AUSTRALIA POST WORKERS RALLY OVER CONTRACTING OF JOBS
About 300 angry postal workers rallied outside the Sydney headquarters of Australia Post today demanding their jobs be protected.
The postal worker’s union held the rally in protest against moves by Australia Post to contract out some permanent jobs and shift current employees into part-time work.
But Australia Post has denied the union claims, saying it had no plan to implement widespread contracting out of jobs.
Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) postal secretary Jim Metcher said of particular concern was the recent contracting out of three permanent Australia Post jobs to two contract positions at the Stockton delivery centre in Newcastle.
“They were taken out of their jobs, one of them with 36 years service as a postie in Stockton now finds himself in a part-time job at the Newcastle mail centre,” Mr Metcher told the rally.
He said the change to contract work would only result in poor mail delivery.
“If you take away quality jobs, you’re going to get poor delivery service and that’s what Stockton has got,” he said.
But Australia Post spokesman Gary Highland said the three Stockton workers remain permanent employees.
“This is not a new phenomenon, we’ve always had a mix of contractors and permanent staff since before federation,” Mr Highland told AAP.
“Replacing our permanent staff with contractors or sacking our permanent staff and replacing them with contractors has never been the way we have done business, it’s not the way that we do business now.” Mr Highland said since October last year Australia Post had recruited 277 full-time staff and in the last six months had taken on only two contract workers.
“That’s hardly the action of an employer that’s trying to bring contractors in at the expense of permanent workers,” he said.
During today’s protest, about 300 postal workers, some brought in on buses from Wyong, shouted for industrial action to bring home their concerns.
“It’s quite obvious today the postal workers have voiced their concerns and they’re angry and upset,” Mr Metcher told AAP.
They’ve delivered to make Australia Post the world’s best postal service and all they are asking for in return is to maintain their jobs.
“It’s going to be up to Australia Post to deliver on that otherwise there is the possibility now of major mail disruptions because workers have voiced their opinion.” Australia Post said it would seek orders in the Australian Industrial Commission to prevent postal workers taking industrial action.
“However we would hope that we can negotiate in a way that doesn’t lead to that,” Mr Highland said.
There was no disruption to mail services during today’s protest.
AAP nd/cd/br
AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS, 23rd July 2001
