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 

NEWSFLASH

TIME  10.45AM MONDAY, 23^RD OCTOBER, 2011

 

WE HAVE JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT THE SDA AND WOOLWORTHS HAVE COMMENCED THE OFFICIAL PART OF THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR A NEW AGREEMENT TO COVER ALL EMPLOYEES IN WOOLIES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA WIDE. (WE ARE ALSO AWARE THAT THE UNOFFICIAL NEGOTIATIONS HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR SOMETIME)

WE ARE NOW IN A POSITION TO BRING REGULAR UPDATES AS TO THE PROGRESS OF THESE NEGOTIATIONS AS WE NOW HAVE ASSOCIATED MEMBERS WITHIN BOTH OF THE BEFOREMENTIONED GROUPS.

RUMOUR UNCONFIRMED AT THIS STAGE IS THAT THE SDA HAVE APPROACHED THE MEATWORKERS UNION FOR ASSISTANCE.

IF THIS IS TRUE, WE HOPE MR. DE BRUYN IS MAN ENOUGH TO LISTEN AND FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE.

WARNING TO MEATWORKERS UNION BEWARE OF THE SDA STATE SECRETARIES AND ESPECIALLY THEIR LEADER, JOE DE BRUYN, AS THESE GENTLEMEN ARE WELL SCHOOLED IN THE USE OF WEASEL WORDS AND OTHER FORMS OF DECEPTIVE BEHAVIOUR.

WILL BRING YOU FURTHER UPDATES WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

CONTACT THE SITE IF YOU HAVE ANY MESSAGES OR SUGGESTIONS TO PASS ON TO MR. DE BRUYN.

RRRSDA GROUP

Welcome meaties

Don't blame us

Don't blame us the supermarket staff.

The credit belongs to Joe De Bruyer and Michael Donovan. Unfortunately this is just the beginning of a slippery slide.

Stuff the next generation of meatworkers!

LAY DOWN WITH DOGS AND YOU WILL GET FLEAS

Why aren't the SDA running this campaign?

Intimidation and harrassment in Australian workplaces

Duopoly Coles and Safeway Ice Frigrite

CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE SDA FROM WITHIN

A new campaign aims to change the tack of Australia’s largest trade union when it comes to supporting the rights of LGBTI Australians.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) has over 230,000 members and represents the interests of groups including shop assistants, pastry cooks, hairdressers, beauticians, and employees in the modelling, cosmetics, footwear and fast food industries.
But despite the gay-friendly industries it covers, the SDA has been saddled with the most socially conservative leadership of a union in the country.
SDA For Equality plans to change all that with a grassroots campaign among rank and file members to show that their leaders aren’t representing them.
SDA For Equality is encouraging anyone who works in an SDA industry to create a pro-equality placard and have a photo taken of themselves with it at work in their uniform.
The pictures will be put online on a campaign-specific website later this year and used to lobby the SDA leadership.
“We strongly urge all retail workers who support equality – whether gay or straight – to send us their photos and support the campaign,” SDA member and campaign leader said.
“Polls show that a majority of Australians support marriage equality, and young people are the strongest supporters.
“It stands to reasons that the SDA membership, which is largely young people, would also support marriage equality. But Joe de Bruyn refuses to listen to his members on this issue. He has scoffed at calls to conduct a survey.
“Joe de Bruyn continually uses his position to push an anti-equality agenda. It’s time that the SDA actually represented its membership on this issue, rather than the personal views of Joe de Bruyn.”
Brett Jones, an SDA delegate at a Woolworths store in Canberra, is one of the first to have his picture taken for the campaign.
“I wanted to show there are people in the SDA who don’t share Joe de Bruyn’s archaic and downright homophobic views,” Jones told the Star Observer.
“The SDA leadership is definitely ignoring the views of many of its members here. It’s made me feel very disenfranchised with the whole trade union movement.”
SDA leaders reportedly used their influence to ensure motions supporting same-sex marriage were not debated or voted on at this year’s NSW and Victorian ALP conferences.
De Bruyn has made countless public statements opposing the granting of equal rights and protections to same-sex couples and their children, and is one of the keynote speakers at this year’s Australian Christian Lobby national conference in October.
INFO: To get involved email sdaforequality@gmail.com
Tags: marriage equality, SDA, SDA national secretary Joe de Bruyn
 

Hearing Transcript - Woolies / S.D.A. / A.M.I.E.U

This post has been added at the request of an SDA delegate who has evidence in relation to the Woolworths' SDA agreement - an agreement which was constructed in secrecy. The information on this blog will always be court supplied documentation sworn under oath. The first page of all transcripts will have details enabling the reader to get a copy of the full transcript.