It’s been over three weeks ETU WA members working at Schindler have been on strike, fighting for fair wages and conditions. Wages and conditions they so desperately deserve. They’re staying strong and united and standing together in solidarity.
ETU WA members working at Schindler lifts have had enough. The members working at Schindler have asked for no more than what is fair in this EBA period. Recent pay deals around the country, in the lift industry, have seen increases of up to 6% a year over the life of the deal, as well as uplifts to super and other key conditions. ETU WA members are saying “We are only asking to be paid in line with our comrades on the east coast.”
Members working at Schindler started taking action after 9 EBA meetings, when the negotiations ground to a halt. The company had presented several “best, final offers that would expire if not accepted” by this point, but the members had had enough, they knew that the employer was not listening to them. The offers presented by Schindler didn’t even address several of the key claims raised by members. Schindler wasn’t taking the negotiations, and the workforce needs seriously, so the members knew they had to act.
The company’s relationship to their workforce has deteriorated significantly. This is a critical aspect of a breakdown in bargaining rarely considered by managers. Once a relationship is broken, and trust is lost, it is a very hard thing to regain.
ETU members had lost thousands of dollars in wages with the company continuing to refuse to bargain and go through the negotiation process fairly and to take the workers claims seriously. It will be a long road ahead for the management team at Schindler and after having seen first-hand the anger of these staunch members.
Members at Schindler are no strangers to having to fight hard for fair and reasonable wages and conditions. They have been out on strike in 2009 (6 weeks), 2013 (3 weeks) and 2021 (3 weeks). These workers know exactly how to organise and fight. It frustrates many workers that this is seen as an inevitability every four years, but with local management changing all the time and Schindler refusing to act fairly, industrial education is a must. And that education for Schindler is in the form of strong, organised action so Schindler understand just how crucial these workers are, and they deserve a fair wage and fair conditions. These four yearly actions are becoming lovingly referred to as the “Schindler Olympics” by some members
Members are fighting for fair percentage increases to their wages and their superannuation – so far the union and the company have a sticking point of 1% a year on the wages and 1% on super each year. Workers also want to be covered by PROTECT income protection and have that replace the company’s current self-insurance system of using all of a workers leave entitlements before putting them on their own “extended sick leave” scheme (at their discretion of course). Income Protection is already a feature in most Schindler EBAs around the country and the workers here are seeking nothing more than what is the status quo around the country.
A crew of apprentices and young workers are currently engaging in the first protected action of their careers (much like a certain first year Schindler apprentice did in 2009, who later went on to become an organiser – Rob de Graaf). They have been resolute and powerful; attending each day of action and participating with determination and heart. Workers can learn a lot from watching these young members fighting tooth and nail for their industry and their workmates. These young men and women have shown that the fighting spirit is alive and well and will not be going away any time soon. They are the absolute stand outs of this dispute and will no doubt be staunch union members for the rest of their careers.
