Aussie war spies go on strike March 18, 2003
Forty Australian staff at the Territory's Pine Gap spy base are considering taking a discrimination case to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
They are seeking to be paid the same as their US colleagues for doing the same job.
An Australian Industrial Relations Commission hearing was unable to proceed with the claim this week because secrecy provisions meant the workers could not reveal how much they were paid or what it is that they do at the defence facility.
The dispute comes as Pine Gap prepares to play a key communications role in the war on Iraq.
The Australian workers are employed by US-based contractor Raytheon E-Systems at the US-Australian facility near Alice Springs. They walked off the job in January and February and contacted Industrial Relations Australia's Paul Houlihan for help.
The conflict arose when US citizens, hired in Alice Springs, were paid more than locals.
Mr Houlihan said the workers understood expatriate Americans received extra benefits.
``The company has employed them in Australia, but, because they are US citizens, are paying them as if they are expat Americans,'' he said.
The Aussies took their case to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission seeking to terminate the bargaining period for their new enterprise agreement, which would have forced the commission to arbitrate a settlement.
``But secrecy provisions proved a problem for the AIRC, which was unable to make a decision because of a lack of evidence.
Mr Houlihan, who represented the 40 workers, said:
``The argument is not that Australians should receive the same as Americans, given that most Americans are expats, but on a comparison basis, job for job, they should be paid the same. Because we couldn't produce evidence, essentially because of the Crimes Act, the commission declined to proceed.''
In his decision delivered earlier this week, Commissioner Brendan Eames said he could not rely on ``circumstantial evidence or assumptions''.
Northern Territory News
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6144181%255E13569,00.html
