Current workers’ struggles in Australia

indonesia / philippines / australia | workplace struggles | news report Thursday July 30, 2009 16:41 by Dmitri (MACG - personal capacity) - Anarkismo ngnm55 at gmail dot com

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Current workers' struggles and industrial disputes in Australia in brief.

• Ambulance workers take action Victorian Ambulance workers are in dispute. They are fighting to improve their conditions. They are fighting to save the ambulance service.

The problems: long delays in emergencies, dangerous paramedic fatigue and intensive care MICA service in meltdown.

Victorian ambos are campaigning for a better, safer ambulance service for you and your community.

The union has surveyed nearly 20 percent of Victorian ambos and found that 75% have made mistakes because of extreme fatigue. They’re averaging just 6 hours sleep each night and often less than that. We must fix this, or even more experienced ambos will leave the job. That will mean waiting even longer in emergencies.

We want Ambulance Victoria to provide a first class service to all Victorians. That’s why we urgently need to resolve our enterprise bargaining negotiations. A key demand is for 10 hour rest-breaks between shifts. That will allow us to rest properly between shifts, which are often more than 14 hours long.

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• Meatworkers on temporary visas sacked

Five AMIEU members at an abattoir at Narrikup, Western Australia, were allegedly made “redundant”.

These members were very active within the Union leadership group and have been vocal about legitimate grievances about wages and conditions at Fletcher International. Fletchers International have been sanctioned by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for breaches of their obligations as sponsors of 457 visa workers.

The Meat Workers Union and its members are being systematically targeted by Fletchers.

These workers and their families in the Philippines have no current income, can access no welfare or unemployment benefits and do not have access to Medicare health benefits. The current conditions on their visas do not permit them to work elsewhere.

The AMIEU is asking for solidarity and financial support for these workers.

* Support striking Hazelwood Power workers

Rally in support of striking Hazelwood workers

Friday 31 July
12 noon International Power,
Rialto Tower
525 Collins Street Melbourne

Emergency Services Officers at Morwell's Hazelwood power station have been striking for almost 4 months, demanding better pay and conditions on par with their follow workers at Yallourn and Loy Yang power plants, increased numbers and proper safety training.

Emergency Services Officers take on responsibilities in situations of fires, leakages, equipment failures and all other safety risks in the mine and the power plant. Yet their base rate of pay is just $19.32 per hour, only slightly above minimum wage.