Union covers docked pay

[pies4ever]

Union covers docked pay
July 17, 2006 10:59am

A UNION will reimburse Melbourne workers it says were docked four hours' pay after a meeting to address concerns over the use of imported workers ran 20 minutes over time.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says the penalty imposed on workers from Craigieburn Austral Bricks is the first time union funds have been used to repay workers docked under the Government's recent industrial relations changes.

The union said today the workers held a stop-work meeting earlier this month after the brick manufacturer awarded a contract to build a new kiln to French company Ceric.

Ceric is using 11 workers from the Czech Republic, employed through the Hungarian consultancy company, Fornax.

CFMEU workers at the site held a meeting to discuss concerns that the Czech workers were being misused, when security guards brought in by Ceric stopped communication between Austral employees and the imported labourers.

The meeting, held in the workers' lunchtime, went longer than anticipated and Austral responded by docking the union members four hours' pay, in accordance with the Federal Government's new industrial relations (IR) legislation.

CFMEU national secretary Martin Kingham will present workers with cheques at the Craigieburn plant at 2pm (AEST) today.

"The Australian workers at Austral bricks wanted to know what pay and conditions these poor blokes (from Czechoslovakia) have and why have they been employed when local businesses who employ Australian workers also tendered for the contract," Mr Kingham said.

He said the Czech workers appeared to speak little or no English and claimed to be living together in a local caravan park.

Their salaries were paid into bank accounts in the Czech Republic.

Mr Kingham said it was outrageous the Austral workers had been punished for the meeting because of Prime Minister John Howard's Work Choices legislation.

"Not only are Australian workers missing out on jobs because this company has imported workers for what looks like cheaper pay and worse conditions, Howard's new laws means honest workers have had their pay docked for their legitimate concerns,'' he said.

"It's not right that workers can be punished for a meeting to discuss the health and safety issues for foreign workers on a building site.''

Comment from Austral Bricks management was not immediately available.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,19814361-5005961,00.html