United Voice News
Deal brings equality to Burswood
After nearly six months of negotiations and a complex campaign at Burswood, members and delegates have won an offer of improved pay and conditions for the 3,200 workers at the Perth entertainment complex.
All staff on the agreement will receive pay increases of 4% in July 2010, 3.5% in July 2011 and 3.5% in July 2012.
The deal means workers will achieve equality in terms and conditions across all departments. Before the agreement, staff like cleaners and porters for example would not get time-and-a-half for working on Saturdays or double time for working on Sundays.
But from July 2011, workers from the back of house, hotel and food and beverage departments will get the above benefits as well as getting double time-and –a-half if they work a public holiday. This means they will finally achieve parity with their colleagues in casino operations.
Les Mellor, a delegate and gaming inspector at Burswood said: “This is the second deal we’ve negotiated at Burswood and this time it felt like we were a very united group.
“Everyone was on the same page, working together and nobody got separated away from what we wanted to achieve.”
Mark Bydder, a dealer at the complex added: “The original deal showed that it could be done. This one made us step up our game. We can now say that Burswood has the same conditions across the board which we’re really proud of.”
Carolyn Smith, assistant secretary of the LHMU in WA said the deal brought to an end 25 years of inferior penalty rates for many workers.
“The delegates should be praised and congratulated for their hard work and dedication on this campaign,” she said.
“They virtually ran the show from the start, getting their negotiation training at the LHMU offices and attending around 25 meetings with management over the last six months.
“These meetings were often very long and would come after the delegates had finished their shifts or before they started them. The commitment shown was inspiring.
“They worked incredibly hard, getting members to sign 1,400 letters to Burswood CEO Barry Felstead. They also launched a wristband campaign which made management very uncomfortable.”
Staff at Burswood will be able to vote on whether to accept the deal at the end of February.
