Around 20,000 Australia Post workers took it to the streets in a nationwide 24-hour strike onWednesday due to the escalating industrial dispute over pay and working conditions, resulting in
delayed delivery of over four million letters. This follows numerous promises not to causedisruptions to mail deliveries in the lead-up to Christmas.Employees are demanding a new workplace agreement that protects penalty shifts, rosters andtake-home pay. Australia Post is offering a 4% pay increase which it says is generous in exchangefor a guarantee of no forced redundancies. The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU),representing the country’s postal workers, also wants contractors to have the same workingconditions as full-time employees.
On Wednesday night, the strike was stopped by the Fair Work Australia, the national workplacerelations tribunal, ordering striking postal staff back to work after Australia Post applied to theFederal Court for an injunction to stop “illegal” picketing at key distribution centres. Fair WorkAustralia ruled that the union’s notices of strike action were too broad and invalid and ordered itto cease them and also call off further action planned for 17-21 December.
The CEPU immediately responded to the Fair Work Australia ruling with a strike notice plannedfor next Tuesday which is expected to comply with Fair Work Australia’s demands. CEPU president EdHusic said he was confident that the new notices would comply with the law. But he said he hopedthe dispute could be resolved with new talks. At the Federal Court on Wednesday evening, CEPU gavean undertaking not to prevent or hinder free access to any premises owned by Australia Post.
Yesterday morning, mail and parcel delivery returned to normal as Australia Post’s workersbegan clearing the backlog in Victoria, the postal operator said in a statement. “All last week wehad the union tell the public that any industrial action would have no impact on Christmas mail.Now they have broken that promise,” said Australia Post spokesperson Alex Twomey.
Australia Post claimed pickets blocked trucks in at least five major mail sorting centresacross the state in Ballarat, Dandenong, Melbourne Airport, Geelong and Ardeer. Picket lines inVictoria had caused the most problems with 4.1 million mail items remaining undelivered. But inother states, the strike caused only minor disruptions. “We are especially thankful to the majorityof our staff who didn’t participate in industrial action. As a result we have had minimal impact inmost states with Victoria the only one to have a backlog due to illegal picket lines,” Twomeyconfirmed.
“The rulings were obviously a win for us but it is disappointing that after assuring thepublic their Christmas deliveries wouldn’t be affected, the union has served us with this newnotice [of a strike on Tuesday],“ Twomey said. Both parties have publicly expressed an interest insettling the dispute, but there appears to be some distance in their positions, according to mediareports.
“The public has a right to be angry that the union have called a Christmas strike when theyalready have an offer which includes a 4% increase, 14 weeks paid maternity leave, an agreement ofno forced redundancies and locks in existing entitlements,“ said NSW state secretary Jim Metcher.
