Dear CPSU members and supporters,
I encourage everyone to be a part of the National Union and Community Day of Action for fairer workplace laws on Thursday morning, 30 November. It will be a historic day as Australians come together to tell our politicians to respect our rights at work. Hundreds of events will be held throughout the country - all linked through a Sky Channel broadcast from the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
As a worker, citizen, trade unionist and parent, I'm deeply opposed to what the Government is doing to our workplaces and communities through these laws. If you share my concerns - and want to see fairer, more balanced workplace laws - I urge you to come along and be a part of the 30 November activities. Your participation will make a difference.
Yours sincerely,Stephen Jones
CPSU National Secretary
21 comments:
I will be going to the Your Rights at Work rally to protest against John Howard’s laws. I don’t want my children and grandchildren growing up in a world where fairness at work is traded in for a quick buck.
I'll be there with bells on. I you give a stuff about the sort of workplace your kids will be working in - you should be there too
I spoke with a group of retirees who were all keen to go along to the rally. They are upset about what's happening and how this will affect their grandchildren.
I was really looking forward to attending the rally but unfortunately I will not be able to attend due to unplanned work committments. I will be there in spirit though and will continue to encourage friedns to attend as this is such an important issue Australians are facing. Government's committment and purpose is about "Improving the Lives of Australians" - I fail to see how the new "laws" will be improving lives of Australians.
I had planned to be there but cant because of a necessary home improvement.
This is not good for our kids nor for the future of our society. It makes it too easy for un-fairness and croneyism and greed to creep into the workplace. Kids as casuals in their first job are inexperienced and dont know how to deal with pay and promotion issues especially when the amount of paperwork and training is minimal.
I have 2 teenagers who have worked as casuals on a low wage for franchises for nearly 2 years.
Their interests have not been looked after and they are afraid to ask about pay or shift decisions for fear of being penalised by the supervisor whose job it is to allocate numbers of hours per week on a weekly basis.
The supervisors have been mostly the same age and inexperienced, and rewards of getting the shift you want seem to be based on popularity with the supervisors.
Supervisors only stay a short time and then leave and dont handover details of good-will or time credits and arent available as referees as they are not traceable.
Workers are told that its up to them to organise a replacement if they are not able to make a shift (ie they have to pay to ring around up to 15 other people) and there is huge pressure when they are ill to turn up because how can you get a replacement at short notice, especially if there has been a new batch of staff and there is no access to a list of possible casual workers phone numbers anyway?
As they work in a food industry this means that there have been several occasions when they have ended up serving food while infectious in order not to let the team down - the young supervisor might see you are ill but wont send you home to stop spreading the illness because then there wont be enough hands on the deck!
And then when they get older - ie on next pay rate- they are subtly pushed out to make way for cheaper staff - older supervisors are brough to the shop and dont give them the shifts they want, give them less hours, query their attendance, "forget" to pay them and claim they didnt fill in their timesheets properly - and its only a teenager's word v a supervisors so in disgust the kids resign.
I am 23 and I am scared at what the future will hold if these laws arent changed. This country is going downhill fast, I think about what my children will have to face. I cant be at the rally but i give my full support to the protest and will pray that the message will get through.
The most ominous thing was the comments from the Government indicatng they are going to do more on making the work force more "flexible" if re-elected - what next - serfdom ? wish could attend but there in spirit (working carer with child with disability )
Australia belongs to the people.
Support the workers.
I'm not old enough to remember the Great Depression (I'd be about 100+ if I could!) but what the government is attempting to do is send us back to those days from what I heard from those who did live through it.
You IDIOTS are protesting against the WRONG GOVERNMENT!!!!!
The Howard government has delivered record low unemployment, and under the new IR laws, low income workers just got an unexpected pay increase that even Labor and the unions couldn't criticise!
In the ACT, under the Stanhope Labor government, on the other hand, there have been huge cutbacks in PS staffing, causing a great deal of anxiety for many.
WAKE UP and SUPPORT the HOWARD GOVERNMENT! It would make more sense to rally against Labor!
Oh, and what makes you think you have the right to be PAID to attend this?
The taxpaying public pays your wages - why should they be forced to fund your carryings on?
Well how dumb can you get... Like everybody else I will at the rally on MY OWN TIME. I guess even in Howard's fascist state I'm allowed to do what I like in my free time.
Well, good for you if you're going on your own time. But ACT public servants have been told they can have paid leave to attend.
Given the current Federal government measures employment as "more than an hour a week" I'd hardly take their unemployment figures seriously. The pay increase of the FPC at 5.6% is after about 18 months delay for those on minimum wage and seems pretty reasonable given inflation.
Cuts to the basic conditions in Awards other things the low paid can look forward too; I suppose if they aren't "good enough" to negotiate an AWA they deserve what they get, eh?
Under John Howards government this year, my pay has gone up $27 per week and my mortgage by $250 per month. We need to participate in the rally on November 30 to let Johnny know that his employment laws don't help the working population!
Dear Sensible person,
For a start, sensible people don't try to win the hearts and minds of their peers with insults. Mistake no.1
The unemployment figures have been fiddled to include even people who work 5 hours or less a week, so things look a whole lot better to Mr and Mrs Average and you fell for it hook, line and sinker...mistake no.2
As far as your critism of the "Stanhope Government" is concerned, who in the heck do you think is driving the cutbacks? Ummm...that would be the Federal Government...and who's running that these days? Oh yeah...John Howard...mistake no. 3
Incidentally, the Unions are continuing to fight tooth and nail against the cutbacks.
With regards to getting paid to attend the rally...it's called Annual Leave and last time I looked, people were free to do whatever they wish with their leave...although Mr Howard would like to change that...mistake no. 4
Lastly, every single member of the "taxpaying public" stands to be negatively affected by the new I.R. Laws, something you don't seem to understand...mistake no. 5
Suddenly "Sensible person" isn't looking so smart afterall :)
I will be there at Belmore Park for the National Day of Action, with my family, our two boys who have been campaigning as well in their own school (one is 12yo and the other is turning 10) because for them, the current laws will make the majority of the Working Australian families' lives 100 times harder, and inhumane culutre will start to breed.
It's interesting how kids at that age (10-12) can easily understand what's going on. I mean, I know it's not rocket science, but the fact that there are still Howard supporters (which is so sad) who say nothing's going to go wrong, it just frightens me sometimes. but I am thankful that our kids can be more SENSIBLE and TURTHFUL than adults, esp at this time of heavy crisis, because they can experience it too at first hand - and a lot of people deny that. Talk to your kids, you might be more sensible the next round, it helps.
In response to the person above who charged me with attempting to 'win the hearts and minds of my peers with insults':
I apologise for using the word 'idiot'. Normally I can respect the opinions of others, even when I disagree with them, but on this occasion I was provoked by the references to 'bloody politicians' and 'Howard's fascist state' in the messages above mine.
Shame on Mr Howard taking away our working rates. The liberal government seems only interested in looking after the big business person, I feel the gap in Australia is getting larger and larger soon their will be no middle class. I am very concerned for my children and also disappointed that people are not fighting back.
Unfortunately I am not able to attend the Your Rights at Work rally. Those attending to protest against John Howard's laws have my full support. I will also continue to encourage my friends to make their vote count at the next Federal Election. I hope this will ensure that John Howard does not succeed in sending as back to working conditions of the dark ages.
I will be at the MCG on 30th November. I am looking forward to being counted amongst the hundreds of thousands of Australian's across the country who are prepared to stand up and say no to these unfairworkplace laws.
Congratulations to the CPSU on its win in the courts against the Office of Employment Advocate. It is an important outcome for all public servants.
All my full on support to all Australians who are going to this very important rally.I will be there in heart and mind,but as our dept is so understaffed thanks to Howard,I cant even take my leave and attend as our team is so stretched and our workload so great.We need to keep up our fight,we must keep going with this protest.We cant lose what so many have fought to gain for all of us workers.
sensible person - it's not just about the money - it's about decent working conditions. it's an attempt to maintain and improve working conditions and wages... the two are important..
jurgie
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