Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

New Labor contracts as bad as AWAs, says ASU

September 16, 2008
 The Federal ALP's heavily promoted individual contracts have proved to be as bad for workers as the agreements they replaced, Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).
Victorian Australian Services Union branch secretary Ingrid Stitt said there was deep concern with the new contracts (ITEAs), which were introduced earlier in 2008 as part of a transitional bill to stop new AWAs being created.
"The transition while on paper looks like an improvement, in practice it's totally ineffective," she said."
Ms Stitt's union is currently in a dispute with Toll Dnata, an airline services company, over the use of the new Individual Transitional Employment Arrangements.
About 200 customer service and check-in staff at Toll Dnata, including 50 in Melbourne, have in the past year been offered a mix of AWAs and the new agreements.
The union says the deals cut pay and allowances by at least $5000 a year when compared to the award.
Ms Stitt's comments add to an increasing disquiet from unions about the pace of the Government's moves to overhaul Australia's workplace laws. The Government is due to release its substantive bill later this year but many in union movement have pushed for a quicker pace, showing employers are still using WorkChoices to strip hard working conditions and pay.
The ASU said the agreements offered to Toll Dnata staff did not offer penalty rates, higher duties pay or travel allowances.
Ms Stitt said the union have taken the case to the Workplace Authority but have waited nearly six months to see if some of the new agreements passed the fairness test. The rules were ineffective, she said.

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