Winter Issue 2010- 'Special History Edition' - cfmeu

More documents

Recommendations

Info

NORTHERN SUBURBS REPORT with Mark Hudston and Rob Pearson MINI BOOM IN ELLENBROOK! Ellenbrook is a real hive of activity with several hundred construction workers currently working on a multitude of projects. A sea of Hi-Vis can often be seen when travelling into the area and it looks like staying that way for a while. Built-Environs are doing a major extension to the shopping centre and Prime, BGC and Killcullen-Clark are building several major apartment developments. One project all the blokes are looking forward to seeing completed is the new pub by Badge Constructions. Derwent are building a new high school and Universal have a TAFE development on the go. Asbestos has once again risen it’s ugly head on construction sites around Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, causing some sites to be shut down, with workers having to go and work at alternate jobs while the threat is assessed and cleaned up. We strongly urge all workers to exercise caution. NEED PROBLEMS FIXED? Smaller sites shouldn’t mean that you have to put up with lousy conditions. We have many situations such as these that we have fixed. Non-sewered and stinking toilet facilities, no tea/coffee facilities, no fridges, no air-con or proper lunch rooms, no fresh water, no safety conditions and more. We have fixed problems for workers who have not been getting their correct entitlements such as superannuation, redundancy payments and accrual of long service leave. We have fixed problems for workers who have been ripped off! Yes, we can help to fix these things if you and your co-workers are in the union. You can be a collective force to be reckoned with, improve your conditions and perhaps seek better pay through a union negotiated EBA. More information contact Mark Hudston 0419 812 864 or Rob Pearson 0459 135 033. ‘Cyclone Kennedy’ heads North During the last CFMEU election one of the policies put forward by State Secretary Kevin Reynolds was to expand our office in Karratha. The North West is a hub of activity with many issues unique to the region. CFMEU Organiser and proud militant, Phil Kennedy is now permanently based in Karratha along with Brad Upton to provide our growing membership with even more service and representation. Their motto in working together is “ The union that has a reputation for turning up will be turning up even more!!!” Prior to becoming an Organiser, Phil worked in the trade with extensive construction experience in Victoria, where he was also a shop steward in Geelong before seeing the light and heading West. After 3 years working in the Perth office Phil is looking forward to living in Karratha with his young family and working with Brad Upton to bring even better pay and conditions to workers in the North West. Those wishing to contact Phil can do so by calling 0427 244 141. Construction Worker – Winter 2010 Page 61 CFMEU
N O R T H W E S T F O C U S with Dave Kelly Bosses want to keep NW workers in the dark! Dave Kelly was engaged by the CFMEU National Office to deliver Fair Work Act information and education sessions to CFMEU members. Detailed information about his program was published in a previous edition of the Union Journal. As part of this national program he visited Western Australia. This is his report on meetings in the Pilbara: Where but in the big North West would bosses break up a Federal Government sponsored program about work rights? And who else but the ACCI (or the chamber of horrors as they are known in the East) would even think of docking workers 4 hours pay and threaten injunctions against them just because they wanted to know more about the new industrial relations laws? Nice try, but the more workers truly see a company’s anti union colours the more staunch they get – half a dozen workers came directly up to collect joining cards from a smiling Brad Upton, CFMEU area organiser. Well, that was my welcome to down-town Cape Preston, a hundred and fifty kilometres or so north of Karratha – a firsthand insight into big business’ determination to smash strong rank and file Unions like the CFMEU. As they say, knowledge is power and understanding the new workplace laws (less than satisfactory they may be) is regard as trouble to employers wanting to keep workers ignorant, divided and conquered. CFMEU Organiser, Brad Upton in discussion at the NW monthly members meeting – Be informed, make sure you attend each month at the Rec Club. But challenge has always bred defiance in working people, and despite difficulties getting on site, North West Organiser Brad Upton managed to arrange a number of very successful meetings to explain how the Rudd/Gillard Fair Work Act will affect Australian workplaces – where they are better than Howard’s hated Workchoices and where they are the same. I was fortunate enough to meet some of the best union activists in the country who were standing up to arguably the most vicious anti-worker forces in Australia. While being able to address large groups of workers on sites in the North West proved challenging, the union’s monthly meeting proved to be one of the best that I held under the program, with about one hundred in attendance at the Karratha Rec Club. These men, women and their families, working in this harsh region, wanted to know how the new laws will help them, and what the future held for remote community living and the insecurity of Fly in Fly out employment. The answer will not alone be found in Governments and legislation. As always, the welfare and progress of Australian workers will be determined by the strength of their organisation and their willingness to stick together despite the odds. The Pilbara is an eye opener and you can really see what current restrictions on workers’ rights to organise is all about – they want us dirt cheap – no fuss, no complaints, no rights. All the best to Brad and Phil Kennedy who is joining him to build our union across the North West region. *Dave Kelly, former National Official, now organising with the NSW Branch in Civil and Mechanical Construction. Construction Worker – Winter 2010 Page 63 CFMEU
Page 1 and 2: Special History Edition ARK TRIBE:
Page 3 and 4: S E C R E TA R Y ’ S A D D R E S
Page 5 and 6: How the CFMEU WA became one BIG uni
Page 7 and 8: SAVING OUR PAST Long before saving
Page 9 and 10: Building a social conscience. This
Page 11 and 12: NOT ALWAYS A LABOR OF LOVE Often th
Page 13 and 14: ‘WORKERS EMBASSY’ After the pro
Page 15 and 16: 'If pickets were put on the job I w
Page 17 and 18: HOW THE WEST WAS The 70’s 80’s
Page 19 and 20: The skills training centre revoluti
Page 21 and 22: MayDay’10
Page 23 and 24: E D I T O R I A L C O M M E N T ARK
Page 25 and 26: S A F E T Y N E W S with Mick Bucha
Page 27 and 28: WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY with Mick Buch
Page 29 and 30: I N T E R N AT I O N A L N E W S wi
Page 31 and 32: S O U T H W E S T R E P O R T with
Page 33 and 34: THE NORTH WEST REPORT with Brad Upt
Page 35: THE SOUTH METRO REPORT with Paul Fe

Winter Issue 2010- 'Special History Edition' - cfmeu

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?