Melbourne wharfies Jason Gretch, 30 and Scott Hooper, 29 are two of 182 Patrick workers made permanent nationwide as a result of the new enterprise agreement ratified by the commission in November.
Jason was a supp (casual) for six long years. He went straight to full time
permanent.
“I was one of the lucky ones,” he said. “It was a long apprenticeship
but I’m not living day to day anymore. So, hey, I can plan my weekends;
I know what I'm doing. I can plan my life now. I've got security. I can probably
borrow for a house. Only for the union it wouldn't have happened. If it was
up to the company they would have left us all supps.
“Casual work? It’s shocking. You have to wait until 5pm each afternoon
to find out what you’re doing the next day. Sometimes you get to work
and you only get four hours and they send you home. That was six years of
not knowing what you're doing the next day.”
Workmate Scott clocked up nearly five years with Patrick, two years as a PGE.
“Being a permanent means being able to have a life,” he said.
“It's just a great life style change.”
