Autumn issue 2103 - cfmeu

U N I O N N E W S
with Graham Pallot & Kevin Sneddon
Varanus Island: $6 million win for workers
After 18 months of working with some staunch CFMEU
members on Varanus Island, the WA Branch has
delivered a massive win to the workers on the Island. The
ATO has ruled that workers have been underpaid 92
hours of superannuation on every swing, an annual total
of nearly 1200 hours of superannuation. The good news
is that, thanks to the WA Branch of the CFMEU, all of
those workers will be back paid the money they’ve
missed out on and get 10% interest on top!
What this means for a lot of the workers is over $15,000
being deposited into their superannuation account. The
company has so far refused to say exactly how much will
be paid to the workers, but based on the length of time,
number of workers and amounts involved, our
calculations put it somewhere in the order of $5-6 million.
Workers on Varanus were on a two-week-on, two-weekoff
roster, putting in 12 hours days on site. This meant
that when they were on the job they were doing 84 hours
per week yet were only getting 38 hours superannuation
– 168 hours every 4 week swing for 76 hours super!
Based on information supplied by the CFMEU and its
members on the job, the ATO issued a ruling making
clear that superannuation needed to be paid on all of the
168 hours. The workers were expected to do these hours
as part of their regular roster and as such should have
been receiving superannuation.
State Secretary Mick Buchan has made clear that this
could have implications for other workers specifically
those on FIFO rosters and has promised that, “the
CFMEU here in WA and nationwide will continue to fight
to make sure that workers are properly paid and that
employers are aware of their responsibilities. We will be
checking superannuation payments with our members
and auditing payments on major resource projects to
ensure this latest ruling is being complied with”.
CFMEU NW Organiser Brad Upton says; “It’s another
valid reason why it pays to belong to the union. Super
money is real money, no workers should be short of
being paid their proper entitlements. Make no mistake, if
workers are ripped off, we’ll do whatever it takes to make
sure our members and their families don’t lose out – it’s
a top result!”
Here’s a few comments from our
members about the outcome achieved:
“Thanks for all your hard work and
professionalism in dealing with our
superannuation dispute. You are a
credit to “Our Union”.
CFMEU Member, Varanus Island.
“I just want to say thanks for your
help. It’s always good to see the
workers united making change for
the better.”
CFMEU Member, Ex-Varanus Island
Graham Pallot on the stump:
‘A huge Victory won for our
NW members.’
This win came about because there were union members
on Varanus Island who were proud to be in the CFMEU
and who cared about what happened to themselves and
their fellow workers. The more you sit back and shrug
your shoulders the more your rights and entitlements will
be stripped from you. Stand up for your rights, join your
union and ensure the boss doesn’t rip you off. The
workers on Varanus Island have 6 million good reasons to
be grateful that this was the case on their job.
If you believe you are being ripped off please call
Graham Pallot on 0419 812 865 or Brad Upton on
0488 770 857.
Construction Worker – Autumn 2013 Page 11
CFMEU