Fuji Xerox workers make sure their rights will remain into the future
Members at Fuji Xerox stay united
On Wednesday 7 September, a day after members took protected industrial action to protect Right of Entry rights at Fuji Xerox, the company told the delegates that they wanted to reach an agreement because the overtime bans were disrupting workflow.
The following day members endorsed a two year Agreement which re-inserted a Right of Entry clause that provides members with their full rights to organise on site.
Because the members stood firm and together they were able to hold onto their working rights and negotiate some improved conditions in line with the rise in cost of living.
It was clear from these negotiations that if you let the smallest breakdown of the collective begin on site: all your other rights can soon follow. Well done to everyone at Fuji Xerox!
Action at Fuji Xerox to defend rights on site
Workers at Fuji Xerox have been wanting a new Agreement on site since May this year, an Agreement that will cover the conditions they work under, the pay they receive, and their right to organise as a collective. Unfortunately the company came out with several claims that the workers could not say yes to:
- currently workers are converted to permanent positions of employment after six months if they want to, giving them the security to plan their lives - Fuji Xerox wanted to take that away, but the workers said NO
- currently workers are paid afternoon shift penalties of 20% - the company wanted to cut that to 15% and cut night shift rates from 30% to 25%, but the workers said NO
- currently the workers on site have the freedom to organise as a collective, as a union, to make sure that together they get the best outcome for all workers. NUW Organisers currently have standard Right of Entry rights to be able to assist members and delegates when necessary, but Fuji Xerox wants to cut this out of the new Agreement, and
- then the company continued making claims that would take away what workers have already fought for: reducing overtime breaks from 20 minutes to 15 minutes, changing the pay cycle to monthly, changing the way that workers accrue RDOs. The negotiations have been long and drawn out but the workers were determined to see their conditions improve - not go backwards.
In the face of growing threats to their working conditions and the effect this would have on their day to day lives and their families; members sought a secret ballot application for protected industrial action. and then on Friday 2 September, the company came back with a very different offer:
- conversation of casuals into permanent work after six months would remain
- shift penalties would not change
- wages would increase by 4% keeping up to date with real-world cost of living indications (see article about cost of living increases in the Business section of the Age Newspaper, 15/8/2011 here)
- RDOs would remain unchanged, BUT
- the company still wanted to restrict NUW Organisers Right of Entry - because the members know what this really means, that undercutting the Union, undercutting the collective, means reducing workers' ability to negotiate their rights and conditions on site - the members said NO.
Members at Fuji Xerox have endorsed protected industrial action and overtime bans will begin tomorrow, Tuesday 6 September. One member said, "this isn't just about pay, we have to make sure the Unions are not picked apart, because if we can't organise together, all our other rights will disappear soon too."
