Meeting held : 29 March 2007
Chair of Meeting: The Acting President, Comrade Annie Owens
Location of the meeting : Trades Hall Auditorium, 4 Goulburn St Sydney
UNIONS NSW MEETING MINUTES
MEETING HELD THURSDAY 29TH MARCH 2007
IN THE TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM AT
4 GOULBURN STREET, SYDNEY, AT 6:07 PM
The Acting President Com. A. Owens occupied the Chair.
PRESENT: - J. Robertson [Secretary] M. Lennon [Assistant Secretary],
C. Christodoulou, M. Thistlethwaite, A. Peters (Deputy Assistant Secretaries).
MINUTES: -
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be received".
Com. M Want seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted".
Com. A. Ferguson seconded.
CARRIED
CREDENTIALS
From The Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, NSW Branch appointing:- L. Charlson in place of R. Mallia.
From The Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union of Australia, NSW Branch appointing:- H. Nguyen in place of J. Owen.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the credentials be received and the delegates welcomed".
Com. B. Tubner seconded.
CARRIED
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received and accepted for: - S. Moait, J. Diamond, J. Hannaford, N. Lewocki, B. Holmes, J. Kiejda, K. Sullivan, L. Ridge, R. Martin, M. Thomas, M. Waters, L. Griffiths, J. Killen and J. Irving.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the apologies be received and accepted".
Com. M. Want seconded.
CARRIED
GUEST SPEAKER:
The Acting President, Com. A. Owens, introduced Ms Tricia Johns from the Australia East Timor Association and invited her to address delegates.
Com. Johns said that she had established a group of Timorese women weavers and seamstresses called Women's Woven Art which produces attractive and saleable products from the traditional hand-woven fabric of East Timor, called tais. She said that this project, which sends some products to Australia, was providing independence and income for many women in Dili and rural areas of East Timor and approximately 900 women had been gainfully employed over the last twelve months. Ms Johns said that UNICEF had recently recognised the contribution of Women's Woven Art in alleviating poverty in East Timor, using photos of WWA people and products to launch its 2007 report.
In closing, Ms Johns said that she was seeking to expand the sales of the women's work in Australia and would be grateful for any assistance unions could provide in this regard.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson thanked Com. Johns for her address and congratulated her for establishing the Women's Woven Art project in East Timor. Com. Robertson said that it was always pleasing to hear of these self-help projects and encouraged affiliates to support this particular one.
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
1. From the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, NSW Branch:- advising Unions NSW that they had circulated invitations to the Unions NSW International Day of Mourning service to the families of workers killed in construction. The union said that they anticipated that many of these family members would be attending on Saturday 28th April. The Union said that to further develop community support for this important initiative, they had approached a number of local councils requesting they place a plaque in a local park in remembrance of the International Day of Mourning and to support the campaign by the Australian trade union movement for better workplace safety. The Union requested that Unions NSW endorse the proposal and write to local councils across NSW and also encourage local Your Rights At Work Groups to support their campaign.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW support the CFMEU's proposal for Local Council's to place plaques in their area in memory of those killed at work."
Com. A. Ferguson seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
2. From the New South Wales Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines & Utilities Union:- regarding the 1st anniversary of the unfair anti-worker WorkChoices legislation. The Union advised that the ACTU had produced material which showed the impact of the legislation on workers over the last 12 months which amongst other things showed:-
• Job security has been reduced for working families.
• 1,000 workers a day were being pressured onto AWA's.
• Wage rises for full-time workers falling behind inflation.
• Labour productivity had declined.
The union said that there was nothing positive for workers and their families in this anti-worker legislation and that the ACTU material was an excellent tool in the fight against this extreme legislation. The Union asked that details of how to access it be forwarded to affiliates.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and details of the ACTU's material on the impact of WorkChoices be circulated to affiliates as requested."
Com. M. Want seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
3. From the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, NSW Branch:- regarding the liability of principal contractors under s127 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act. The Union said that Section 127 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act makes principal contractors liable for the underpayment of wages and entitlements to employees of their subcontractors under some circumstances. They said that this has proved to be an extremely useful tool to the union movement in helping recover money for workers who had not been paid or who had been underpaid by subcontractors. They also said that they had recently encountered some difficulties with aspects of s127. The Union said that firstly, principal contractors could avoid liability under s127 if they had received written statements from subcontractors stating that all remuneration payable to relevant workers under the contract had been paid. A principal contractor can rely on these statements to avoid any liability for the underpayments. The Union said that this appeared to be the case even where the principal contractor was on notice that the subcontractor was underpaying employees, and where it was likely that the written statements given to the principal contractor were false. Secondly, where the principal contractor claimed that it had received the relevant statements, and therefore had no liability for underpayments by the subcontractor, it did not have to produce the written statements to substantiate the claim. They said there was no obligation on the principal contractor to show the union the written statements, and that the CFMEU had had difficulty in seeking orders from the Industrial Relations Commission that written statements be produced, even when the principal contractor was relying on the statements. Lastly, the Union said that John Holland, a major builder, had recently argued in the Industrial Relations Commission that it was not the "principal contractor" for the purposes of s127, because it subcontracted with a company which in turn subcontracted the work out to a closely related company. They said that it may be the case that liability under s127 only extended to the first subcontractor in the chain of subcontracting, and that a principal contractor lost responsibility for payment for work performed for it, just because that work had been subcontracted a second time. The Union requested that Unions NSW write to the NSW government and request the following changes to s127 of the Industrial Relations Act:
• Principal contractors should only be able to rely on written statements by subcontractors stating that remuneration has been paid in full where there is no reason to believe that these statements may be false.
• Unions should be able to require the production of any s127 written statements, from either the principal contractor or from a subcontractor.
• Principal contractors should be liability for underpayments by all subcontractors working on a project for the principal contractor, whether or not the principal contractor has a direct contractual relationship with the subcontractor.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW approach the Government seeking the changes to S.127 of the IR Act as requested."
Com. A. Ferguson seconded the resolution.
Delegate L. Charlson spoke.
CARRIED
4. From the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, NSW Branch:- congratulating Morris Iemma and his team on their great victory last Saturday. The Union said that it was a victory achieved in the face of the most vehement opposition to a Government from print and radio media seen in living memory. They said that the people of New South Wales had voted on Saturday for a government that believed in fairness and equity in the workplace, not one that would expose a further one million workers to the injustices of WorkChoices. They said that the evidence was apparent in a letter published in today's Daily Telegraph from a Liberal voter of 30 years who had voted Labor on Saturday because of WorkChoices and would do the same in a Federal election. The Union said that Mr Howard, Mr Hockey and their colleagues could put the spin on last Saturday's result that they liked but the truth was WorkChoices was on the nose with the electorate and that they were going to tell the Government that at the ballot box later in the year.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW congratulate Premier Iemma and his team on their election victory.
Further, Unions NSW endorse the view that the result was a clear vote against the WorkChoices Laws."
Com. W. Tomlins seconded the resolution.
CARRIED
REPORTS
1. April 22nd - Rockin For Rights Rally/Concert
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson reminded delegates that the rally on April 22nd started at 11a.m at Hyde Park North with the march to the Sydney Cricket Ground to commence about 11.30a.m.
Com. J. Robertson moved:-
"That the report be received and noted."
Com. M. Thomson seconded.
CARRIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. No Meeting Next Thursday
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson advised delegates that there would be no Executive or General Meetings on Thursday, 5th April due to the Easter long weekend. Meetings would resume on Thursday, 12th April 2007.
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6: 31PM
Acting President:____________________________________
About Unions NSW
