DPS is a Unionist!

Ok...it has been a while since I last posted. I've gone through a period where I have found time to be very short. Have I been doing more than usual? No. Have the days shrunk? No. It just seemed to be a phase in life where no matter what you do, you never have enough time to do everything you want to do.

Anyway, enough of my winging.

I am now a Union member. Yes, I have joined the ranks of the great unwashed. I can proudly stand next to my fellow worker, and call them "Comrade". I have never been a Union member before. It is a totally new experience for me. I have never before really cared that much to bother joining a workplace union.

What has prompted me to do this? Three simple letters: AWA

These letters have struck fear into the hearts of many workers in Australia. They have existed for many years before, but they have never been that much of a threat. However, since Howard and his cronies introduced the current IR laws, AWAs have become a real threat to workers.

The public service organisation I work for, is trying to encourage all of its employees to sign AWAs. How is it doing this?

Well, I was recently in a meeting where one of our higher up managers explained to us the organisation's take on the available AWA model. He went to great lengths to explain that employees who are on the AWA will receive a significant pay rise straight away, with another pay rise on the year anniversary of signing the AWA, subject to performance standards (more on that below). Many people will see the immediate pay rise, and be lured by that alone. To me, this sets alarm bells ringing. If any organisation is offering a significant pay rise immediately, then you have to look at what the pay off is.

If, for example, a company is offering an immediate 10% extra to anyone who signs an AWA, then you can bet you ass that the AWA will remove or modify conditions, so that the organisation gains more than 10% worth of benefit for it. It may be difficult to identify exactly where the benefit to the organisation is, but trust me...it is there in one form or another.

This manager also went on to explain that the AWA is only really of benefit to those people who are good performers. The incentives, and pay increases are ony applicable to those employees who have performed to a specific standard (a standard that is not specifically outlined in the AWA). The implication here is that only poor performers, or bludgers would want to stay away from an AWA. Therefore, if you don't sign an AWA, then you are not a good worker.

There are many points that our manager tried to make about the AWA, but the one that really had me concerned was the provision that if you are signed onto an AWA, then you do not have the right to take industrial action. You can not strike.

Now I have never taken industrial action in my life. But, if there is one thing that will ever incite me to do it, it will be a large organisation trying to get me to sign a contract that will tell me that I can not do it. This is one of the main reasons behind my signing up to join our worker's Union.

In the past I have also had a fair amount of faith in the industrial relations of this country, and state. But now that Howard has continued to strip away the rights of workers, I feel that the government is not interested in protecting the interests of the common man. I am now of the opinion that the only people who will stick up for us is the Union, and I feel compelled take action to help have some say in the security of my working future.

So, am I becoming a Lefty Union Scumbag? Or am I just clinging to a last shred of hope, and trying to stick up for myself?