Industrial relations reforms pay slash

[pies4ever]

Industrial relations reforms pay slash
Ben Packham
21feb06

WORKERS at a Melbourne company face the possibility of cuts to pay and conditions in the first major test of the Howard Government's new workplace laws.

Major car parts manufacturer Dana Australia has flagged a 5 per cent pay cut for more than 350 workers.
And the company wants to pay future employees 25 per cent less than current rates.

Dana also wants to axe 13 RDOs, cut redundancy entitlements in half and make workers wait longer before accessing long service leave.

Top-up payments to injured workers would also be reduced, and workers could be stood down over union action against suppliers or clients.

The company's position on a new enterprise bargaining agreement with workers is revealed in a 42-point document seen by the Herald Sun.

"Our starting point is minus 5 per cent as we don't believe we got what we paid for in the last EBA," the document says.

The deal covering workers at Dana's Cheltenham and Clayton plants will be negotiated under the new work laws, due to come into effect next month.

Prime Minister John Howard has said the laws are not aimed at cutting entitlements.

But he refused to guarantee wages and conditions would not fall.

In their last wage deal, Dana workers got a 5 per cent pay rise each year for three years.

The company had not sought wages cuts in previous agreements, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said the move was without precedent in manufacturing.

"It is a clear shift in the direction the company has been going," AMWU state secretary Dave Oliver said. "I think they see the new workplace laws as being an opportunity to cut back wages and conditions for employees."

Mr Oliver said past negotiations with Dana had been "relatively painless", but it had sought sweeping changes in the coming agreement.

Dana Australia managing director Bob Day would not comment on the offer to workers.

But he said Dana had to boost productivity to compete in overseas markets.

"Our ability to do that means that we need competitive enterprise agreements with our employees," he said.

Mr Day said the new work laws would secure the future of manufacturing in Australia.

"If these changes had not occurred, I think the trend that we are seeing in manufacturing for an overall decline, would be a certainty," he said.

Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews' office said the workers would continue to be paid under their current wage deal while negotiations were under way.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18215340%255E661,00.html

[HAL]

I think we will live to see it.

[Joel]

....and eventually, no one will want to work for them.

[Cam]

and they'll have to import vietnamese, like those bakers have had to.

[Joel]

No they won't. They can just take the factory to them.

[Dr Alf Andrews]

[Culprit]

[Nutmeg]

wow! The worker's having the shit ripped outta them! Who'd a thunk it???

[Culprit]

More and more information has come out, suprise that the games are on. News is not great and workers are going to be screwed even more. Australians will soon start complaining but all is to late, it's done and dusted and the Opposition won't do anything about it if they get into power and that is a huge if with the morons sitting accross from the current government. Big buisness controls what our Governments do and don't do.

[HAL]

And Europeans do not will start complaining but is to it's done and dusted and the Opposition won't do anything about it if they get into power and that is a huge if with the morons sitting accross from the current government?

[Proud Pies]

[Culprit]

[David]

[Culprit]

[Culprit]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1598839.htm


The news just gets better.