Alex Turner, Brisbane
The 600 workers at Queensland Rail's Redbank workshops returned to work on February 3, after voting on February 1 to strike in protest at a pay offer from management. The offer undermined an enterprise bargaining agreement that was in the process of being negotiated by the maintenance workers' unions.
The Redbank workshop is covered by three unions — the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU).
Maintenance workers at Redbank had been offered bonus payments in a subsidiary agreement as an incentive not to seek employment in the private sector.
The subsidiary agreement negotiating team met four times with QR representatives to finalise the pay offer. Clyde Cook, the ETU shop steward involved in the negotiating team, told the February 1 stop-work meeting: "Things went well up to the second meeting. At the third meeting problems arose with the superannuation component of the offer, as government regulations do not allow for contributions over and above the current rate. Issues of allowances being included in the pay rate also came up, with management refusing to include allowances such as the disability allowance into the hourly pay rate."
Ricky Luke, the AMWU shop steward, expressed his disgust at the QR offer, saying at the stop-work meeting: "It is an insult to all the employees of QR." However, he advised the meeting that other groups had gained nothing out of the subsidiary negotiations and that unions were still discussing which offer was best.
Officials from the AMWU were not present at the meeting, but had advised the union's negotiating team to accept the best of the three offers that were on the table.
Cook commented that "QR has handled this issue appallingly; it is a divide-and-conquer policy — they have taken us to the deadline in order to force us into accepting the crumbs".
Many workers also got up to address the meeting and express their disgust at the offer.
The meeting resolved to commit to an industrial campaign with rolling stoppages and a 24-hour strike on February 2. Workers at the Ipswich, Townsville and Rockhampton workshops voted to strike.
On February 2, the workers assembled outside the Redbank workshop to discuss the industrial campaign and to hear a report back from a meeting with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
The QIRC had decided to set the framework for all subsidiary agreements throughout all of QR and directed all QR employees to return to work.
Brendan Matthey, the AMWU state organiser handing the dispute, while not present at the meeting sent a recommendation that the workers suspend industrial action for 24 hours, return to work and meet the next day at 7.30am.
However, workers at QR's Townsville workshops called for a continuation of the strike. Dennis Alice, the shop steward for the RTBU at Redbank, put a motion that called on the workers at Redbank to strike in solidarity with the Townsville workers.
"We need to stand together with the Townsville workers, we will be weakened in this dispute if we don't maintain solidarity", he told the assembled workers, who voted to support the Townsville workshops and continue their strike for another 24 hours.
From Green Left Weekly, February 8, 2006.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.