Unions take on outsourcing

I'm still a member of the AMWU (Australian Manufacturing Workers Union). As I'm not working the union fees are waved for up to a year. Have been a member for most of my working life, and way back when it was the much smaller Printing and Kindred Industries Union (before merging with the AMWU). I still get their newsletters and emails. 

In the main stream national news lately there has been reporting about a strike by a group of 550 warehouse workers at a Coles warehouse in Melbourne (Coles is a huge supermarket chain here). It became a particularly bitter dispute, and complicated by the fact that Coles was such a big company, and that it had outsourced it's workforce to another company Toll Holdings. Workers at this warehouse didn't have the same conditions on-site as was common throughout the industry as they were working for a contract employer of Coles. Sounds a bit complicated.

The strike lasted 2 weeks, and I'm pleased to say the company eventually capitulated.

On the fourteenth day of a hard strike – after two weeks of the company taking officials and members of the NUW to different courts around the country, intimidating workers and their families, and repeatedly saying they would never give the conditions that workers were seeking – finally negotiations were successful in coming to an agreed position for workers to vote on.

This resolution could not have happened without the industrial strength of the workers or without the amazing support from community supporters and the Union Movement as a whole. It was this industrial strength that delegates needed every time they sat down with the company.

This dispute was about fighting to attain long held warehousing industry-based conditions from a contractor employer. Members met in Somerton yesterday Toll vote to vote on their new EBA
Link

I really like the summing up at the end of the article, as I'm all too familiar with being treated like a number and my job outsourced.

This is the starting point from which to continue building, so that workers can have equal rights and conditions across the industry; so that workers are not treated as a number, but with dignity and respect; so that workers can be financially secure and plan for their future; so that Coles – or any other company – cannot outsource their responsibility to workers that are the back bone of any company, even if they want to outsource the management.

Every NUW branch, workplace and member commends the members at the Coles warehouse in Somerton for taking this fight on and winning. It is a fight toll last day they took on for all of us. And from all the members at Coles DC and all officials of the NUW, our thanks goes to all those who supported this campaign, it could not have happened without you.

You know I'm still actually very concerned about people's safety at my old job. All they're doing is training people for a few hours for a job that you're supposed to do an apprenticeship for. It's heavy machinery. I really do hope nothing happens to anyone that's left there. It will be the company's fault if it does.