26 March, 2008A ban on new Australian Workplace Agreements begins to restore the rights of Australian workers, including workers at Cochlear who are continuing to fight for a collective union agreement.
AUSTRALIA: Unions welcomed the ban on new individual contracts known as Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), which passed through the Australian Parliament on March 19. The law is an important first step in restoring the rights of Australian workers that were taken away by the former Liberal government's Work Choices labour laws.
The ban is good news for workers at Cochlear who have been struggling for the right to be represented by their union. However, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) warns that:
• there is still no legal obligation on Cochlear to recognise the union or to negotiate a collective agreement with the union, even if 100 per cent of the workers are supporting a union agreement,
• the company can still enter into a so called "employee" agreement where it enters into a collective agreement with the workforce which excludes the union, and
• the company still has many avenues to persecute union delegates and activists as there is very little effective legal protection against dismissal or other punitive actions.
"The new Government has pledged to introduce prior to the end of the year a new industrial law requiring employers to negotiate a collective agreement in good faith where the majority of workers want this to occur," said AMWU president Julius Rowe.
For now, workers at Cochlear and unions across Australia are calling on employers to respect the will of the Australian people and allow workers to go onto a union collective agreement that properly protects their wages, conditions and rights.
"The Cochlear workers are not just waiting around for new laws. They are continuing their campaign in the workplace to achieve a collective agreement," said Rowe.
To find out more go to: www.imfmetal.org/ListenUpCochlear