Much union organiser time is spent working on behalf of individual members facing a range of problems in the workplace. Here are a few Chris Lennon has been dealing with recently.

Case 1:
Large employer. Unite members ratified a new collective agreement in December 2006. All terms and conditions were to be backdated to the 1st of July 2006.
The employer saw things differently and decided to put their own spin on things and a number of Unite members were left out in the cold.
Well! After a real tussle with management pointing out the facts of life and timely intervention by the dedicated on site delegates this matter has for the most part been resolved. Unite is currently seeking Mediation for the one member who has not received her legal and hard won entitlements.
Case 2:
This is how a former manager described this worker. “Indispensable to the running of the department”
After nearly ten years of loyal service; gaining the respect of her work colleagues and the praise of most part of a very large workforce ... this workers position is suddenly without any warning disestablished because the new boss doesn’t like her and this worker is prepared to stand up for her rights. Without hesitation Unite has raised a Personal Grievance and we will pursue this vigorously. How rotten is all that?
Case 3:
ADT Cash processing workers went on strike just before Christmas last year. We published an article about this in last months issue.
At the forefront of this struggle was a dedicated hardworking and loyal employee Josie Collins. Josie by her own admission had often put her work first causing real problems at home.
Josie cared about her fellow workers who deal with millions of dollars each day and many were being paid the same as a 18yr old in the fast food industry. Recently Josie made a mistake.
Something anybody would do to help family out and for the right reasons.
The employer does not see it this way and sacked Josie without any hesitation.
Unite and her co workers say “Not good enough!” We are currently seeking legal advice as we believe this sacking was totally unfair and uncalled for.
Case 4:
Have you ever been in the situation where you know that everybody else knows that the job is not being done 100% correctly - including management because it would be impossible to enforce.
The job still gets done and no one complains. Then one day you get caught out and you are in trouble.Recently this is exactly what happened to a worker with another large employer.
They gave him a verbal warning and are still trying to convince us that it’s not so bad. Well one rule for everyone we say.
We have spoken to a number of this workers colleagues whom confirm that this kind of thing goes unchecked even though they all know the rules. This warning will be overturned.
It’s up to management to ensure that all policies and procedures are adhered to by all the workers not just one unfortunate person.