MWU campaign over 'unpaid' hostel care workers condemned

11/6/96

A union campaign over 'underpaid' hostel care workers has shown the ugly face of unionism that bullies workers and threatens aged people in charity-run hostels, Labour Relations Minister Graham Kierath said.

He said the latest campaign by the Miscellaneous Workers' Union to have workers 'on-call' paid at the minimum wage while they were asleep was a spurious one to put pressure on hostel employers.

"The union knows it was the one responsible for having in its award a provision that specifically excludes counting time spent sleeping as work and is hoping no-one remembers," Mr Kierath said.

"Now the union wants to reverse conditions it agreed to back in 1994 as political leverage and as thuggery against employers in support of a test case against one hostel for backpay for failing to pay the minimum rate during 'on-call' time.

"The union is wrong to claim that if this on-call time is spent working, then the minimum conditions rate of pay applies because the award rate is higher and employees are paid at the higher rate.

"To then turn around and claim it is the Government's legislation which is responsible for the claim being made for back pay is fanciful in the extreme.

"As far as I can see, this is just a campaign to bluff employers of hostels to cough up more money under a threat of claiming the full award hourly wage and massive backpay for the time their members have been sleeping on the job.

"The Miscellaneous Workers' Union tried this on two years ago and failed and this is just another run at the issue to garner support for another spurious claim.

"This is just a very un-Australian and typically heartless drive by the union to force the closure of hostels and leave families to take up the care of their loved ones."

Mr Kierath said country areas where many small hostels were located would suffer most if unions were to win their test case because the extra cost would cripple their operations and force older people out on to the streets.

Already several construction projects for hostels have been shelved because of the pressure being applied by this union.

The Minister said an amendment to the provisions of the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act was being drafted to explicitly exclude time on-call and sleep-over at a workplace.

Media contact: Steve Manchee 481 2133