United Voice

In this issue:

1. Crown survey: lack of consultation biggest issue on site

2. Member wins over $8500 after employer loses records

3. Hilton members stand together to protect conditions

4. Catering members ‘chuffed’ with agreement

5. Crown employees joining union to make jobs better

Dear member,

We are the people who know how things really work on the ground.

It makes sense then that we should be consulted about changes that affect us.

But in a recent survey, 65% of Crown workers said management did not consult them properly.

Crown delegates know that the only way we can have a real say is when we are all together in the union. That is what gives us a strong, united voice that management has to listen to.

More and more Crown members like Mina Binh Du and Harry Connor are joining our union to have a real say at work.

Likewise, Hilton Hotel workers were not properly consulted about changes management wanted to make to their agreement.

But members stood together and made sure their voice was heard, protecting key conditions.

Member Judy Munoz was also being ignored. For months her former employer fobbed off her demands for unpaid long-service and holiday pay.

So Judy called our Union Rights Centre, and with their help she won the more than $8,500 she was owed.

One person is easily ignored. But when we stand together in the union we have a strong voice and real power to win change in our jobs.

Jess Walsh
Secretary,
LHMU Victoria

1. Crown survey: lack of consultation biggest issue on site

Crown workers said lack of proper consultation was the main issue on site in a recent management survey.

Only 35% of workers were satisfied with management consultation, while only 37% were satisfied with pay rates.

Table games delegate Manny Tomazos (pictured) said lack of consultation was one of the main reasons for high staff turnover at Crown.

‘The fact is that the management go through with decisions without any real form of consultation. It would make life a easier not just for the staff but for Crown as well, if they realised that getting and actually acting on feedback in a positive way would keep staff happy and keep people on a lot longer,’ Manny said.

‘A lot of staff like their jobs, but a lot of them get frustrated with the lack consultation and recognition.’

‘We believe we should be getting a fair and reasonable wages for the hours we do. We believe that our pay should reflect the type of work and the hours that we work,’ Manny said.

The only way to make sure management make the changes that workers want is by coming together in the union to have a united, powerful voice.

‘We need to be able to say the 80% of staff who filled out these forms, who gave you these results, are all standing together in the union and want you to make these changes.’

‘If we’re all together we can make Crown take action,’ Manny said.

2. Member wins over $8500 after employer loses records

When member Judy Munoz (pictured) learned she would miss out on 10 years long-service leave she was very upset.

Last year, Judy was ready to return to work after a serious car accident but her employer told her the job she had been promised was not available.

Nor did the new owner of the business have any record of her years of service.

‘I was very upset when they told me that. Oh my goodness, I thought, I’m going to lose my long service leave money.’

For about six months Judy chased the new owner for the money but got nowhere.

‘It was a very hard time with them. It was not my fault, and they were very angry with me. But I spent 10 years working very hard there.’

Having got nowhere, Judy called our Union Rights Centre (URC) for advice.

The URC helped Judy prove her length of service through union and superannuation records.

‘If I didn’t involve the URC I would not have got my money.’

‘But it was not just about the money for me; it was about the support the URC gave me when I needed it.’

Judy was ‘so glad’ to win over $8500 in long service and holiday pay she was owed.

And now Judy is glad to be back working again.
 
‘The most important thing for me was to go back to my work and to feel useful again.’

Got a workplace issue or question? Call the Union Rights Centre. Phone 9235 7777 or toll free 1800 819 087.

3. Hilton members stand together to protect conditions

Melbourne Hilton members stood together to protect conditions in an extension of their collective agreement.

Under recent agreements pushed through by hotels without any union involvement, thousands of hotel workers around the country have lost important workplace conditions. But these Hilton members refused to let that happen to them.

‘Some of the conditions that were going to be taken away would have had quite a substantial impact for some of us,’ delegate Mark Taylor (pictured) said.

Members protected important overtime and broken shift allowances, public holidays and accident make-up pay. They also stopped full-timers minimum shifts being reduced to three hours.

‘It came down to raising our voice and speaking up about it. You’ve got to let them know that it’s not acceptable,’ said Mark.

In Brisbane, members at the Sofitel stood together to knock-out a non-union agreement that management was trying to force through in the dying days of WorkChoices. The company must now bargain with members in good faith.

Members at Melbourne’s Langham and Westin hotels are also standing together to fight for strong union agreements with decent pay rises and better working conditions.

‘We work hard and we deserve to be treated with respect. We all deserve a fair deal and we are only going to get it if we all work together,’ said Westin delegate Tom Skoroplas.

4. Catering members ‘chuffed’ with agreement

Melbourne University catering delegate Geoff Young said members are ‘chuffed’ with pay rises of as much as $46 a week.

The pay rise is part of a new three-year agreement.

‘The way the economy is going I think we did pretty well to get what we got,’ Geoff said.

The agreement brings University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) catering members pay closer to their colleagues in administration.

‘The reason we were happy with it was that it benefited the ones on lower than the average. They finished up much better off.’

The agreement also includes a better performance review system that makes it easier for members to earn pay rises and clearer agreement wording.

Members also won an extra week of leave in exchange for simpler pay loading systems.

‘We were pretty chuffed,’ said Geoff.

5. Crown employees joining union to make jobs better

Employees like Mina Binh Du and Harry Connor are joining together in our union to have a strong voice at Crown.

Mina, a blackjack dealer, joined the union when she started at Crown six months ago to make sure her voice was heard.

‘Being in the union is very important. Otherwise no one can hear me. I don’t know the general manager, they will not listen to me.’

‘But in the union, the boss has to listen and to think. Once the union talks to the employer, it’s not a problem from one employee, but from all employees, the boss has to listen,’ said Mina.

‘Some people say the union is no good, they want to save a little bit of money, but they miss out on all the benefits.’

‘A lot of people from overseas don’t know the regulations and the laws. Once they join us in the union, they will know a lot more,’ Mina said.

Food and beverage worker Harry Connor joined the union when he started working for Crown, having previously worked as a contractor.

He says there are a number of areas that members can stand together to make their jobs better, which would reduce staff turn-over.

He wants other Crown workers to come together in the union to win change in their jobs.

‘The only way to change the place is through the union.’