Meeting held : 08 May 2008
Chair of Meeting: The Acting President, Comrade Barry Johnson
Location of the meeting : Trades Hall Auditorium, 4 Goulburn St Sydney
UNIONS NSW MEETING MINUTES
MEETING HELD THURSDAY 8TH MAY 2008
IN THE TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM
AT 4 GOULBURN STREET, SYDNEY, AT 6:01 PM
The Acting President Com. B. Johnson 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. B. Holmes seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted".
Com. F. Barnes seconded.
CARRIED
CREDENTIALS
From The Australian Workers' Union, Greater NSW Branch appointing: -
R. Collison, S. Bali, N. Allen, V. Falconer, C. Bodnar, P. Farrow and L. Heaney as delegates and P. Murray, S. Crawford, G. Hillier, T. Mitchell, G. Beard and K. Brown as alternate delegates for 2008.
From The Australian Workers' Union, Greater NSW Branch appointing:- S. Crawford in place of C. Bodnar.
From The NSW Teachers Federation appointing:- P. Lang in place of J. Irving and G. Johnson in place of P. Bradley.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the credentials be received and the delegates welcomed".
Com. R. Fortescue seconded.
CARRIED
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received and accepted for: - S. Moait, A. Tattersall, G. Dwyer, J. Diamond, S. Edsall, C. O'Sheades and A. Ferguson.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the apologies be received and accepted."
Com. M. Want seconded.
CARRIED
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
1. From the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Public Sector Workforce Office:- advising Unions NSW of the statutory review of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 (the Act) which is being conducted by the Department on behalf of the Premier. They advised that section 170 of the Act requires a review of the Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives. The PWSO advised that the review must be completed and a report tabled in both Houses of Parliament before 3 July 2008. They said they noted that to date unions had elected not to provide preliminary issues for the review. The PWSO advised that as part of the review process, the Department of Premier and Cabinet had prepared an issues paper for public consultation and that the paper was available on the Department of Premier and Cabinet website at: http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/public_sector_employment_and_management_act/issues_paper. They said that interested parties were invited to make formal submissions in response to the issues paper and that consultation on the issues paper would conclude on 30 May 2008. A report on the review of the Act would be prepared for tabling in Parliament by 26 June 2008.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW liaise with Public Sector affiliates regarding an appropriate response to the review of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act."
Com. B. Holmes seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
2. From the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, New South Wales Branch:- advising Unions NSW that they had produced a special booklet for non-English speaking workers and that the booklet had been translated into Dari, Farsi, Arabic, Korean
and Chinese. The Union said that workers from these language groups were often subjected to extreme abuse and exploitation and were not aware of their rights. They said that their booklet focused on workers' rights in the areas of safety, superannuation, long service and workers' compensation. The CFMEU requested that a copy of the booklet be distributed to affiliates for their information.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and the CFMEU be congratulated on its production of a booklet for non-English speaking workers.
Further, Unions NSW forward details of the booklet to affiliates for their information."
Com. B. Parker seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
3. From the Public Service Association of New South Wales: - advising Unions NSW of the new figures on inflation out this week which shows that inflation is running very close to 4.5%. They said that everyone knows that their members were suffering from a great reduction in the purchasing power of their wages. The PSA said that the NSW Government's wage offer of 2.5% would lead to a significant reduction in the real wages of public sector workers. The Union called upon Unions NSW and its affiliates to take this issue up with the Premier and the Government to break this policy and ensure a realistic adjustment of wages so that workers were not worse off under a Labor Government.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW together with the Public Sector Unions approach the Premier seeking a review of the government's offer to public sector workers of a 2.5% increase in wages."
Com. G. McLean seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
4. From the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, New South Wales Branch:- advising Unions NSW that it was anticipated a CFMEU official in the next 4-8 weeks would be gaoled for defiance of the coercive powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). The Union said that an official from the Victorian Branch of the CFMEU had refused to be interrogated by the ABCC with regard to union activities. They said that this offence carried a
penalty of up to six month gaol and that the matter had been referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. The CFMEU said that the NSW ALP Conference last weekend unanimously supported the CFMEU-MUA proposal to abolish the ABCC. They said unfortunately Labor had not agreed to the abolition of this anti-union Building Industry Taskforce. The Union advised that at a meeting of national state officers of the ETU, AMWU, CFMEU, CEPU Plumbing Division and the AWU held this week, a national campaign to abolish the ABCC had been endorsed. The CFMEU sought the endorsement of Unions NSW for the campaign and support for a national protest should any unionist be gaoled under these harsh anti-union laws. The CFMEU also sought Unions NSW endorsement for the establishment of a campaign committee of building unions to co-ordinate the campaign.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW endorse the campaign against the ABCC and that a Campaign Committee be established as requested."
Com. B. Parker seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
5. From the Rail Tram and Bus Union, New South Wales Branch:- advising Unions NSW that last weekend's ALP State Conference would long be remembered as the conference that determined the future relationship between rank and file ALP members, the affiliated unions, the administrative executive of the NSW Labor Party and the ALP Parliamentary wing. The Union said that we should all be proud of the way union leaders had put their case of opposition to the privatisation of electricity. They said that the rational argument put forward by union leaders was in stark contrast to that of the Treasurer who put the privatisation plan together. The RTBU said that Bernie Riordan, in his capacity as ALP President, had controlled the conference ensuring it did not degenerate into a zoo. They said that not only was Premier Iemma received by conference with dignity and respect but speakers for and against the privatisation were allowed to put their case. Even though there had been a small diversion at one stage conference delegates had remained calm and sensible. The Union said that the unity and solidarity of the union conference delegates showed that when it came to issues of fairness, job security and community standards there were no divisions between the unions. The RTBU congratulated the Secretary, Com. J. Robertson on his contribution to the conference and as the public voice of the union movement in NSW.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW congratulate all those unions for the united manner in which they conducted themselves during the electricity debate at the ALP Conference."
Com. N. Lewocki seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6: 16PM
Acting President:____________________________________
About Unions NSW
