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Education unions strike across NT
DARWIN — On November 10, 80 staff covered by the Australian Education Union at the Darwin, Batchelor and Alice Springs campuses of the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education went on strike for 24 hours. Staff are refusing to accept management's offer of a 10% wage rise over three years, demanding an 18% increase instead.
TAFE and higher education staff at Charles Darwin University took industrial action on November 17 and 18 respectively. The unions have demanded a 19% wage rise, however CDU claims that the university can only afford 10%. Management attempted to undermine the November 17 strike action by lodging, at short notice, an official complaint with the Industrial Relations Tribunal.
Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement at CDU have dragged on for nearly 18 months. National Tertiary Education Union organiser Mark Wheeler warned that staff are leaving for interstate as a result. "People are voting with their feet and I'm aware of a lot of people who are already looking at options to move down south, which is sad because the only ones that suffer is the Northern Territory and the future students of the Northern Territory", he told the Northern Territory News on November 13.
Jon Lamb
Drivers threaten strike over rail crash furore
BRISBANE — On November 18, the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen threatened strike action over the decision by Queensland Rail and police to reveal that the high-speed Tilt Train, which crashed on November 15, was travelling at 112km/h when it came off the rails near Bundaberg, at a bend where speeds are limited to 60km/h.
The union said that release of information about the alleged speed of the train was premature and unfairly implied the drivers were at fault.
On November 19, after a meeting between rail boss Bob Scheuber and the union, the AFULE decided to put the stoppage on hold while the Labor state government considers legislative action to ensure that witness information provided during investigations into the crash cannot be used against them in future legal proceedings.
Bill Mason
Strike over railway night shifts
PERTH — Workers on the new Perth-to-Mandurah railway line went on strike on November 11 after the contractor Leighton only offered them an additional 5% pay for night shifts.
Some 280 workers have been on strike since then and voted to defy the return-to-work order issued by the Industrial Relations Commission on November 12. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union WA assistant secretary Joe McDonald told the ABC on November 16 that "everywhere a night shift is worked around the CBD it's double time and they're saying they want to pay 5% loading".
Trent Hawkins
PNG boat crew mistreated
DARWIN — The Maritime Union of Australia's Northern Territory branch raised concerns about the treatment of the 10-person crew aboard a vessel from Papua New Guinea that arrived in Darwin Harbour on November 12.
On inspection, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority found faulty toilets, insufficient food and 19 other deficiencies. MUA organiser Mick Killick told ABC News on November 16: "Until AMSA got down there they had no food on board, they were [being] denied access to go ashore". Adding that they had no linen, towels or soap, Killick said: "It is like they are imprisoned on their own ship."
Darwin has been hit by hot, humid weather and in the same week a young soldier died from heat exhaustion while on training exercises. According to Killick it is "an absolute disgrace that any human being should have to live and work under these conditions".
The ship owners have claimed that the ship is in compliance with PNG laws. Crew members interviewed by ABC TV on November 17 said they were fine, however this was in the presence of the ship's owner. Local seafarers have donated food and money to the crew.
Jon Lamb
Mandatory sentencing challenged
DARWIN — The Northern Territory Criminal Lawyers Association has backed statements by Magistrate Greg Cavenagh calling for the abolition of mandatory sentencing legislation in the NT.
During a Darwin court hearing Cavenagh said mandatory sentencing led to "absurdities, it's inhuman, it's unfair".
While mandatory sentencing for property crimes was abolished by the territory Labor government in 2001, it remains in force for some drug offenses, assaults and breaches of domestic violence orders.
Kathy Newnam
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, November 24, 2004.
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