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Sep-Oct 2008
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Women@Work: Events
Melbourne hosts National Women's Conference
The 5th National Women's Conference was held in Melbourne union rooms on Wednesday July 19.
Lorraine Ryan, Sydney Branch Womens’Represenative, National Womens’MUA Committee (Treasurer), Sydney reports:
. Wednesday 19 July 2006. Melbourne Victoria.
5TH NATIONAL MUA WOMENS'CONFERENCE.
DAY 1.
KAREN LEAVY -Womens' Liason Officer MUA -opened the 5th National M.U.A.Womens'Conference by welcoming and thanking all the Women for their attendance,she then introduced-
? MARIA STARCEVIC , gave us the "Welcome to Country" she is a member of the Gunjadamarra Tribe. .
? KEVIN BRACKEN-Victorian Branch Secretary, addressed the Conference telling us how thrilled his branch was to host our Conference .He then spoke of Solidarity-the importance of it ,especially in this time of Industrial Changes ,he informed us of 14 groups thoughout Melbourne which meet regularly and invited us to attend an evening meeting in the building. He told us that groups like this are ensuring that Howard will be beaten. He then wished us all a good Conference.
? CATH BOWTELL -A.C.T.U.was the next speaker (she stood in for Sharan Burrow),she spoke on the legal implecations to the I.R.Changes and the affects on women pertaining to Bargaining and Dismissals.We were told how bargaining was once the centrepiece for protecting workers ,how the new legislation has made it harder for employees to bargain -hard.A deal is no longer a deal because the employer can sign a deal today and the very next day they can hire people on different AWA conditions. They can fine workers - the cost of having a 10 minute stop work meeting can cost the workers 4hrs at double time. A third party (such as a passenger) can make a complaint if transport has a stoppage and the workers must then return to work. There is no scutintising by authority to make bargaining fair. There are no more awards for wages.AWAs are bad for Women because they will now earn less. More Women work part-time their conditions and penalities have gone .AWAs will widen the gap between men and women in the workforce The hardest hit will be workers in the Hospitality and Retail sectors ,also Maternity and Parental leave will suffer under new rules.Unfair dismissals are now possible because we have lost our Independent Referee-The Industrial Commission .So what are we to do about this ?
GET INVOLVED -support your union campaigns e.g. your rights at work and
Marginal seats.She ended by saying that a new Government is the only way to
Make the changes that will help the worker
I am always inspired by Cath ,she is so well informed and so positive.
? PADDY CRUMLIN- National Secretary MUA.his opening remarks were "welcome sisters"he said that this conference had been a long time coming and as a progressive and responsible union, women need to have representation at all levels in our union that sexism,racism, harassment or bullying will not be tolerated . He told us that it is the responsibility of the Branch Committees to make these committee structures possible,that we need to have a gender balance and rights in our workplace and if it needs a workplace conference to help achieve this ,then we should have one.Paddy told us that women now represent 5.3% of our union that we have big challenges ahead and we need to ensure that our policies are followed through that is why the MUA appointed two national councillors -Sue Virago And Karen Leavy.He said that he would like to see more Women in our union,saying that 25% of the ILWU are Women- but at the Mining and Maritime Conference in Long Beach California 2005, it was the MUA Women who took the lead . Paddy then went on to tell us how our union has always taken a stand in campaigns against e.g. the Vietnam war, Apartheid in South Africa and Yellowcake -when Water-side workers refused to load cargo onto these vessels thus making Unionists and the general public aware of political issues.We have always supported Indigenious Rights as well.Next he discussed the Patricks dispute and told us how other unions (our friends) stood by us because we had previously stood by them and if that dispute had been lost how it would have ruined our union.The effects or the I.R.Changes were next- he said there implecations will affect our mortgages,superannuation and most importantly our rights at work ,how our daughters will be the ones to really suffer ,he said "we are more than an industrial force we are a political force -we have the courage to prevail."
? QUESTION TIME followed -My first question was -are casuals permitted to run for election for the position in shop committees ,or is there a rule written somewhere in our union to say this is not possible? His answer was - Casuals pay their rates and have the same rights-otherwise we wouldn't be a fair-dinkum union,they can certainly run in elections ,they deserve representation.
My next question was -how do we get resolutions that were endorsed by National Council implemented into our workplaces now-His answer was- it is the responsibility of the Branch Committees to ensure they are put into action .
Listening to Paddy speak makes me proud to belong to the family -known as the MUA.
? JANITA BARTON -MUNZ next shared the podium with 3 MUA Women ,they were MICH-ELLE MYERS-PATRICKS,JULIE ANSELL-T/T LINE CALL CENTRE and LORRAINE RYAN -SYDNEY FERRIES .All these Women gave an insight of how they became involved in our union ,how they continued to be involved ,their achievements and their hopes for the future of the Women in the MUA.All these Women have represented our Union, both Nationally and Internationally .And are active locally, represent the women within their workplaces on the National Womens' Committee and are representatives on their Branch Committees.
That brought Day 1 to a close. The Victorian Branch then hosted a delicious
B.B.Q.for us ,giving us all the chance to enjoy each others company .
DAY 2.
Thursday 20 July 2006.
? NISHI KAPAHI - ITF WOMENS CO-ORDINATOR ASIA/PACIFIC . was our first speaker of the day ,her topic was Globisation and how it affects transport ,railways , aviation,road transport,ports and shipping(F.O.C).She told us about International Banks who bought railways and other public services and how their safety standards dropped,cuts in public spending,de-regulation,and trade liberisation followed .The effects of this was loss of jobs ,inferior work,casualisation,outsourcing,loss of social benefits,loss of unions and erosion of bargaining capacity.We learnt of campaigns world wide and initiatives conducted by ITF involving Railways(safety first -not profit),Civil Aviation (Zero Air Rage and Cabin Crew Licensing) ,Sea-fearers(Flags of Convenience),Dockers (Stamp out Union Busting),Road Transport (Fatigue Kills),Port of Convenience , Safety and Security Campaign and Women Transporting the World.NISHI gave us a great over view of Women throughout the world with a DVD presentation showing how the ITF continuing their fight against injustice.She said that Women have a well-earned place in our unions,we need to have strong Women who are educated to take our unions forward .Every time I meet up with NISHI it reminds me of just how lucky I am to live and work in Australia -after hearing her stories of Women working in Asia/Pacific region I know just how hard the ITF fight for Women around the world . It was a joy to spend time with her once more, I know the 4 Women who representing us in Africa will learn so much from their experience and I wish them al the best at the ITF Congress
After NISHI ended her talk we spilt into 4 groups for a workshop where we discussed how Globisation has effected us in our work place and how it will. The groups then re-assembled to have a discussion .
? EDDIE SEYMOUR -NATIONAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.
Skills development was next- Eddie taught us how to organise meetings how to take minutes and how to chair meetings .I found this segment most interesting,Eddie as usual was very thorough and I am sure we drove him crazy at times,there is certainly a lot to remember .
There was a Womens Committee meeting after the lunch break .And Zoe Reynolds took the Conference photo on the steps of the Victorian MUA Office.
? MICHELLE O'NEILL-TEXTILES ,CLOTHING AND FOOTWARE UNION.Was the guest speaker .Her union was the first female union (tailoress' union) in a time when Women were not permitted to vote -these women fought for their rights and now the new IR changes have put their union right back where it started in the last century.She spoke of 5 points in the IR changes 1).minimum wage $12.75. 2).Average 38hr week. 3).10 sickdays 4.)1yr off Birth. 5).4 weeks annual leave.All of which are non-negotiable. There are no winners in this legislation .also she added that Globisation has had a enormous impact on her union and will continue to .The MUA has been a great support to her union .She said that women will be effected greatly because it is mostly Women who do the mending- she spoke of Outworkers (,people who do sewing at home ),being recognised as workers and receiving the same benefits rights as other workers in the industry .MICHELLE is most interesting to listen to ,she is very motivated and a great example of strong unions needing women.I asked her what had happened to the workers who were locked out of the Woolcombers factory at Geelong for 5months .( I first learnt of this dispute at the ACTU Congress 2002). These workers lost their jobs because they stood their ground against the employer ,some of them lost their homes but they all refused to give up the struggle .Now they are all employed elsewhere but ALL are still very strong unionists.Michelle told us that tariff cuts had lead to loss of many jobs in the last 10 years in her industry. Finishing she said "We can win this because John Howard has gone too far".
? KAREN LEAVY-NATIONAL WOMENS LIASON OFFICER -MUA.outlined the Marginal seats campaign - the presentation was compiled by Mick Doleman..We heard that we need to win 16 (minimum)of the 23 marginal seats to win a change of Federal Government ,with 250,000 union members living within these seats it is very acheiviable.We need to understand -in order to get rid of Workchanges -we need to get rid of Howard.This is a fight for the next generation.It was suggested that MUA members residing within these seats work with the ACTU co-ordinator to help make the changes possible.The Veterans within the MUA are to target the seniors within their communities as well .I recommend that this presentation be bought out to all workplaces for MUA members to see.
Day 2 ends. A Conference Dinner was held at an Italian Restaurant in Melbourne ,it
Was a wonderful evening full of laughter ,fine food and great company.
DAY 3
Friday 21 July 2006.
We arrived at venue at 8.30 a.m. (again) to the sounds of the union music CD playing .
Then we watched DVD of day of protest in Melbourne,very inspiring .
DAVE SCHLEIBS - DEPUTY SECRETARY VICTORIAN MUA-Made a speech -telling us how great it was to have the Women there and he hoped we had enjoyed the conference.May I say at this time, that All the Comrades of the Victorian Branch were outstanding hosts ,making all of us feel so very welcome-nothing was an effort for them and I now look forward to re-paying their hospitality at any time I get the chance.
Our last day consisted of setting into practices some new rules for the Womens' Committee-these being 1)Voting Structures 2)Rule Changes 3) ITF Committee and 4)choosing a representative to attend the ACTU CONGRESS in MELBOURNE in October 2006.This being achieved we broke for lunch. The last session of the Conference was filled by-
? LINDA CARGILL -ACTU Your Rights at Work Campaign.We were addressed by 3 lively Women out lining this campaign and giving us all a positive outlook for the future and urging everyone to become involved in these campaigns.
THE 5th National MUA Womens Conference was then closed .
26 MUA Women attended this Conference from W.A. Tasmania, NSW, Victoria and
NT.plus 2 Women from New Zealand and 1 from India. These Women represented all areas of our union . It was great to catch up with old friends and terrific to meet
Some new ones. The MUA is stronger just by having these Women involved.
I would like to thank Paddy Crumlin for giving the MUA Women the opportunity to experience Conferences of this calibre and may there be many more.
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