Workers win right for day off
A major contractor has backed down on its threats to punish workers who take time off today for Anzac Day, amid union claims some had planned to defy orders to attend work.
It is the second year in a row the emotive public holiday has become an industrial flashpoint, after the dismissal of five mineworkers who took the day off last year.
This year's dispute involves Downer Engineering. It had told more than 100 electrical workers on the Macedon project in the North West all staff must work today and leave requests would be rejected.
The contractor had posted signs on-site threatening disciplinary action, including a first and final warning, against anyone who took unauthorised leave but backed down, telling workers at 5pm yesterday it wouldn't discipline them over unauthorised leave.
It would not reveal the reason for the backflip, but the Electrical Trade Union claims it was likely the contractor realised the extent of workforce anger.
Secretary Les McLaughlan said he understood some workers had planned to disobey the work edict.
"Quite clearly, some workers would not have wanted to work, and the company would have been faced with having to take disciplinary action," he said.
Mr McLaughlan said it was a win for the Anzac Day tradition, which some people held as the most important public holiday.
"Members across the State tell us they have never worked on Anzac Day in their lives and they don't plan to," he said.
The Australian Mines and Metals Association said that resources companies accommodated leave requests where possible, but decisions were driven by costs.
Chief executive Steve Knott said workers knew when they signed up for resources jobs that some public holidays fell on rostered work days.
"We understand the significance of Anzac Day but the whole system would break down, in areas from emergency services to energy supply, if people could pick and choose when they wanted to work," Mr Knott said.
A spokesman for Downer Engineering said it was a rostered work day at the fly-in, fly-out camp.
The contractor told the union yesterday morning it would not take disciplinary action, but Mr McLaughlan claims the union was not told of the changed position.
Contractor Monadelphous said its workers on the Macedon project were given the choice to take leave.
The issue comes after a case last year in which five crane drivers at the Sino Iron project were sacked by Diab Engineering for taking Anzac Day off.
The construction union claims it won an undisclosed payout for the workers after taking the matter to court. Diab Engineering could not be contacted yesterday.
