19 October, 2009AMWU bargaining campaign at Cochlear gets boost from new labour laws.
AUSTRALIA: The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) has made significant progress in its campaign for collective bargaining rights for 320 Cochlear production workers. In July 2009, the Rudd Labor Government replaced the neo-liberal "WorkChoices" labour laws. The new legislation requires employers to "bargain in good faith" with unions if a majority of workers support collective bargaining.
The AMWU made an application on behalf of the majority of Cochlear employees to the new tribunal for workplace disputes Fair Work Australia in late July 2009. Following a ballot of all eligible employees, and an intensive employer campaign against a "Yes" vote, the AMWU won a historic victory and the Tribunal issued bargaining orders.
The AMWU will commence bargaining with Cochlear in the first week of November. "I am optimistic that Cochlear management will respect the majority of employees' decision, but this campaign won't be over until we resolve a fair collective agreement," said AMWU NSW Assistant Secretary Tim Ayres. "AMWU members are going to work hard to get to agreement, but we won't hesitate to enforce our new legal rights if Cochlear management frustrate good faith bargaining."
"The AMWU members greatly appreciate the solidarity shown by members of the AMWU in many other workplaces and by unions around the world through the IMF. The name Cochlear became associated with a refusal to respect the workers wishes and to bargaining fairly with the union under Australia's unfair labour laws. We hope that this will now change. We will keep the IMF informed of progress." said Julius Roe, AMWU National President and IMF Executive Committee member.
The IMF launched a campaign in August 2007 in support of the workers at Cochlear after the company, a world leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art hearing devices, used Australia's anti-union industrial relations laws brought into force by the previous conservative government to deny workers the right to be represented by their union.
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