Latest news with #ETU
West Australian
2 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Big miners accuse union of ‘bully tactics' as Pilbara wage fight continues
WA's big miners are crying foul over union claims they have breached Labor's 'same job, same pay' laws before a ruling has been made in the State. The Minerals Council of Australia has lodged a formal complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman, accusing the Electrical Trades Union of making 'clearly false', and potentially unlawful, representations to workers as it tries to gain a foothold in the Pilbara. Unions won a test case against BHP in the Fair Work Commission two weeks ago to enforce 'same job, same pay' laws on a coal mine in Queensland's Bowen Basin, adding $66 million to the mining giant's wages bill. But though no applications have been successful in WA, the ETU was threatening legal action against sub-contractors in the State as far back as April. In one email sent to multiple labour hire companies obtained by The West Australian, north-west organiser Kevin O'Donnell warned a company it was 'in breach' of the new legislation. The controversial laws — which received fierce opposition from the resources sector — aim to ensure that labour hire workers receive the same pay and conditions as directly employed staff if the Fair Work Commission rules that they're performing equivalent work. 'The ETU will vigorously defend members pay and conditions and use the full force of our legal team to do so if need be,' the ETU email said. The Minerals Council of Australia has now made a formal complaint, arguing those emails breach Section 345 of the Fair Work Act that prohibits 'knowingly or recklessly' making a 'false or misleading' representation about workplace rights. Minerals Council chief executive Tania Constable said the union was attempting to pressure companies into submission. 'This is further evidence of some unions misusing the vast new powers within the legislation to bully their way into the Pilbara,' she said. 'This has nothing to do with workers or wages, it is solely about expanding union power. 'The actions of the ETA in blatantly misrepresenting the law shows the lengths that certain unions will go to in order to abuse such powers.' ETU state secretary Adam Woodage was yet to receive a copy of the complaint on Sunday but said the union won't back down. 'It's extremely disappointing that the MCA has made no effort to contact the ETU or myself directly,' he said. 'It speaks volumes of their attitude towards workers and their unions that represent them. 'The MCA needs to learn we aren't going away and will continue to advocate and defend our members interests.' The ETU has recently filed applications urging the Fair Work Commission to enforce 'same job, same pay' on Chevron's Barrow Island LNG facility, and accused the American-owned oil company of 'playing contractors off against one another'. If successful, sub-contractors Ventia could be forced to increase maintenance wages by $80,000 per year.
News.com.au
05-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Historic': Sydney rail strikes end as unions vote to accept pay rise
Rail unions have voted to accept the NSW government's pay offer, ending the bitter dispute and giving Sydneysiders a break following months-long widespread chaos on the train network. On Saturday at 4pm, 11,735 union members participated in the vote, with 92 per cent voting in favour of the government's proposed 12 per cent pay rise over the next three years. The unions initially sought a 32 per cent pay rise over three years and a 35-hour working week, which was met by a proposed 9.5 per cent rise over the same time frame. The Electrical Trade Unions (ETU) was the only union to not back the proposed Enterprise Agreement, with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) endorsing the proposed pay increase. The agreements signals an end to the industrial action that triggered pandemonium for Sydney commuters for several months, with hundreds of services cancelled or delayed since September, leaving them stranded or crammed inside crowded carriages for hours on end. The Fair Work Commission ordered the unions halt their industrial action in February, with the order lifted from July 1. NSW Minister for Transport said the agreement would offer a sigh of relief to commuters. 'We want to acknowledge the period of protected industrial action was drawn-out and took its toll on rail passengers,' he said. 'Resolution of the matter will now allow Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to focus solely on improving reliability and services for those more than a million passengers who use the network each day. 'We will continue to invest record amounts into improved maintenance and work to our plan to lift reliability.' Despite not reaching the initially proposed figure, the RTBU said the agreement was 'historic' and an 'epic effort' from the 'bargaining team: 'This result is a powerful demonstration of the strength, unity, and determination of RTBU members in the face of a very difficult and, at times, exhausting campaign, you stood together, and it made all the difference,' the statement read. 'Congratulations to every member who participated in actions, attended meetings, had conversations with their colleagues, stood strong, and demanded better. 'We will now move to the next steps of formal approval,' the union added.
Sydney Morning Herald
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hopes for a new national park dashed, to the delight of hunters
Hunters and fishers have celebrated a vow from Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos that the Victorian government will not legislate a new national park spanning more than half a million hectares. Conservationists had for a decade campaigned for the creation of a Great Forest National Park, which would add another 355,000 hectares of forests to triple the area of Central Highlands that is currently protected. The expanded national park, joining seven existing forests and state parks, would have offered critical protections for endangered and imperilled animals like the Leadbeater's possum. But the proposal has been controversial among bush users' groups, who say it would lock recreational park users out. Gold prospectors, 4WD enthusiasts, shooters, horse riders and other groups, backed by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), have joined forces in a growing campaign against national parks, and have strongly campaigned against the creation of a Great Forest National Park. Sparked by a renewed push to ban duck hunting in Victoria, the ETU (Victorian branch) in 2023 brought together hunters, bush user groups, rock climbers and prospectors to form the Outdoor Recreation Advocacy Group. Speaking at an ETU delegates' conference this week, Dimopoulos assured attendees the Great Forest National Park proposal was not Labor policy, and Labor would not implement it. After the 2014 state election, Labor established a taskforce comprising representatives from environment groups, forestry unions and the logging industry to work towards a consensus on the creation of a Great Forest National Park.
The Age
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Hopes for a new national park dashed, to the delight of hunters
Hunters and fishers have celebrated a vow from Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos that the Victorian government will not legislate a new national park spanning more than half a million hectares. Conservationists had for a decade campaigned for the creation of a Great Forest National Park, which would add another 355,000 hectares of forests to triple the area of Central Highlands that is currently protected. The expanded national park, joining seven existing forests and state parks, would have offered critical protections for endangered and imperilled animals like the Leadbeater's possum. But the proposal has been controversial among bush users' groups, who say it would lock recreational park users out. Gold prospectors, 4WD enthusiasts, shooters, horse riders and other groups, backed by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), have joined forces in a growing campaign against national parks, and have strongly campaigned against the creation of a Great Forest National Park. Sparked by a renewed push to ban duck hunting in Victoria, the ETU (Victorian branch) in 2023 brought together hunters, bush user groups, rock climbers and prospectors to form the Outdoor Recreation Advocacy Group. Speaking at an ETU delegates' conference this week, Dimopoulos assured attendees the Great Forest National Park proposal was not Labor policy, and Labor would not implement it. After the 2014 state election, Labor established a taskforce comprising representatives from environment groups, forestry unions and the logging industry to work towards a consensus on the creation of a Great Forest National Park.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
This one union must not railroad the deal to end Sydney's train chaos
A territorial brawl within the ranks of train unions is now threatening the resolution of their protracted and disruptive pursuit of a pay rise that has played havoc with Sydney's train system and damaged the NSW economy for so many months that any lingering sympathy for their cause has evaporated and turned into anger. The powerful Electrical Trades Union has baulked at signing an agreement that most believed would finally end the strikes and other actions that, since last September, have caused considerable anxiety for people who rely on rail services not just to get to work but to keep medical appointments. The union campaign not only threatened major events, including New Year's Eve, but in some instances, saw passengers left on crowded platforms or in packed carriages for hours in the middle of summer with little regard for their personal safety or the dangers they faced. Unions had been seeking a risible 32 per cent pay rise over four years and a 35-hour working week. The Minns government opened with a 9.5 per cent rise over three years before offering the Combined Rail Unions 12 per cent, plus back pay backdated to May 2024. On Friday in the Fair Work Commission, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union agreed to the government's offer. It was cheers all around, with the state government celebrating the in-principle agreement as a win, claiming it just needed to be voted on by union members. Now the settlement of the damaging dispute is jeopardised by the inability of the unions to get their act together. Loading The ETU is reportedly threatening to block the deal, apparently unhappy with the way maintenance and engineering employees were categorised in the proposed agreement. A recommendation from members of the Fair Work Commission, including president Justice Adam Hatcher, SC, described the issue as an 'apparently insurmountable impediment to the parties reaching a successful outcome' in their bargaining. 'We infer that the dispute issue has at its heart, at least in part, a demarcation dispute between the ETU and other unions which represent maintenance and engineering employees.' The ETU and state government will return to the commission on Monday to try to resolve the sticking point.
