Pollyana

Travellers - interruption to airport services starting from 22 March 2016


The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) is asking its members, who are employees of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, to participate in protected industrial action at various international airports from 22 March 2016​.

While the likely level of participation is unknown, we strongly encourage airline and cruise ship passengers to plan for potential delays by arriving at international airports and cruise ship terminals even earlier over the next few weeks.
The Department is working closely with stakeholders to minimise the impact on the travelling public, cargo and mail operations. We are also ensuring appropriate contingencies are in place for visa and citizenship services.

SEE THE LINK FOR DETAILS OF DATES/AIRPORTS AFFECTED

Beoz

..... haven't unions died yet?

bcworld

24 hour stoppage the day when the Easter holiday exodus starts? How lovely! I'll be leaving MEL that night...will see how it goes.

Amazulu

Sack their useless, socialist passenger asses

These pricks should be just grateful that they even have jobs - funded by us

Civil servants will always find ways to waste our money - it's the nature of the beast

GarryP

As I understand, it's part of a 2 year old pay and conditions dispute that still hasn't been resolved. The government want to reduce the conditions such that they can impose new work locations, hours and days without agreement. There also hasn't been a pay rise over the last two years because there hasn't been agreement on a new deal, and the government refuses to backdate.

As such, it looks like another instance of where the government is pressing to make things worse, and then blaming people for standing up and saying 'no'.

Amazulu

F**k 'em

Times are tight

They can have a pay rise when the deficit is gone

Pollyana

Thats about how I see it.

Amazulu

F**k 'em

Times are tight

Wages in the private sector are falling - classic supply/demand scenario

We ain't exactly short of public servants - classic supply/demand scenario

They can have a pay rise when the deficit is gone

** edited by moderator**

Beoz

Welcome to the real world.

Perhaps they should try the private sector, you know, the place where you don't get pay rises, instead new work locations, varying hours, etc

I agree, f**k em. If they feel disrupting people's easter for their own selfish purposes then rightly so .... f**k em

GarryP

A very selfish, me, me, me, attitude.

Personally I don't think strikes are the way, but only because the gameplan for negating them and attempting to force the narrative against such actions has been written for decades now. It's like forming a phalanx against an enemy with AK47s. However I can see how workers can get sick and tired of the behaviour and unwillingness to negotiate that a bunch of far right MBA managers can have.

To avoid a race to the bottom you have to stand up, and the private sector needs to stand up too. However law making against the interests of the people has progressively made that harder and more risky.

This is a path that won't end well. Mass automation and outsourcing to India creates forces that if not combined with recognition and protection of the standard of living will make for violent 'us and them' confrontation.

Bermudashorts

And striking on the public holiday, causing misery to thousands is not a me, me me attitude??

If private sector behaved the way the public sector occasionally does, the world would come to a grinding halt.

GarryP

The reason the strikes are timed to cause the maximum disruption is because that causes the those MBA managers to take maximum attention. It evens up the power imbalance somewhat - that's it's point.

Wouldn't it be better to have real arbitration that could reach agreement without strikes? Of course is would, but that would mean enforcing that those managers don't get to screw their workers, across both public and private companies - and that gets jumped up and down on by the people who fund the liberal party and therefore call the tunes (cf Gina Rinehart).

As I say, the whole thing is broken and has an implicit 'us and them' structure that can't sustain going forward. If it continues down the current path of trying to do down unions/workers then it ends in a very nasty place. It needs to break out of that, with a level of thinking that seems beyond most.

Beoz

Rubbish. The only thing that ends in a nasty place is what unionism brings to the free market.

Its a simple supply and demand scenario. Just like in the private sector, if you are not happy with your conditions, you leave. If the company can't afford to lose workers, they improve conditions.

The deal has been reached. No pay rises. Not happy, leave.

Backward attitude all round.

Toe Dipper

Hate unions and their methods.

However, I do see the benefit in having a counter balance to management, and have no disagreement in another set of eyes for safety.

In the real world of construction the reality is site being targeted for stoppages, then reasons being sought (in my case a 4 hour hour union inspection for a single large open plan floor to find "enough" reasons to close the site, which was their objective in the first place)

Employers being "encouraged" to pay for a union delegate (read into this, if you don't pay for him, then the site will be constantly stopped), they are entitled to do union business at the employer's cost, and in the case of last Friday in Qld, this covered all delegates returning to Union HQ to act as labour for election duties on behalf of the ALP.

Wonder how many non ALP supporters being forced, (and yes it is force in a very indirect way, even though illegal,) to pay through their union dues for the activities of a political party that they may not agree with.

If only the construction unions would stick to their mandate and act in a reasonable and transparent way, construction would be faster, cost both private and public sector less as there would be less stoppages and labour double up and we would all benefit with improved investment and hence there may be more!

But I am now starting to dream again.................

Bermudashorts

I think your attitude is really childish and old fashioned, circa 1970s UK.

These days, private sector companies strive to make the company a good place to work in, because they want to retain the best workers. They compete to win awards for best employer, most diverse employer etc. They do it through providing favourable working conditions and fostering a healthy company culture. They listen to employees, they care about feedback, they monitor turnover statistics. If they are not doing the right thing by employees, then employees vote with their feet and leave. They do not punish other innocent people through petulance. Striking employees should be sacked and jobs given to people who want to work.