Forestry pay talks stumble
November 15, 2009
More than 100 Mount Gambier workers could be involved in industrial action after a breakdown in talks between ForestrySA and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
CFMEU South East organiser Travis Lawson has written to the head of the forestry corporation stating he is breaking away from enterprise bargaining negotiations and consulting with members about future action. Read more
Teachers push on with wages battle
March 25, 2009
The battle over public school funding and teacher wages in South Australia is far from over, according to the Australian Education Union.
A legal arbitration of the matter is expected to begin in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in May, according to state president Correna Haythorpe. Read more
South East workers short changed
January 28, 2009
Mount Gambier workplace inspectors recovered almost $600,000 in back-pay for South Australian workers in 2008.
The money was recouped for workers after the Federal Workplace Ombudsman audited businesses and identified underpayments.
The agency’s Mount Gambier-based inspectors found 300 businesses short-changed about 500 of their staff $595,000 in 2008 – an average of about $1200 each. Read more
Union wants jobs protected
January 5, 2009
The Community and Public Sector Union has called on the Federal Government to ditch its plans to cut public sector jobs and funding in this year’s budget.
CPSU acting national secretary Mark Gepp said funding cuts undermined the capacity of the public service to deliver quality essential services, which he said were needed now more than ever. Read more
Workplace Ombudsman to visit region
December 27, 2008
Limestone Coast workers and employers will get the chance to raise workplace issues directly with Federal Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson next month.
Mr Wilson will visit Mount Gambier on January 28 as part of a campaign by his office to improve compliance with workplace laws in regional South Australia. Read more
More school disruptions today
November 21, 2008
Families will be affected by strikes in public schools across the region today.
Negotiations continued in the Industrial Relations Commission yesterday between the State Government and Australian Education Union over teachers’ claims for better pay and conditions.
But the union said a failure on Wednesday by the government to offer an interim salary rise had made it too late to cancel today’s school closures, affecting all the region’s public high schools and most large primary schools.
Many smaller country primary schools will open, along with most kindergartens.
Meanwhile, uncertainty remained at press-time yesterday over whether weeks of potential rolling half-day strikes could be averted as the drawn out dispute continued.
McDonald Park Schools principal Jenni Giles said she was concerned the focus of debate over the dispute had focused on salaries, when there was “a lot more to it”.
“The student centred resource funding model is an issue — there are some good points, but it has to be resourced adequately to work,” she said.
Grant High School principal Steven Phillips saying “there could be a difficult period” ahead with further strikes.
“We’ve done all we can at Grant to maintain learning programs, despite the unfortunate disruptions,” he said.
“We are hoping for long-term gain, even though there is short-term pain.”
Mr Phillips said there was always difficulty attracting and keeping staff in regional areas and teachers needed to be appropriately valued for their critical role.
“We have to continue to signal to the wider community we are not as well resourced and valued as the students deserve,” he said.
“It is about what sort of future we can create for people in our care and that teaching really is a vital role — the better resourced we are to educate the children of today the better our communities will be in future.”
Mount Gambier North Primary School principal Jane Turner said it was difficult preparing for the weeks ahead with uncertainty over further strikes.
“All parties are keen for a resolution, but it is a matter of wait and see,” she said.
“Teachers have programs ready to run and don’t like to see their hard preparation work wasted, so no-one is going ‘this is fantastic’ — everyone is frustrated, but it is one of those unfortunate processes we have to go through.”
- UPDATE: Strike action averted
Reidy Park teachers quit activities
October 29, 2008
At least one Mount Gambier school has followed through on the Australian Education Union’s (AEU) threat to withdraw additional services which require after-hours planning.
Reidy Park Primary School informed parents on Monday that union members would not only be participating in Thursday’s industrial action, but they would also be withdrawing activities above and beyond the core curriculum. Read more
Public servants oppose transfers
October 28, 2008
The Public Service Association (PSA) and Grant District Council have vowed to step up their fight against the State Government’s controversial shared services plan, which is claimed to strip 55 full-time jobs from the South East.
The PSA reintroduced work bans across the region yesterday, following confirmation that 19 full-time positions would begin to be transferred to Adelaide from December 8. Read more
Mount Gambier weather bureau staff cut
October 21, 2008
The Mount Gambier weather station’s three staff members will be reduced to only one in the 2009-10 financial year.
As part of the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) restructuring plan, two staff members will be relocated to other weather stations.
“No one will lose their jobs”, the bureau’s acting regional director John Nairn said. Read more
Businesses face random workplace audits
October 21, 2008
Businesses on South Australia’s Limestone Coast have been earmarked for random audits by the Federal Workplace Ombudsman.
State director Steve Ronson says the targeted campaign – which will run about six months — will focus on employers’ record-keeping and payslip obligations. Read more
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