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It is commendable the Branch has correctly given credit                                   AOS,  OSM,  Swire  and
    for the work of the current staff during the difficult times                              Solstad to name a few,
    with so many officials on sick leave and an associated                                    have  already  tried  to
    tiring  workload.  It’s  a  pity  such  recognition  was  not                             apply     dead     days
    forthcoming during the period July 2019 through to June                                   instead of duty days. It
    2020,  as  negative  events  during  that  period  could  well                            is    time    for   the
    have been avoided.                                                                        membership across the
                                                                                              industry  to  Unite  and
    Ongoing issues yet to be resolved.                                                        take  up  the  fight  with
                                                              Go-Offshore. Protected action ballots MUS be supported.
    Equally, disillusioned members remind the readers of the   We MUST get this provision right.! DOF is rumoured to
    Newsletter  of  issues  that  remain  unattended  and     seek to apply the same tactics. Above is an advertisement
    unresolved, which date back to 2020. Below are some of    allegedly  from  Go-Offshore  who  are  using  another
    them.                                                     manning agency for employment, in attempts to bypass
                                                              the MUA EBA... Don’t apply, contact the W.A. Branch.
    1. The on-off Special Meeting. Agreed July 2020.
    2. Charges against P. Gallagher from August 2020.         CFMMEU
    3.  Minutes  of  one  BMM  meeting  still  in  abeyance  and
                                                                                          th
    never  finalised,  and  several  differing  months  BMM   A  newspaper report (June 9 ) headlined “Setka allies hit
    minutes  ‘can’t  be  found’  along  with  the  actual  official   out  and  CFMEU’s  O’Connor  outlines  Union  figures
    minute book”.                                             intervened in an internal CFMEU election to attack long-
    4.  All  the  relevant  issues  and  reports  around  the  Bug   time leader Michael O’Connor and call for him to get the
    Affair                                                    boot! Setka is reported to be backing  a ticket of some 11
    5. Mike Barber’s ‘Appeal’ awaits an outcome.              candidates  to  challenge  positions  in  the  Manufacturing
                                                              sector of which O’Connor is the Divisional Secretary.
    W.A. Offshore Update.
                                                              This is a new intervention in the current civil war engulfing
    Go offshore EA negotiations, the FWC approved to ballot   the CFMMEU. The Setka backed  ‘Members first ticket’ is
    members  to  take  protected  action,  urging  a  ‘vote  yes’.   headed  by  Arturo  Menon  a  senior  Queensland
    And starts next week It is believed Go Offshore intend to   construction  organiser  and  includes  candidates  “some
    replace their current casuals with casuals from a manning   drawn from 83 ineligible members in NSW timber mills”
    agency. Members are urged to be vigilant and keep the     who  switched  membership  to    the    Queensland
    office informed the company sends its MUA members.        construction branch in 2019.
    Go Offshore recently sought to have member ‘pay for the
    transport to and from the vessel from and to the security   The  federal  Court  was  informed  that  while  the  NSW
    gate.                                                     timber  workers  had  paid  union  fees  for  the  3  years,
                                                              making them eligible for voting rights,  none of those fees
    Atlas  EBA  voted  up  and  lodged  with  FWC  with  key   made it to the CFMEU’s manufacturing  division and as a
    conditions that secure dead days whilst working on board   result  they  could  not  vote  in  its  upcoming  elections”.
    an oil and gas vessel. Atlas members have voted to retain   Another  ineligible  candidate  is  a  former  manufacturing
    Protect  as  their  income  protection  and  severance    organiser  who  went  to  work  for  Mr  Setka’s  branch  to
    provider.                                                 poach  Mr  O’Connor’s  members.  Manufacturing  Lawyer
                                                              Herman Borenstein said, “she had breached the rules and
    Right of Entry win with the Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA)   engaged  in  a  clear  intrusion  into  the  autonomy  of  the
    The PPA was established in mid-2014 and provided new      manufacturing division”.
    restricted procedures against union officials right of entry
    (ROE)  and  freely  within  the  port  premises,  despite  a   The launch of those 11 candidates was reportedly hosted
    formal ROE required notice, and a union official to always   by the ETU at its Victorian headquarters and attended by
    be  ‘escorted’.  No  other  port  in  W.A.    or  the  country   representatives  from  the  Construction  union,  the
    requires such a restriction. It is a win for Union officials   Communications  Electrical  and  Plumbing  union,  along
    and  more  importantly  MUA  members  coming  onto  the   with the United firefighters and health workers union.
    MOF  wharf,  in  Dampier  or  working  across  the  various
    PPA sites.                                                Among the crowd was a former Australian Services Union
                                                              leader, who as an internal ASU review found , ‘engaged
    Late  news  (june17)  offshore  companies  to  attack  the   in gross misbehaviour’ by paying members money to a
    equal  time  roster.  Over  the  last  12  months,  W.  A.  has   company secretly controlled by his wife.  More interesting
    reported this EBA is about locking in scope and coverage   developments are sure to be revealed soon.
    clauses that among other issues, secured the duty day
    onboard and not  be defined as a ‘dead day’.   Companies
    are trying to class a ‘dead day’ as when your vessel is   This newsletter is published by Mike Barber (6224) and Jeff Langdon
    either in transit to or from a job, not on hire/contract or any   (5266/1819)  on  behalf  of  the  Queensland  Branch  R&F  Collective.
                                                              Members wishing to receive Newsletter’s to their own email address,
    other circumstances that they can come up with.           send details to cman45au@live.com.au. We hope also, for contributions
                                                              and feedback in response to editions we publish.  Thanks Comrades
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