By Alex Bainbridge
WICKHAM, WA — Some 40 workers have been sacked as of Thursday December 3, at Robe River Iron Associates Cape Lambert plant. The sackings, along with threats of similar action to scores of others, are a result of the workers' participation in the ACTU-called National Day of Action on November 30.
In the first industrial action in over two years, union members voted overwhelmingly at a mass meeting to go out for the 24-hour stoppage.
Immediately upon return to work on December 1, all workers who participated in the action were subjected to individual interviews demanding that workers make certain commitments to the company about their future actions.
One step ahead of the Kennett government and the plants of the Coalition nationally, Robe River, a subsidiary of North Broken Hill Peko Wallsend, the company behind the APPM paper mill in Burnie, forces its employees to sign individual "Contracts of Employment". All workers employed since 1988 have been made to sign these "contracts".
Making no mention of wages, working conditions or specific duties, the "contract" is clearly designed to weaken unions. Clauses include: "An employee must carry out any duties... irrespective of whether the work to be carried out... is normally performed by that employee". Furthermore: "The Company reserves the right in its sole discretion to alter, amend or add to an employee's conditions of employment whether contained in this document or not."
In a clear tactic of divide and rule, workers in different 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ were asked to make different commitments. Some were merely asked to abide by their contracts (in some cases meaning the award, others meaning the "contract of employment"), while others were asked to deny the possibility of future stopwork meetings or strikes. Those who refused to consent to the latter demand were fired after a 24-hour suspension.
After declaring in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), that all workers were being asked the same question, Robe River management has persistently presented different workers with different questions, and when asked to clarify the meaning of commitments already made by workers, management have given different meanings to the same questions made to different workers.
The combined unions of Wickham (Cape Lambert site) are holding mass membership meetings on a daily basis and are resolved to take whatever action if necessary to defend both their right to strike and all sacked workers.
Robe River workers have seen numerous losses in conditions since 1986 and have not had a pay rise in that time (save one 3% productivity them about 10% (in pay rises) behind the rest of the country and around $140 a week worse off than other iron ore workers in the northwest of WA.
Furthermore, the number of employees has been halved from 1000 to around 500. No regular workers have been taken on in over two years.
Robe is also well known for demoting and/or intimidating union militants or workers raising safety issues.
The major weakness facing the workers here is the demarcation, fostered by management, between "staff" and "workers". "Staff" and "workers" in many cases do similar work, each replacing the other while on leave. Nevertheless, "staff" often receive $20-30,000 a year more than "workers" and are not "permitted" to join a union.