Published: 28 Jul 2017
Update on agreements, disputes and upcoming work in the offshore.
MUA CONTINUES TO PRESS FARSTAD TO REMOVE REDUNDANCY LETTERS AFTER APPEAL WIN BEFORE FULL BENCH OF FAIR WORK
As previously mentioned the MUA had a resounding win in Fair Work against the notified forced redundancies by Farstad of 85 MUA members. The notice to force MUA members out of Farstad came after MUA members voted down the Farstad’ non-union agreement. As anticipated in previous updates we were of the view Farstad, on advice from AMMA, would appeal that decision and this is exactly what happened.
We can now report that since the last update the MUA was successful in the legal defence of Farstad’s appeal against the MUA win in the initial Farstad redundancy case. The appeal was heard before the Full Bench of Fair Work and came down in favour of the MUA specifying that Farstad should have further discussions with the Union.
Those discussions are taking place this week.
This is an excellent result for our members because the Union has so far succeeded in its campaign to prevent any forced redundancies at Farstad. This comes after a 4-month legal battle, kicked off when Farstad notified that they wanted to force 85 redundancies on our members.
This case again represents the ruthless pursuit by this union to support our members working in the offshore.
MUA SECURES MORE MUA “JOB SECURITY” AGREEMENTS IN THE OFFSHORE
Further to the previous offshore update we can now report that more offshore companies are moving to sign up to the MUA “Job Security” enterprise agreement. As we have indicated in earlier updates, over the previous 8 months the MUA has been working hard to close out the offshore agreements and lock in the “Job Security” provisions we have been campaigning so hard for over the last 5 years in the offshore oil and gas industry.
All done under the sustained attacks on our jobs by the Federal Liberal Government, the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) and various employers who sought to assist in the attack by putting out non-union agreements.
Our membership in the offshore have seen:
The MUA now has “Job Security” offshore agreements with the following offshore operators:
Each of these company specific standalone agreements requires a heap of time and resources as we have had to negotiate separately with each individual employer and the respective company delegates over many months with a heap of those meetings being facilitated inside Fair Work. The resources and time taken to land a final agreement with each company is no surprise to the many officials and delegates who have been involved in negotiating collective agreements from time to time.
We can also report that we are in active ongoing discussions with another 13 offshore companies which are at various stages of negotiations - all of which look like landing an MUA “Job Security” offshore agreement in the next month or so.
Unfortunately discussions with the following offshore operators have not occurred, been refused or were very hostile to the extent that an agreement looks unlikely in the next few months:
The most critical outcome of the above situation and significant work that has gone into the offshore EA campaign over the last 5 years, and especially the last 12 months since the MUA High Court win last August, is that over 85% of the offshore has, or will have in the very near future, an MUA “Job Security” Enterprise Agreement.
When you look at the vicious attacks on many of the industries in this country by this government, various employer associations and the many employers who actively engage in the wholesale removal of Australian jobs and decimation of wages and conditions of those that are left, the results we’ve achieved in the offshore are substantial. We have fought a five-year war of attrition for our industry against the most well organised and resourced right-wing ideologues in this country and won. This alone speaks volumes to the capacity and willingness of this Union to fight in the best interests of its members. United we stand!
MUA OFFSHORE JOBS UPDATE
After feedback and recent reports from some of the offshore vessels, we can advise that we are finally starting to see some early activity on the Inpex project and various other project work off our coast.
After significant delays which have seen the ramp up of this project put back by many months we are now seeing some movement in members off the database.
While we are still waiting for the larger key vessels to come onto the project, and the critical parts of the job begin, some of the signs in the last month have been very encouraging. Especially after the disappointing news in April and May of delays to the start-up of the major marine spread component of the project.
Every official in the country has been working tirelessly to address the current work crisis our industry has faced for a number of years now.
MUA SEACARE CAMPAIGN REPRESENTS SOME OF THE VERY BEST OF THIS UNION
In October 2016, the government introduced legislation to reform Seacare, and harmonise applicable WHS law, in a way detrimental to the interests of our members. The below is a simple summary of a long set of complex proposals.
The MUA had serious concerns with the proposed legislation, key issues being:
Basically, the government was trying to cut costs and eradicate Seacare. They completely ignored problems that exist with insurers and employers delaying and frustrating claims, and instead tried to create a problem with vessel coverage.
As soon as the reform Bill was announced, we immediately began thoroughly reviewing them and seeking and developing expert advice from the MUA legal team and David Trainor of McNallys, who has some 30 years’ experience with Seacare. We also widely surveyed our members so we could provide (confidentially) firsthand experiences and difficulties accessing compensation.
We were the only union to give case study examples to the government. By facilitating assistance of the ACTU, we lead discussions with other maritime unions to ensure a coordinated position and approach was achieved. This all led to making a lengthy submission to the government in December 2016, in which we outlined our concerns and the major flaws with their proposals. This was then followed with many regular and ongoing meetings and discussions with the Department of Employment to push our opposition to the unfair and unacceptable Bill. Lobbying also occurred at many levels through Government departments and with various politicians building consensus behind our proposals and submissions.
In the last month, we have had confirmation the government has abandoned their previous proposals and adopted most of the MUA’s recommendations from our December 2016 submission.
There are still some issues which will require us to remain vigilant and scrutinise their next steps, but all-in-all this is a huge win that can be attributed to our strategic and thorough response.
We are continuing to raise the issue of insurers and employers forcing members to go to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which unnecessarily drags out their applications. If members are currently in this situation, we ask you to contact penny.howard@mua.org.au so we can discuss this with you and collect case studies.
CHEVRON AVOIDING TAX MEANS LESS MONEY FOR OUR SCHOOLS and HOSPITALS – PLEASE SHARE GETUP! ADD BELOW AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN
The link below is the latest ad from GetUp! That satirises the latest Government add on tax. It exposes the shocking truth about this Government doing absolutely nothing about companies like Chevron avoiding their fair share of tax as they exploit our natural resources. When Chevron avoids paying the tax it should then there is less money for our schools and hospitals.
Can we please share this advertisement with your friends and family and on social media. Click here: https://is.gd/bYK1ax
Will Tracey
Deputy National Secretary
Maritime Union of Australia
