We win Long Service Leave battle but industrial war still to be won
As the Howard Government unleashes its $100 million tax-payer-funded media propaganda campaign to con Australians on its repressive new IR laws, our Union has won the first battle in what is shaping up as a dirty and bitter IR war.
The Howard Government has retreated on attacking the coal industry’s Long Service Leave entitlements following our Union’s public campaign to fight them all the way on this issue.
The Howard Government’s cave-in followed the launching of our national campaign that included full page advertisements in the national and regional press backed up by overwhelming rank and file support for a campaign of industrial and community action in defence of our existing entitlements.
Our rank and file voted massively in favour of national industrial action if needed. In a national ballot of every Lodge throughout the coal industry, only four people were opposed to a campaign of industrial action.
Further, the rank and file voted overwhelmingly in support of a levy to raise $1M to resource the campaign.
No one should be under any illusions about Howard’s intention to destroy our existing Long Service Leave entitlements.
On 26 May this year Howard said: “Matters that are already covered by other legislation – including jury service, notice of termination, long service leave and superannuation – will be removed from awards”.
This would effectively have halved coal mineworkers existing long service leave entitlements and also removed portability. It would have cost our members and their families hundreds of millions of dollars.
Our Union immediately responded with our This is not reform, Mr Howard, It’s Highway Robbery campaign.
ABC TV’s 7.30 Report took up the long service leave issue focusing on coal mineworkers and nurses, who also stood to lose their above community standard entitlements. Gunnedah miner and Northern Central Councillor Ross Whitaker was featured on the 7.30 Report and did a great job of explaining the losses facing coal mineworkers.
Our Union then launched our national press ads that sparked wide media interest and community support.
This generated a positive response from many Federal MPs and Senators across the political divide.
Kim Beazley and Labor got right behind our campaign. We wrote to all the other political parties with representatives in Canberra, including Family First Senator Steve Fielding. We outlined the unfairness of this attack on workers and our families and pointed out the damaging impact it would have on our communities.
We followed this up by organising a delegation of rank and file mineworkers from NSW and Queensland to go along with their wives to meet MPs and Senators in Canberra and brief them face to face on the damaging effects this attack on Long Service Leave would have.
NSW miners Andy Honeysett and his wife Kim and Lloyd Hill and his wife Julie along with Queensland miner Mick Weise and his wife Nadine were due to fly with District and National union leaders to Canberra for meetings on 5 October.
However, in a most unusual and highly criticised move, Howard cancelled that week’s scheduled sitting of Parliament.
Plans were then made for the delegation to attend the following week and meet with the politicians on the 12th. However, on Sunday the 9th, Howard gathered all his big business mates to brief them on details of the IR package and with much fanfare launched the taxpayer-funded Government propaganda media campaign.
It was a bombshell, a vicious attack on more than 100 years of industrial laws that have underpinned Australia as an egalitarian society.
But as the smoke was clearing it became clear that while Howard was bombarding workers rights, he had retreated on our Long Service Leave entitlements. They are to remain intact.
While our Union’s determination and ability to fight the attack on our Long Service Leave were the main factors in forcing Howard to back off, we were fortunate that the current mining boom provided us with the substantial industrial muscle to do so.
But we needed to have the guts to do it and our rank and file showed that we have what it takes.
With this Long Service Leave battle victory under our belts we cannot afford to be under any illusions of the depth of the other challenges facing us in Howard’s industrial war.
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Rebuilding Australia after the boom |
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March 2009
The years of constant rapid growth in the mining industry have
finished. Significant job cuts are being announced. The world’s
financial system continues to be in turmoil - but it's not all doom and gloom, finds General President Tony Maher.
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Tony Maher on SkyTV's Eco Report |
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9 February 2008
Tony Maher was interviewed on by Willessee on SkyTV's Eco Report regarding carbon capture and storage technologies and cleaning up the emissions of the coal industry.
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UN Climate Conference, Bali |
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14 December 2007
President Tony Maher had the honour of representing trade unions worldwide when he addressed the UN Climate Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
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Mythbusters in the Mining Industry |
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19 July 2007
President Tony Maher's speech to a Recruitment and Retention in Mining Conference:
Mythbusters in the Mining Industry
Will Employee Rights see off the Mining Boom?
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Tony Maher videos on John Howard and climate change |
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March 2007
The union has made use of the video-sharing website YouTube to present two short videos by Tony Maher, General President. The first recounts the long history of attacks on mineworkers by Prime Minister John Howard. The second is on the continuing role for coal in a world combating climate change.
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WorkChoices & the future of unions |
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20 November 2006
Speech by Tony Maher, General President, to the IQPC Industrial Relations Summit in Sydney.
"No doubt some will say that the next election will be a referendum on whether or not unions have a future. "
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What is the future of work safety? |
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20 October 2006
Tony Maher speaks to the IR Society of Victoria about the disaster at the Gretley Colliery nearly 10 years ago and considers the future of work safety.
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John Maitland's retirement |
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17 August 2006
With John Maitland’s retirement we pay tribute to the last of the original architects of the CFMEU.
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Work Choices? What do I really think about it? |
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Tony Maher, General President
Address to the NSW IR Society, 5 April 2006:
"I’d like to thank John Howard for Work choices. It has reminded people
in the labour movement why we were formed, what we stand for and why we
hate these Tory bastards so much." |
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Book launch: Lockout |
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12 April 2006
"Nothing reveals the huge imbalance in power between capital and labour as sharply as a lockout."
Launch of the book “Lockout” by Jim Comerford.
Speech to Northern District delegates and retired mineworkers, Cessnock, NSW
by Tony Maher, General President, CFMEU Mining & Energy
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Howard’s grab for coal Long Service Leave is highway robbery |
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Tony Maher, August 2005
For coal mineworkers in Queensland, NSW, WA and Tasmania, Long Service
Leave entitlements are covered by our federal Coal Mining Industry
Award. It has been so since coal miners broke through as the first blue
collar workers in 1949 to win this entitlement.
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Union Gears Up For Long Term Campaign |
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Tony Maher, June 2005
The union is preparing for a campaign lasting at least 6 years to fight
for workers rights and a system of fairness throughout the community.
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