Want To Cut Your Gas and Electrical Bills

Dean Mighell says:

The ETU is one of the most successful unions in Australia and we are always looking for ways to use our combined strength and resources to provide greater benefits to members and their families.

From our unique Ambulance Cover to the discounts offered in the Where to Enjoy and Union Shopper programs and the financial assistance provided under the ETU’s Distress and Mortality Trusts, the ETU continues to deliver a host of benefits to its loyal membership. Now, we have worked long and hard to provide ETU members with the first ever discount electricity and gas deal – TRUenergy Mates Rates.

We have entered into a special energy deal with TRUenergy. With TRUenergy ‘Mates Rates’ every Victorian ETU member qualifies for ongoing discounts on electricity and gas rates. It’s not a mixed up way of working out a discount. It’s a real decrease straight off the bottom line, where it matters.

Again, the ETU has pioneered a member benefit that others will try to follow. It’s all about helping members and their families and using our growing membership numbers to bargain for the best deal we can get in any situation. So please consider the ETU TRUenergy Mates Rates offer and always remember to use energy saver devices and turn off appliances when not in use. We will be working with TRUenergy to bring you other ‘Green’ options in the near future.

Have a great 2008.

Yours sincerely,

Dean Mighell
State Secretary

Travelling With Preston

ETU members receiving the online magazine would be aware your union has entered into a partnership with Preston Travel that will bring benefits to you.

ETU members looking for tailor-made group itineraries, conference management and a honeymoon registry need only go to www.prestontravel.com.au or contact Cheryl Thomas, Preston Travel’s dedicated ETU travel consultant on 1800 339 664 or email cherylt@prestontravel.com.au

A Union Show For You

The Union Show, the only designated union show in the world is up and running for 2008. With ETU communications manager Phil Cleary in the chair, the show covers the issues the rest forget. The Union Show can be seen on Channel 31 at 7 pm on a Tuesday night. This coming Tuesday’s program will carry features on teachers, medical scientists and valet parking attendants, a special interview with Brian Boyd and much, much more.

Segments of relevance to ETU members will be edited by Jason Gibson in the communications department of the ETU and uploaded onto the ETU’s YouTube site. Watch recent episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the ETU website at http://www.etu.asn.au/2007/union_show.html

ETU Wins Indigenous Award

It was all smiles when ETU secretary Dean Mighell and Indigenous Apprenticeship Officer Dean Rioli accepted the ACTU’s Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islander Award on Tuesday 4 March 2008.

‘It’s great to be recognised for the work we are doing with unemployed indigenous people,’ says Dean Rioli. That work includes recruiting participants for the IAP and seeking out placements for them. The program has been running for almost two years. In that time more than 40 indigenous people have found their way into the construction industry, skilled laboring areas and a range of apprenticeships.

Speaking at the function Dean Mighell acknowledged the work done by Christian Gaylard, who first mooted the idea and now runs the program with Dean Rioli. He went on to describe how fulfilling it was to help make a difference.
‘ETU members should be proud their union is making a difference, especially when indigenous unemployment is so high and so many projects have failed over the years,’ says Dean Rioli.

In March an ETU delegation will travel to Darwin and the Tiwi Islands to explore the possibility of building a trade school/s for indigenous people. ‘Indigenous people are totally dependant of white contractors from anywhere and everywhere. If my people could do this work themselves it would not only save them money but give them real employment rather than work for the dole,’ says Dean Rioli, a former Essendon Football Club star and Tiwi Islander.

Bendigo Sub-Branch Calling You

Due to changes at the ETU, organiser Reno Lia has added Bendigo construction to his organising responsibilities. Previously, Reno had only been responsible for metals in the area and David Mier had been looking after construction.
‘A good union is one in which members share their ideas and keep abreast of what’s going on around the traps,’ says Reno. Accordingly, he’s calling on members to attend sub-branch meetings. These are held quarterly, starting at 6.00 pm, in the Bendigo Trades Hall at 40 View Street, Bendigo.

‘These meeting are a great forum in which to hear from members and find out what’s going on in the area where blokes are working. It’s particularly important in the country, where issues affecting members are often quite different from those in the city. The drought, for example, has affected our members in the dairy industry in a way quite different from how it might affect workers in the city and brings with it distinctive challenges,’ says Reno.

Members in the Bendigo region might like to pencil in the following dates for sub-branch meetings:

19 March - 6.00 pm - Bendigo Trades Hall.
18 June - ditto
17 Sept – ditto
17 Dec - ditto

For further information ring Reno Lia on 0409 188 809

On the morning after Anzac Day a contingent of Melbourne firefighters will begin an arduous 4 400 kilometre run from Anzac Cove to London, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the end of World War One. The idea came from leading firefighter Paul Ritchie. A 20-year member of the UFU and a serious marathon runner, Paul thought it would be a great way of promoting good health, in the context of an event – Gallipoli – he believes, embodies the spirit of Australia.

There will be 24 Melbourne firefighters undertaking the run. They will leave Anzac Cove with a contingent of Turkish firefighters. At the Greek border the Australians will be joined by members of the Greek firefighters union, followed by Italian and the French firefighters at the respective national borders. At the Arch de Triumph in Paris there will be a special ceremony involving all parties. ‘This ceremony will be huge,’ says Paul.

At the Western Front the firefighters will visit all the battlefields that swallowed so many young lives and extinguished millions of dreams. The ETU is a financial sponsor of the event.

Why would Prime Minister Prime Minister Kevin Rudd say he’s considering a plan to allow around 15 000 builders from overseas into Australia to help ease the housing shortage? It’s no surprise that the Housing Industry Association (HIA) would be calling for a specialist temporary visa program to address Australia's so-called ‘critical shortage of construction workers’. But a Labour Prime Minister?

You could almost hear the glee in the voice of HIA’s Ron Silberberg when he said the ‘critical shortage of construction workers was hindering Australia's ability to build new houses’. So convinced of the shortage is Mr Silberberg he reckons we need up to 15,000 skilled workers.

Most workers will be aware of the dramas created by the temporary visa program under the anti-worker Howard government. It’s probably fair to say the system generated exploitation of a kind almost unheard of in more than 100 years of organised labour.

Whilst there might be shortages in some areas, ETU secretary Dean Mighell asks why we didn’t have proper apprenticeship intakes a decade go. ‘The outsourcing of maintenance work, especially during the privatisation process, hasn’t helped. When this began to happen in the metal and manufacturing industries it coincided with a decline in apprenticeship numbers. Contractors didn’t seem to care. So now we have a problem,’ he says.

Will the so-called shortage spawn a commitment by governments to increase skilled apprentice numbers? We wait with bated breath!

Whilst the battle to rid the country of AWAs might be over, the commitment to the principles articulated in the Your Rights At Work campaign remains strong in the ETU. It was therefore encouraging to see Brian Boyd advise your correspondent on the Union Show (aired next week on Channel 31) that the struggle goes on.

To download a PDF copy of the four-page ‘Campaign Continues’ leaflet click here: www.rightsatwork.com.au/campaigns/thecampaigncontinues

In summary, the demands are as follows:
1. No AWA individual contracts.
2. Right to union membership and representation.
3. Collective bargaining rights.
4. Protection from unfair dismissal.
5. A strong safety net.
6. An independent umpire.

Unfortunately the current workplace laws are so heavily weighted in favour of employers, striking is a work of art.

The Best Man

The ETU would like to congratulate Rick Boyd, who was named the best first year apprentice for 2007. The presentation was held at Chadstone on 28 February 2008.

‘It was totally unexpected. For a 40-something year old apprentice, just interested in surviving it was a great boost to my self-confidence,’ said Rick. Employed by Barry Gregg at Laser Electrics in Ouyen, Rick is a born and bred Mallee boy. For the past five years he’s worked in the grain industry doing everything from driving front-end loaders to training staff.

‘It got to the point where I thought the management at the company was doing a poor job and it was time to move on. I asked my family if they’d mind moving from Ouyen to Mildura, where I had greater employment opportunities. As the family didn’t want to move I had to stay put and find an alternative,’ he says.

The alternative was an adult apprenticeship with Greggs Electrics in Ouyen as a Powercor apprentice working between Ouyen and Mildura. So how did our Rick win the award? The answer he thinks lies in a good work ethic, something that can be attributed to ‘maturity and a preparedness to ask questions, especially about the maths’.
Having conquered most - but not all fears – Rick says the future looks exciting. ‘I love working in the bucket and being outside and am looking forward to becoming a first class glove man,’ he says. That really is a story.

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