THANK YOU !!

THANK YOU !! to all the friends who helped with the VOTE NO to Woolworths EBA leafleting in Parhran, St Kilda and Balaclava on Saturday. 

Our friends like doing the leafleting. SDA members like the leaflet. 

Voting on the Woolworths EBA starts on Monday 20 August

Voting will be in store ballot boxes. Voting closes on Friday 7 September.

Our next job is to get our leaflets out to SDA members in all Woolworths supermarkets before 7 September.


Find your local Woolworths supermaket here.
VOTE NO TO WOOLWORTHS EBA !!

It's time to put on your dancing shoes !

VOTE NO TO WOOLWORTHS EBA !!

Click here for leaflet

Download - print - hand out !

Thank you! Solidarity! RRR SDA!

 Support the Reform SDA - Actions Against the Woolworths EBA

The new Woolworths EBA is BAAAAD for workers and members of the Reform SDA want to vote it DOWN! They can't come out just yet, but want our support to have 3 simultaneous FLASHMOB actions outside 3 supermarkets on Saturday 7 July at 1pm. The three Woolworths Supermarkets they have chosen are:
* Prahran - Cnr Wattle & Cato Streets, Prahran
* St. Kilda - Acland Arcade, 117 Acland St, St. Kilda
* Balaclava - 220 Carlisle Street Balaclava

Some of us will hand out leaflets about the EBA and how it sells workers conditions for an actual pay CUT. That's right, a pay cut.

If you want in, firstly, accept this event invitation, and secondly, write a note on this event wall to let me know which supermarket you will Flashmob outside of.

The flashmob should just be a dance of some kind - any kind, while only a few people hand out leaflets. If we can get a video of some kind up on youtube, that would be great.

REFORM SDA NOW ON TWITTER!!!

@ReformSDA

It's time for Marriage Equality in Australia! As SDA Union Members you have the right to have your say to the leadership.

The SDA Contributes $200,000 per year to the ACTU in order to have a say in what proposals get raised with the Government.

Write to your Union, the SDA and tell them you want a push for the Government to legislate for Marriage Equality.

We are told by members that you can find reply paid envelopes in the SDA Union Boards in your lunch rooms, or Alternatively contact us here at RRR SDA and we will endeavor to get envelopes to you

This is the best way to let the Organization know what its members want. Lets Put Our Union Dues to Good Use

 People Power Will Win Out!!! 

COLES SHUNS WORKING MOTHERS!!!

 We have been contacted by many Coles Retail Workers who have expressed there disbelief and anger that they cannot return to their work on a part time basis, when they try to return after a period of maternity leave, despite there being provision for this in their EBA.

Why are Coles so determined to cast working mothers aside in order to meet their SDR Targets. Despite the promise to these workers that they will be able to return to their jobs once they finish maternity leave.

We have received conformation from a maternal health nurse that a great many mothers that visit her are upset and confused as to why they can't return to their jobs, as they were promised by their Manager, and allowed for in their EBA.

Australians have rallied and won the right to have Mothers supported with the right to take Maternity Leave, the Paid Parental Leave scheme and legislation that return to work and the right to have your job to return to protected in EBA's.

WHY do Coles think that at such an important time in a Mothers life they want to drag working women back to the dark ages, and discriminate against them for choosing to have Children???


Below is a copy of the Maternity Leave Clause taken from the Fair Work Website 

 1.12 Part-time work
The following provisions apply to full-time and part-time team members only.
1.12.1 Entitlement
(a) A team member may work part-time in one or more periods at any time from
the date of birth of the child until its second birthday or, in relation to adoption,
from the date of placement of the child until the second anniversary of the
placement.
(b) A female team member may work part-time in one or more periods while she is
pregnant where part-time employment is, because of the pregnancy, necessary
or desirable.
Notwithstanding the above, a team member who is a parent of a child may request in
writing for a change in working arrangements if the child is under school age. Such change
is subject to the terms of clause 5.3.7 of this Agreement.

1.12.8 Nature of part-time work
Where possible, a team member returning to work part-time under this provision shall
perform the work of his or her former position. Where this is not possible, the work shall
be work otherwise performed under this Agreement.

Yay we have a new Facebook event:
The day to make friends with Reform SDA!


Help Joe fall off his chair !!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Keep up the good work, spread the word of the existence of the blogsite and facebook site.  We must get rid of the inadequate leadership within the SDA.

Special wishes to Mr. Joe De Bruyn.  We, the members would ask you to stop using SDA money and influence in attacking our brothers and sisters within the gay movement.  Most people are aware of your scandalous attack at the recent labor part conference in Sydney.  Our Union is made up of all groups and nationalities. Hoping that the true spirit of Christmas will inspire you to treat others with respect.

All keep safe over this dangerous period and look forward to hearing from you in the New Year.

WE ALL MUST VOTE "NO"

We are about to be done in again by Joe De Bruyen and his SDA state secretaries.  What we are suggesting is that everybody should vote NO in relation to the Woolworths Agreement and should it be agreeable with the woolworths retail workers covered by this agreement we would then put forward a name for your consideration to negotiate on behalf of all retail workers within Woolworths.

Remember that all woolies employees whether they be members of any union or in fact not a member of any union have the right to nominate someone to negotiate on their behalf.  This negotiator if appointed would not have the authority to agree to any give away proposals.  The proposed agreement would have to be returned to all woolies employees to have a vote.

If people do not take an interest we will be dudded once again.

Information will be available through the private email section of our site for any Woolies workers to obtain multiple copies for distribution in yours and other stores.  This has become necessary because of the SDA and Woolworths' habit of censoring and destroying alternative views.

WOOLIES ALERT

Bargaining notifications went up in all the Woolies supermarkets suggesting that negotiations for the new agreement were about to begin. One day later the dates for negotiations went up, roughly one week later they were due to start.

Out of the negotiations members will be in for an unpleasant surprise.  Our informant has said the agreement is already completed, but the Company and our State Secretaries are insinuating that serious and honest negotiations are about to take place.

Once again our conditions are about to be eroded with the pretence that we will gain some benefit. 

Inflation has eaten away the $ value of our wages. Over the past decades the SDA has given away our entitlements. They have reduced our sick pay on weekends, given away our penalties and reduced a large number of allowances.

We cannot afford to accept sub-standard wage increases with no prospect of penalty rates to increase our take home pay.

Our group was formed to pressure incompetent leadership to respond to us, the SDA membership. This can only be achieved by letting our State Secretaries know of our dissatisfaction.  Contact your SDA Organiser or State Secretary and let them know that you are not prepared to be sold out.

We feel that our aims are achievable.  Other unions have negotiated reasonable settlements in the past and will continue into the future.  It is our Union which is sometimes referred to as a sub-branch of the Woolworths empire which has given away too many of our working conditions.

There are sub-groups within the SDA who were originally covered by other Unions, who have expressed a wish to return to their previous Union coverage as their conditions under those Unions’ Agreements were far superior to what they now receive.

We believe that these groups should be able to return to their previous coverage and should not be held hostage because of dishonest arrangements entered into by Woolies and the SDA leadership. For example the bakers want to go back to the Bakers’ Union and the butchers want to go back to the Meat Union.

Woolies and the SDA appear to have commenced a sham negotiating period because they have become aware that there is an organised group trying to rally support for better wage outcomes.

This newsletter has been produced and distributed by RRRSDA reform group.   Our principle aims are:

1.         A decent wage rate.

2.         Restore the casual loading to time and a quarter.

3.         Remove the clause giving employers the right to reduce part-time hours.

4.         Regain some control about compulsory hours, which is having a devastating effect on workers’ personal relationships, family lives and quality of life.

5.         Remove compulsory work prior to 7am and after 6pm Monday to Friday.

6.         Re-introduce voluntary work on Saturdays and Sundays.

Unless the SDA can demonstrate some ability to achieve our principle aims, we would recommend a “no” vote on any sub-standard agreement.

Members need to be aware that the Company through their store managers and the SDA through their gullible store reps will be out to confiscate and destroy our newsletters so we ask all SDA members to reproduce and distribute replacement newsletters when this occurs.

There is a vital need for all members to have access to alternative information to the current Woolworths and SDA co-operative newsletter.

We would appreciate your input and suggestions. Our group is contactable by either the contact section on our website or the email section.  We also have a new format on our blog site to allow for easier downloading of our newsletters.

Our address is:  http://reformSDA.blogspot.com