Kylie Moon, Sydney
A national campaign has been launched by the Victorian branch of the Communication, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) to convince Australia Post (AP) workers to reject a proposed enterprise agreement, and to engage in a more serious campaign of industrial action
The draft agreement includes a lousy pay offer of a 4.2% a year increase, over three years, and the introduction of the Dedicated Outdoor Delivery Only (DODO) system. DODO would be the beginning of the end of traditional "postie".
Under DODO, workers will be employed to only deliver mail for long hours. They will not be in contact with other postal workers. The draft agreement provides for 400 part-time DODO workers.
Postal union activists believe that, once in place, AP management will push for this cheaper form of mail delivery to be implemented by full-time posties. This will have serious implications for workers' health and safety, particularly those who will be required to deliver continuously for five to seven hours.
There are also fears that the introduction of DODO will be a step short of contracting posties jobs, the deunionisation of posties and a serious deterioration of conditions.
The campaign to reject the agreement has received strong support in NSW. On August 24, a fiery meeting of 40 CEPU delegates was held. They sat through a two-hour speech by NSW CEPU state secretary Jim Metcher, designed to sell the draft agreement to delegates as the best possible deal.
When Charmaine Enright, a Socialist Alliance activist, revealed that the Victorian CEPU branch is campaigning for a "No" vote, the room erupted in anger at not having been told this. For the next two hours delegates angrily debated the draft agreement's problems with Metcher.
Metcher claimed that a stronger industrial campaign was not an option because "there wasn't enough strength on the ground". Yet, the CEPU held a national strike on May 13, its first in 20 years, and 80% of AP workers in NSW participated. At the mass meeting in Parramatta, there were calls from angry members for further strike action. However, the only action taken since has been a national day of wearing orange stickers. There have been several threats of strikes, but Metcher has pulled the plug on them at the last minute.
Delegates were angry at the inadequate draft agreement, especially because they knew that CEPU members were prepared to fight for a better deal, but have been prevented from doing so by the NSW leadership.
Enright handed out leaflets to begin organising the "No" campaign in NSW. They were eagerly snapped up by delegates, many taking bunches of them to distribute at work.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, September 1, 2004.
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