Teachers' Federation
Mr Ian West, Assistant Secretary - ALHWMU Miscellaneous Workers' Division
Mr Daniel Reiss, Legal Officer - CFMEU Building Unions Division, NSW
Mr Michael Want, Secretary - ASU NSW Clerical and Administrative Branch
Mr Steve Hutchins, Secretary - Transport Workers Union of Australia
Mr Peter Sams, Secretary - Labor Council of New South Wales.
Com. Sams advised that the newly formulated committee had been established to
discuss current and emerging industrial relations issues, and was part of the
Government's broader commitment to ensuring that the major industrial
organisations in this State met regularly to review the operation of the NSW
industrial relations system and to discuss significant industrial relations
matters.
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, moved:-
"That the report be received."
Com. A. Ferguson seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, moved:-
"That the report be adopted and the nominees for the Consultative Committee
be endorsed."
Com. C. Hodges seconded.
CARRIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS:-
The Secretary, Com. P. Sams, advised all affiliates that with the
ACTU Congress being held next week in Brisbane there would be no Labor Council
meeting on the evening of Thursday, September 4, 1997.
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6.55 P.M.
About Unions NSW
