ARGE EBA Campaign Newsletter No 1

An ACTU Organising Centre workshop at the RTBU Perth office on July 9-10 brought together representatives from almost all Australian Railroad Group (ARGE) work locations. This was the first step in union member participation in the Enterprise Bargaining campaign.

The Workshop was facilitated by Jenny Evans from the Organising Centre. Another resource person was Will Tracey, an organiser for the combined unions at BHP Pilbara operations. His input proved invaluable, because of his experience in the Pilbara dealing with an oppressive employer, and with a majority of workers on Individual Workplace Agreements.

The Workshop focussed on the role of Awards and Certified Agreements, particularly given the current federal Workplace Relations Act.

The Workshop aimed to develop a strategy to achieve meaningful negotiations between the workers and ARGE, to achieve fair and just wages and working conditions, while Australian Western Railroad and WestNet Rail continue to operate successfully.

Over the last 18 months, with the majority of workers under Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), ARGE has been able to string out negotiations, and thus exploit the situation by saving money.

The Workshop devised a plan to enable the workers to have a positive impact on this situation:

1. Ask all ARGE employees to refuse to sign the new 3rd rate AWAs.
2. Seek a commitment from as many ARGE employees as possible to give notice that their expired AWA is terminated. Local union representatives to coordinate this through the Union for maximum impact.
3. These two actions would tell the employer that the workers, as a collective, want to be involved in deciding their EBA conditions.
4. Information meetings will be held at all ARGE locations to bring members up to speed about the Workshop, the strategy devised, and the current Award / EBA situation.
5. Information sessions will emphasise the contrast between rates of pay and conditions that can be achieved in an EBA, and the non-negotiable conditions mostly dictated by the company in an AWA.

UNITED WE BARGAIN - DIVIDED WE BEG