From: "simon" - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
________
Briefing paper on the Yallourn Power Dispute 5/12/2000
May 1999 Yallourn workers enter EBA negotiations in good faith with their
employer Yallourn Energy (PowerGen)
Negotiations begin with workforce representatives making every effort and
concession possible in a vain attempt to get the employer to begin to
negotiate.
July 1999 Employer seeks assistance of their AIRC
November 1999 Employer applies to AIRC to have existing EA terminated This
termination application confirmed our view that Yallourn Energy had no
intention of negotiating a fair EA.
They had determined to use Reith's draconian Industrial Relations Act to
legally steal from their workers their job security and conditions.
When employers make an application to terminate existing EA's under Reith's
Act it is mandatory for the AIRC to terminate unless the unions can prove
that it is "contrary to the public interest. In IR matters, this makes the
union responsible for protecting the public interest.
The case to terminate the EA went from one adjournment to another.
The workers patience was wearing thin with Yallourn Energy's tactics and
their refusal to negotiate. Maintenance workers took protected action in
the form of overtime bans on the 4th of January 2000. This soon led to an
effective lock out of all maintenance workers and a shut down of Yallourn
Power Station.
It is suspected that due to market manipulation Yallourn Energy may have
been able to buy power at pre shutdown prices from other generators and
sold it back into the system at a considerable profit as power prices
skyrocketed due to Yallourn being shutdown.
The state government set up talks between parties with the assistance of
former government minister Neil Pope and Yallourn Energy refused to accept
the outcome.
The state government then enacted the Electricity Act forcing the party's
back to work. Through AIRC president Ross the maintenance union thrash out
a deal.
Negotiations were meant to resume. The workforce reps. and unions again
tried all available means to get the company to negotiate without success.
May 2000 at a mass meeting of CFMEU members it was decided to put a
comprehensive position document to the company.
June 2000 This document was put to the company in June and rejected
outright by Yallourn Energy. At this point as a last resort, our members
determined to take protected industrial action in an effort to force the
company to the negotiating table.
The Latrobe Valley CFMEU placed bans. Yallourn Energy claim the bans cost
them an estimated $4 million dollars a day. The CFMEU Latrobe Valley
strategy group determined that they couldn't just shut Yallourn down because:
* The bargaining period would have been terminated by the AIRC under
Reith's laws * As part of the sell off of the SEC the Kennett government
put in place laws that protected power companies in the event of workers
taking industrial action to defend their jobs and conditions by
compensating the power companies fully for losses greater than 550MW.
Essentially strike breaking legislation.
The CFMEU attempt to take industrial action was followed by a barrage of
Federal and AIRC cases initiated by the company in their effort to stop us.
CFMEU member's place bans limiting output to 950MW for seven weeks. CFMEU
member lost more than $100,000 in wages.
The company's response was an application to the AIRC to have our
bargaining period terminated
This part of Reith's rotten act depended on two things * were the workers
covered by a paid rates award * was there a reasonable chance of a
negotiated settlement.
If the bargaining period is terminated then the next step is conciliation
then arbitration. After arbitration the EA become a MX award.
October 2000 The Melbourne Age reported on a Yallourn Energy plan revealing
a conspiracy to sack the entire mine workforce of 262; combined with a
lockout of the entire workforce of 580. Then pressure the government with
power blackouts and contract out the mine.
The Victorian Supreme Court granted Yallourn Energy's request to suppress
these documents.
With this new information the CFMEU made applications to both the Federal
Court and AIRC to stop Commissioner Lewin making a decision on terminating
our bargaining period.
November 2nd Lewin rang the CFMEU legal team and said he would not be
making any orders in his decision on the termination of the bargaining period.
The CFMEU strategy group met a 1pm to consider its recommendation to the
Latrobe Valley Mining & Energy mass meeting at 4pm that day.
Lewins decision of 25 pages started to be faxed through at about 2pm. This
meant that the strategy group ran out of time to make any decisions or
recommendations for the upcoming mass meeting.
This meant that any resolutions/decision would have to come from the floor.
Luke Van der Meulen Latrobe Valley CFMEU secretary reported to the mass
meeting.
The meeting was told that we had effectively had our bargaining period
terminated and that unions had two weeks to write to Lewin and let him know
how we wanted it terminated. Secondly Luke also reported the due to a
Supreme Court injunction he was unable to report on Yallourn Energy's
secret plan's to sack its mine workforce.
A motion was moved from the floor calling for industrial action to commence
at 7pm that night for 24hrs. It was debated and overwhelmingly carried.
That evening power blackouts occurred in some parts of Melbourne to an
extent thought unnecessary given the availability of alternate generating
power.
During the evening the Victorian government contacted the unions
acknowledging the hardship faced by the Latrobe Valley community and made a
promise to do all in their power to * Assist in the fair settlement of the
Yallourn dispute * Stop writs being issued against individuals * Do
something about job creation in our community
Christian Zahra (Federal member for Mcmillan) gave a personal undertaking
to ensure writs were not an issue
In return the CFMEU undertook to stop our industrial action and return to
normal work. This occurred at about 11pm.
A little over an hour later the Victorian government barrister was
assisting the Yallourn Energy barrister in seeking a certificate in the
AIRC to allow Yallourn Energy to issue writs against an individual and the
union.
The papers reported that it was use of the Electricity Act that got the
power workers back to work. This is untrue. It wasn't until the next day
November 3rd that members CFMEU strategy group had roughly twenty million
dollars worth of writs brought against them.
During the evening of the strike action and the next day, the state
leadership of the FEDFA joined in the chorus of government and bosses
slamming the Latrobe Valley power workers a s rebels, rouges and irresponsible.
On November 3rd Lewin terminates the bargaining period and the union is
told that both their applications have failed. Luke Van de Meulen was
advised that this process was aided and abetted by the Victorian
government. Once the bargaining was terminated the next step is
conciliation followed by arbitration.
The FEDFA state office without any Latrobe Valley Mining and Energy (LV
M&E) sub branch or Yallourn representation agreed on a conciliation process.
What the LV M&E sub branch wanted was the conciliation to be set up
properly with proper representation from the valley combined with
assistance from the state government to go through the issues and help nut
out a deal with the company.
What actually happened is that John Van Camp Victorian secretary of FEDFA
and LV organiser Rod Hart went to the commission set up all the dates for
the conciliation process and started the conciliation without notifying or
involving the LV M&E sub branch. Having done this they then involved Justin
Felsbourg (station convenor) and Stu Sceney (mine convenor) to add
legitimacy to conciliation process.
At a meeting of FEDFA management committee it was decided that the LV M&E
sub branch in conjunction with the FEDFA management committee would jointly
work through the conciliation process. John Van Camp made it quite clear
that the conciliation process meant selling the power workers Yallourn
Energy's package.
The conciliation process basically went how John Van Camp wanted it go with
Rod Hart making a commitment in the commission to assist getting the
Yallourn Energy package up amongst LV M&E members.
At a meeting of the LV M&E strategy group who had been given the
responsibility of running the dispute, it was decided that unless Yallourn
Energy was serious about negotiating not to attempt to negotiate with the
company which would of given legitimacy to the package. Instead we called
on them to present the union with its final package which would then be
taking to the members and voted on.
The LV M&E are fighting hard against a whole range of forces to get their
members to overwhelmingly vote no to the Yallourn Energy package, which if
accepted will mean
* No job security
* No structures
* No control of their rosters
* No control over casual labour
* No control over contractors
* No control over the introduction of new technology
The final result being major job loses both amongst the operators and
maintenance and a major blow to the union's ability to fight and defend
their members and further damage to the Latrobe Valley community.
On the 6th of December the company applied to the AIRC and received a
secret ballot with the support of Jon Van Camp and Rod Hart from the State
leadership of FEDFA. The ballot is to be conducted on the 14th, 15th and
19th of December.
December 7th At and an information mass meeting a record number of CFMEU
Latrobe Valley Sub Branch member showed up at the Morwell golf club. The
overwhelming sentiment at the meeting was one of hostility toward the State
leader and overwhelming support for the local leadership of the sub branch
to vote no to the EBA and then fight on both legally and industrial to
preserve their hard won wages and conditions.
If the power unions are crippled it removes a key force in the fight
against privatisation and deregulation. Power costs will soar. It will also
flow on to the other unions in the industry plus it will be much harder for
the Hazelwood and Loy Yang workers to resist similar EBA's.
--
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