Video City Sackings - Where is the power to negotiate when your employer can just sack you for Operational Reasons?

Tuesday 11^th September 2007

The case of the alleged unlawful dismissal of Video City employees Allison Adkins and Ellen Speed is yet another example of how the Federal Government’s IR laws have given the green-light to employers to treat employees badly and bully them into signing AWA contracts.

Unions Tasmania Secretary Simon Cocker today described the treatment of Allison Adkins and Ellen Speed by Video City management as disgraceful and unacceptable. These two employees were both sacked after refusing to sign AWA contracts and seeking assistance from their union, the LHMU.

Mr Cocker said today:

“It appears that Video City, in Burnie and Devonport, after years of treating their employees poorly have used the harsh and unfair Howard WorkChoices legislation to sack staff who have been union members and have refused to sign individual contracts.”

“Workchoices has removed access to the Industrial Commission and set up a legalistic, unaffordable system which is a nightmare for employees who feel they have been unlawfully dismissed.”

“The costs involved for a Federal Court hearing are beyond the financial capacity of working families. Legal advice estimates the costs of such proceedings starts at $30 000 and instead of days it will take moths to resolve, months of no income for those workers. The government’s $4000 worth of assistance is cluttered with red tape and cannot be used to for actual court costs.”

“The cost of going to the Federal court over such a matter is prohibitive and it is only because of support from their union that these two women can proceed with this matter.”

“Why should these two women have to go through this kind of distress? These were long-term permanent workers with no performance issues who stood up for their rights not to sign an AWA and to seek assistance from their union. Now look what’s happened. Joe Hockey and Senator Barnett should hang their heads in shame at the upset caused to the lives of two decent working Australians. Where is Mark Baker?”

“Local working families don’t stand a chance against these unfair laws. To restore job security and respect in the workplace these laws must be changed and the only way to do that is to vote out John Howard’s government.”