On the 8th of February ETU members at both Endeavour Energy and TransGrid participated in protected industrial action for 24hrs in their fight for a wage increase that meets the cost of living!
Workers all around New South Wales downed tools in protest after each energy company made poor wage offers in their bargaining. ETU members and supporters rallied outside Endeavour Energy’s offices in Parramatta Square to show the company that they won’t settle for anything less than what they deserve.
These workers are powering our great State. They are highly skilled and work in tough conditions. They are there for the community when emergencies happen, when natural disasters happen, day in and day out.
The cost of living is rising and, despite their vital role in our energy network, these workers’ pay packets are shrinking.
“These privatised energy operators are raking it in while workers’ pay has plummeted in real terms,” said ETU NSW/ACT Secretary Allen Hicks.
“Workers simply cannot afford to keep going backwards. Pay rises have moved at half the rate of inflation. Take-home pay is shrinking.”
“We’ll continue ramping up industrial action until these bosses agree to sit down and agree to a pay deal that recognises the surging cost of living,” he said.
Their fight is ongoing. ETU members at Endeavour and TransGrid continue to take action to win better wages and conditions at their workplaces.
Our industrial action continues to pressure TransGrid with some changes to their position and language.
The company is now talking about our wages claim rather than their offer that was voted down in December. This is important progress.
The ETU:
- maintains our wage claim at 3 x 8% + 1%;
- maintains a position that all claims need to be finalised before a final agreement can be reached;
- reiterates the resolutions from our mass meetings;
- supports our Log of Claims, including those on behalf of the Control Room Operators.
Our Union power continues to build during this struggle. Membership is increasing with large numbers of TransGrid workers joining the union. The TransGrid EBA dispute has attracted national attention with other ETU State branches expressing an interest in our progress and showing solidarity.
We now have good workplace representation at all sites but, as always, this can be improved by additional delegates being elected within workgroups that don’t have existing representation.
A big ETU welcome and thank you to all new members and a massive congratulations and thanks to all of those who have helped achieve this; you continue to make our Union stronger and better.