SDANEWS OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, NEW SOUTH WALES BRANCH WINTER 2014 RRP $8.00
TEAMWORK GETS RESULTS
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, NSW BRANCH
WWW.SDANSW.ORG.AU PHONE 131 SDA STREET ADDRESS: POSTAL ADDRESS: E-MAIL: SDA NEWS EDITOR:
Level 3, 8 Quay Street, Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box K230, Haymarket NSW 1240 secretary@sdansw.asn.au
Gerard Dwyer, Level 3, 8 Quay Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Please address all correspondence to “The Secretary”. UNION OFFICERS: SECRETARY: Gerard Dwyer ASSISTANT SECRETARY: Bernie Smith PRESIDENT: Greg Donnelly ORGANISERS METROPOLITAN: Lena Adam, Mark Gronowski, Anthony Maiatico, Anthony Attard, Jakub Werstak, Alex Velickovic, Sarah Moody, Caroline Israel, Chris Stefanovski, Angela Ghanime, Mina Papadopoulos, Rose Ghabache, Tina Callaghan, Joel Tynan, Adriana Moore, Karl San Pedro, Hugh McLaurin, Stephen Noone, Anthony Day, Joanne Jammal, Chris Khalil, Whitney Rizk, Alex del Rosario. REGIONAL: Lower South Coast, Southern Highlands & Canberra: Athol Williams and Julie Myers phone 6273 2300 Riverina (Wagga/Albury): Struan Timms phone 6921 8820 Western NSW (Orange/Dubbo): Louise Buesnell and Loretta Turner (part-time Organiser) phone 6362 1965 Far North Coast (Ballina/Tweed): Trevor McCosker phone 6686 4192 Wollongong & Illawarra: Vera Cavanagh and Di Dixon (part-time Organiser) phone 4228 3611 Port Macquarie and Tamworth Region: Paul Mitchell phone 6583 8837 Coffs Harbour and Armidale Region: Mariusz Werstak and Bridget Sheridan (casual Organiser) phone 6650 9950 WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING: Joseph Bourke, John Paul Sialafau SPECIALISTS SENIOR INDUSTRIAL OFFICER: Robert Tonkli INDUSTRIAL OFFICERS: Phil Walker, Bernard Govind, Mitchell Worsley, Aliscia Di Mauro WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND OHS OFFICERS: Michael Babic, Jane Lui SENIOR OPERATIONS OFFICER: Felicity Smithson OPERATIONS OFFICER: Paul Hangan COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS: Michael Walker, Tim Leong INFORMATION OFFICERS: Corrine Boyle, Elizabeth Cody, David Uzzell, Georgina Psillis, Renee Jaajaa, Monica Rose EDUCATION OFFICER: Philippe LeCompte
PAGE 2 l WINTER 2014 l SDA NEWS
Giving 100% – Geƫng 100% Many SDA members working under SDA Agreements already get 100% pay at 20 years of age. On 1 July, thousands more 20-year-old retail workers covered by the General Retail Award received a boost towards 100% pay. Pay rates for 20-year-olds employed under the General Retail Award increased to 95% of the adult rate on 1 July. Then, on 1 July next year they will increase again, to 100% of the adult rate. This didn’t just happen; it came about after a year-long nationwide campaign led by the SDA. The campaign, called 100% Pay at 18+ involved members and Delegates showing their support for equal pay for all workers aged over 18. Then we successfully argued a case before the Fair Work Commission. The campaign continues. The next step in the 100% Pay at 18+ is to win 100% adult rates at 19 years of age through negotiation with major retail employers.
Minimum Wage Case Also on 1 July, all rates of pay in the General Retail Award had an annual wage increase of 3%. This is the result of the SDA and other unions arguing in the Fair Work Commission for a fair pay increase to allow for rising living costs. This increase only applies in companies that pay Award wages. The increase does also benefit SDA members in companies with Enterprise Agreements, because having a higher minimum Award rate allows us to negotiate even higher Enterprise Agreement rates (see article on pages 4-5). Would employers pay those increases if Unions weren’t arguing for them? No. Many employer associations argued for no increase to minimum
wages this year, or for a very small increase, and the Federal Government was not helping low paid workers. It was the Unions that argued for a fair wage increase. This is how we maintain fair minimum wages in Australia.
Penalty Rates At the same time as they were arguing for no pay rises, employer lobby groups have also been trying to remove penalty rates for night and weekend work. The SDA has been fighting against this change both in the Fair Work Commission and in the Parliament. We’ve been doing this because we know that removing penalty rates would cause an immediate pay cut for thousands of SDA members and other service sector workers around the country. We will continue to take up this challenge to protect members’ penalty rates (see page 11). All of these achievements are built on membership. Without members, the SDA would not have the resources to run legal cases in the Commission or the strength to negotiate wages and entitlements with employers. This edition’s cover features a netball team in Coffs Harbour; several of them are SDA members. They enjoy their leisure time participating in community sport, but they also remind us of something else: we achieve what we do by working together as a team.
Gerard Dwyer, Branch Secretary SDA NEWS l WINTER 2014 l PAGE 3
The SDA: Raising your Wages Everyone will be seeing some more dollars on their payslip from 1 July this year:
SuperannuaƟon From 1 July, your employer’s Assistant Secretary contribution to your superannuation will increase from 9.25% to 9.5% of your earnings. This will apply to all workers across the nation. To ensure that workers have a reasonable amount of money put aside for their retirement, the SDA and other unions lobbied for increases to superannuation under the previous Labor Government, they agreed to phasing in increases to lift superannuation from 9% to 12% by the 2023 financial year. Disappointingly, the Abbott Government has put a halt to any further increases above 9.5% until at least 2018. by Bernie Smith
PAGE 4 l WINTER 2014 l SDA NEWS
Minimum Wage Rise All workers under the General Retail Award have received a pay rise as a result of the National Wage Case argued by the SDA and other unions. Australia’s minimum wage was raised by 50 cents an hour and is now $16.87 per hour. 1.5 million workers get this pay rise; equivalent to 15 full ANZ Stadiums! Some of these workers from Sydney’s Northern Suburbs are pictured below with Unions NSW Secretary Mark Lennon, ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver and SDA Organiser Paul Hangan campaigning for an increase to the minimum wage in the It’s Time to Raise the Wage campaign. Increasing the minimum wage is also important for you if you work under an enterprise agreement, as it gives a higher starting point for negotiations on your wages.
did you know... Enterprise Agreements And of course, the SDA continues its work, negotiating above-Award pay rises for all of you who work under enterprise agreements. Regular negotiated pay rises have recently commenced for the Woolworths Supermarkets, Woolworths Petrol, Coles Express, McDonald’s, Dan Murphy’s and BWS Enterprise Agreements. Pay rises are also coming for David Jones, Big W and Target on 1 August. If you work for one of these companies, you can view your new rates of pay in the members section of the SDA website.
Workers aged 20 employed under the Shop Award now receive 95% of the adult wage instead of 90%. This resulted from our victory in the Junior Rates Case that was decided in March. On 1 July next year they will be paid 100% of the adult wage. We are now negotiating for adult wages to be paid to 19 year olds.
it’s a fact... The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has the job of setting the minimum wage. The FWC used to be known as the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and has a history going back to 1904. (for a history of the FWC go to https://www.fwc.gov.au/about-us/history). The FWC’s role is not just making Awards and Enterprise Agreements and settling disputes. Every year, the Fair Work Commission makes a decision on an increase to the minimum wage for employees in the national workplace relations system. This decision is made by the Commission’s Expert Panel for annual wage reviews. The Expert Panel conducts the review from about March to June and their decision becomes effective from 1 July each year. Unions, including the SDA, make submissions to the review, arguing for an increase to minimum wages. WHO ARE AUSTRALIA’S MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS? Over 1.5 million low-paid Australian workers are on minimum award wages, including retail and hospitality workers, cleaners, childcare workers, farm labourers, and some factory workers. Minimum wage workers include large numbers of women and part-time or casual workers employed in the private sector in lower-skilled jobs. WHO DECIDES THE INCREASE TO THE MINIMUM WAGE? The Expert Panel is made up of the President of the FWC, three other FWC members and three part-time members. The three part-time members have knowledge or experience in workplace relations, social policy, economics and business or industry. The Panel must consider written submissions from organisations such as unions and employer associations as well as individuals. Also, the Panel can commission its own research. You can learn more about how the minimum wage helps Australians in comic strip form at www.workinglife.org.au/minimum-wage-story.
ConsultaƟon or Case Conference? Injured workers often make appointments to see their nominated treating doctor (NTD) only to discover that their employer or insurer by Robert Tonkli Senior Industrial Officer representative wants – or demands – to attend the consultation as well. It is important to distinguish between case conferences and consultations.
ConsultaƟons A consultation is a private and confidential meeting between the NTD and the injured worker. During a consultation, the sanctity of the doctorpatient relationship must always be upheld and respected. It is only with the injured worker’s consent that an employer/ insurer representative or any third party may attend a consultation. If the employer and/or insurer representative demands to attend or intrude upon a consultation, the injured worker can insist on his rights and simply say “no”. I know of an injured employee who contacted the SDA to inform us that the NTD had to physically stop the employer representative from entering the room by closing the door and telling them to go away!
Case Conferences Appointments for case conferences are made by the insurer or employer. A case conference is a meeting of the key parties including the injured worker, NTD, insurer/employer representative, rehabilitation provider, and other health care providers. Case conferences help to monitor progress, set goals, discuss treatment, ensure duties are indeed suitable, draft a return to work plan, etc. PAGE 6 l WINTER 2014 l SDA NEWS
Employers often need updated information regarding a worker’s injury so that suitable duties can be upgraded or modified. It may not always be practical or timely for employers or insurers to book a case conference, so some injured workers decide to allow the employer/insurer representative to the consultation after the injured workers have had their private and confidential time with the NTD. It is only by the injured worker’s consent that a third party can attend the consultation.
Factual InvesƟgators Factual investigators are engaged by the insurer to gather information. Injured workers often query if they actually have to meet a factual investigator and then give a signed statement. There is a legislative obligation on the injured worker to co-operate with the insurer, in particular, the injured worker must comply with any reasonable request by the insurer to give specified information. The problem is that by not having a meeting with a private investigator and giving a signed statement to the insurer, the injured worker may be assisting the insurer in delaying payments or declining the claim. In appraising liability for a claim, the insurer needs all the evidence it can get, so, surely, it is in the worker’s best interest to give a statement that fully describes what the worker intends to say. Some workers make the mistake of giving statements that contain information that is unhelpful. Ideally, it is best to have legal advice before giving a signed statement to the insurer. When a request is made to see a factual investigator, the safest policy is to contact the Union on 131 SDA (that’s 131 732) for assistance and advice.
workers’ compensaƟon
SDA NEWS l WINTER 2014 l PAGE 7
Help’s Just a Phone Call Away... It’s important to us, as your Union, to have support available for you at the touch of a button. That’s why we have an Info Centre which you can call with any question or concern you might have. Members regularly contact us to find out details relating to their wages and working conditions. Just some of the questions we’ve handled recently include: I think I’m being underpaid. What should I do? My Manager has just changed my roster. He says I’ve got to accept it, but if I do, I won’t be able to pick my kids up from school. Are casuals entitled to long service leave? I’m pregnant and having difficulties at work, mainly with lifting and carrying. Is there anything I can do about it, apart from taking leave? I took a sick day last week, but when I got my payslip this week, it showed that I’d taken a day of annual leave instead. Can my Manager do this? Can I get it reversed so I get my annual leave back? I’ve noticed that the emergency exit at work is blocked, which makes me feel unsafe. What can I do to get management to unblock it?
Whether it is a question about your hourly rate of pay, or advice on dealing with your manager, our Information Officers are able to assist you.
We’re Here for You Our Info Centre is available for you, as an SDA member to call if you need any help at all, or if you’d like to know more about any of the services and benefits we offer. Just call 131 SDA (that’s 131 732) between 8.00am and 5.30pm from Monday to Friday, or between 8.30am and 5.00pm on Saturdays (except on public holidays) to speak to one of our helpful and experienced Information Officers! Monica Rose, one of our Information Officers, is shown here. She joined the Info Centre team in recent months, after working for several years as an SDA Organiser.
@ When calling, please provide your SDA
...or a Click Away! Don’t forget, you can also go to our website if you’d like:
information about our various services and benefits,
a copy of your Enterprise Agreement,
to order movie tickets, family day tickets, etc, or
to enter competitions,
Just log onto
www.sdansw.org.au
PAGE 8 l WINTER 2014 l SDA NEWS
I never seem to be able to take my breaks - my Manager often asks me to wait until other staff have come back from their break, but it never seems to be my turn. What can I do?
membership number – check your SDA membership card for your number.
SDA NEWS l WINTER 2014 l PAGE 9
!
" # $
% $ $ & ' ()** )+, ,*- . $ / 01 $ $
$ 2 01 34 5 678( 9 : ; *7)( < $ . $ $
What if You Can’t Take the Time? Penalty rates are higher rates of pay to compensate people who have to work at unsociable times like Sundays and public holidays. Unions have been active in defending work/life balance since the 19th Century, when there were no regulations and shop assistants were required to work up to 67 hours a week. The SDA has tirelessly defended the right to have a life outside of work – in family and community – and continues to argue for this. It is completely appropriate for people who have to give up their time on weekends or public holidays in service jobs to be paid at a higher rate to compensate them for the penalty of missing out on family and community gatherings that are held on these days. There has been an annoying campaign run by big business for the last several years, arguing that penalty rates are costing businesses too much. This is nonsense. These arguments should be seen for what they are: yet another attempt by employers to get the government to take money from employees and hand it back to their employers. It really is as simple as that. The individual cost to SDA members of losing penalty rates would be huge. It would be a pay cut for thousands of hard-working employees. Days like Sundays and public holidays are still special in our communities. Over 70% of employees in Australia still work from Monday to Friday. Think about this, too: if you take the extra pay of penalty rates away from thousands of workers, then they will lose millions of dollars in pay that they would otherwise spend in retailers’ shops. We all lose out! First they take your time, then they try to take your money. Enough’s enough. In the last several years the SDA has, in the Fair Work Commission, fought off repeated attempts by employer groups to reduce or abolish penalty rates in the Retail and Fast Food Awards. We will continue doing this.
What else can be done about unsociable work hours?
Work at unsociable hours is hard, and in some cases causes major issues in household management. While most workers in retail or fast food have some weekend work, that does not mean that you have no say at all over your hours. Many SDA Agreements require your employer to take account of your family (and in some cases sporting) commitments when setting a roster. Ask your SDA Delegate to help you negotiate hours that work with your commitments. Many SDA Agreements also require permanent workers to have some guaranteed weekend time off. Another, newer solution is to request a flexible work agreement. Most working Australians are unaware that they have this right. We will look at this in more detail in the next edition of SDA News; watch for it in your mailbox in September. Lastly, get on board with our Take The Time work/ life balance campaign and defend your right to family and community time. Sign our petition at www.takethetime.org.au and stay up to date with the campaign on Facebook.
put it in the diary... Don’t forget our Family Day at Luna Park in Sydney on 31 August 2014. SDA members, their families and friends receive a substantial discount on usual prices. So Take the Time to enjoy a day out! FOR TICKETS: 5 Order online at www.sdansw.org.au; or > Order by phone on 131 SDA (131 732). SDA NEWS l WINTER 2014 l PAGE 11
Keeping You Covered... Some parts of our journey claim insurance scheme have changed, but NSW members are still covered for...
Income protection for up to two years at 85% of your inc ome (13 weeks if you are eli gible for a CTP payment).
hand of: Loss on either b $30,000 4 fingers & thum 000 4 fingers $24, joints $18,000 1 thumb both int $9,000 1 thumb one jo
Loss of use of fi ngers: 3 joints $6,000 2 joints $4,800 1 joint $ 3,000
1 or 2 Loss of use of limbs $60,000
Loss off toes of either fo a) all to ot: es on 1 foot $9 b) big to ,0 00 e, 2 join ts $3,00 c) big to 0 e, 1 join t $1,80 d) other 0 toe $60 0 each
Cover provides a combination of lump sum payments up to $60,000 and weekly benefits for lost earnings (i.e. income protection) for up to two years.
Loss of sight $60,000
Loss of heari ng $60,000 Loss in one ear $30,000
spine $3,000 Broken neck or
Broken arm , elbow or wrist $30 0
odification Home/vehicle m 000 0, benefit up to $2 se Loss of u 0 0 $30,0
of 1 leg
Death (with dependant/s) $60,000
Death (no dependant/s) Financial members of the Union are covered when: 1. Travelling between the bounds of home and work for the purpose of starting and ending the day’s work, 2. On a meal break and within a radius of 3 kilometres from their place of work; or 3. Travelling between either their home or work and a place of education or assessment for the purpose of part-time study. The policy also covers standard deviations from a normal journey home. Actions such as picking children up from school, stopping off at the shopping centre to pick up groceries would thus be included. 4. Any claim where by there is a benefit payable under any Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance, regardless of the status of the claim, in relation to or in any way connected with a motor vehicle accident, will result in the weekly benefit period reduced to a maximum of 13 weeks. Journey cover provides a combination of lump sum payments up to $100,000 and weekly benefits for lost earnings (i.e. income protection) for up to two years. The information presented here is a guide only; contact the SDA for full terms and conditions.
$13,000
Total disablement $60,000 Quadriplegia $60,000 3rd degree burns and resultant disfigurement extending to more than 40% of the body $30,000
Permanent disability not otherwise covered – Up to $45,000
What is the SDA and what do we do? The SDA is a not-for-profit organisation made up of employees from the retail, warehousing and by Bernie Smith fast food industries, which Assistant Secretary looks after the interests of members. The SDA fights for its members in many ways, like trading hours, superannuation, and fair workers’ compensation laws. But here are the three main things we do every day:
SDA – 3 main roles 1. Negotiates pay rises The SDA negotiates better rates of pay and working conditions. The more members are in the SDA, the stronger the bargaining position and the better the pay rises from the negotiations. 2. Help at work Any problems at work, the SDA is there to help. The SDA helps with roster disputes, underpayments, bullying/harassment. We have workplace Delegates and Union Reps on staff to resolve any problems that arise in the workplace.
are your workmates covered?
SDA members also have exclusive access to the SDA confidential advice line (131 732). 3. Safer Workplaces The SDA is here to help members with any Health & Safety concerns. We work for safer workplaces. If you are injured at work the SDA helps our members with WorkCover claims – it is a complex area of the law. The SDA has specialists on staff to help our members with all Health & Safety processes.
Other benefits Journey Claim (to and from work) insurance Accident Cover Education Scholarships Discount Movie Tickets Frequent Values™ Voucher Book Discount groceries Members only website information about services, wages, conditions and much more. SDA resources and expertise are exclusively for the benefit of members. If something goes wrong at work and you’re not an SDA member... we can’t help you.
It’s easy to join! Just fill in this form and return it to the SDA.
All financial members of the SDA automatically receive free insurance cover for journey claims. So if you’re travelling to or from work, you can feel secure that we’re looking after you. But the big question is - do your workmates feel the same security? If they’re members of the SDA, of course they can! But if they’re not members, they have no cover. So offer non-members the form on the opposite page, to join the SDA and have the same peace of mind that you have. Plus, of course, all the other benefits that Union membership brings! PAGE 14 l WINTER 2014 l SDA NEWS
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ASSOCIATION (NEW SOUTH WALES BRANCH)
Please enrol me as a member of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association. I pledge myself to comply with the Rules of the Association and the Branch to which I am attached and any amendments or additions duly made to such Rules in accordance with the Rules and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.
PLEASE USE BLOCK LETTERS AND BLACK INK OFFICE USE ONLY
TITLE
MR
MRS
MISS
MS
DATE OF BIRTH
SURNAME NAME ADDRESS STATE
SUBURB POSTCODE
PH
MOBILE
EMAIL* EMPLOYER/COMPANY Full Time Part Time
SUBURB
Casual Other
Privacy Act 1988 - The SDA is bound by the Privacy Act. This information is collected to enable the Union to contact you about matters relating to your union membership and to ensure that we have the necessary information to represent your employment and related interests. A copy of the Union's Privacy Statement is available from Union officials, the Union office and our website.
* your email address will only be used for union messages and will not be disclosed to any third parties. I hereby authorise the employer to deduct from my wages in accordance with the Association's Schedule of fees and to pay the monies so deducted to the account identified to you by the National President of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association as the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association New South Wales Deduction Account.
E
N SIG SIGNATURE
HER
DATE
AUTHORITY TO DEDUCT - TO BE RETAINED BY EMPLOYER NAME EMPLOYER/COMPANY I hereby authorise the employer to deduct from my wages an amount in accordance with the Schedule and pay the monies so deducted to the account identified to you by the National President of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association as the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association New South Wales Account. I authorise my employer to supply the SDA with updated information on the membership details set out in my application for membership form. This authority shall remain in force for so long as I remain an eligible employee of the employer.
No hours worked in the week Employed less than 10 hours per week Employed 10 to less than 20 hours per week Employed 20 hours or more per week
YOUR UNION FEES ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE
$0.00 week $3.85 week $6.40 week $8.90 week
ERE
NH
SIG SIGNATURE
DATE
SDA NEWS l WINTER 2014 l PAGE 15
Josh is Up, Up and Away!
About SDA/AFS Scholarships Every second year, the SDA sponsors a member, or child of a member, to 8 go to school for one year, or 8 volunteer abroad for up to a year. The scholarship covers all travel and program costs; meals and accommodation are provided by host families. For more information about applying for the SDA/ AFS Scholarship, watch for a notice in SDA News, talk to your Union Delegate or Union Organiser, or contact the SDA Information Centre.
Josh Howard of McDonald’s Albion Park is the SDA’s latest AFS winner. He’s jetting off to Switzerland in August, to spend 12 months with a host family, going to school and soaking up the Swiss culture and atmosphere. Josh is from Gerringong on the South Coast and goes to Kiama High School. He’s just turned 16, so this will be quite an adventure for him. Best wishes, Josh – we’re sure you’ll have a sensational time! Josh is pictured here (centre) with Assistant Secretary Bernie Smith (second from right), Organisers Vera Cavanagh (left) and Di Dixon (right) and his unit manager, Ashleigh (second from left).