Vic: Metals unions want industry wide work agreement

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-1999
Vic: Metals unions want industry wide work agreement

MELBOURNE, Dec 17 AAP - Victoria's metal industry unions have served a massive log
of claims on employers, designed to give workers industry-wide conditions.

Known as Campaign 2000, the industry-wide log of claims has been created by the Metal
Trades Federation of Unions, a coalition of four industry unions.

Federation spokesman Craig Johnston said the new log of claims was designed to replace
a "scatter gun approach which has seen workers suffering from an unfair, piecemeal system
of enterprise bargaining".

"Metal workers want a single system that gives them a fair go and a defined period
of stability across the industry instead of the current, never ending rounds of bargaining,"

Mr Johnston said.

The log of claims, handed to the Australian Industry Group today, seeks to impose an
industry-wide pattern agreement for the whole of Victoria's metal industry.

If accepted, the log of claims would replace the current enterprise agreements which
are usually struck on a company-by-company basis.

Campaign 2000, which is designed to last for three years, would prevent employers from
striking individual contracts with workers and seeks to implement many conditions lost
by unions under the award simplification process.

Conditions sought include:

* Ten days paid leave for shop stewards to attend union training courses.

* Employer contributions of one cent per hour per employee into union training funds.

* Universal right of entry for union officials onto any work site.

* Guaranteed annual wage increases of six per cent.

* Union coverage for all contract workers.

* The employment of additional apprentices, and

* No forced redundancies while the agreement is in force.

An Australian Industry Group spokesman said negotiations on the industry-wide log of
claims would begin on February 8 next year.

AAP ag/sp/imc/it/bwl

KEYWORD: METALS (CARRIED EARLIER)

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