Union representation in Australia

[crusty]

On the subject of unions
Some ROV guys in Oz have been trying to get people to join the MOUA with a view to getting rates of pay in Australia into line with other offshore workers in the country.
The divers in Australia are a good example as they are well into the process and stand to reap significant rerward from it.
For some reason only a minority of ROV people have joined the union making it very difficult for the AMOU to do much for us at all.
Guess they must be happy earning less than the kitchen hand on a boat job in OZ.
Are they stupid?
Do they not know what people are trying to do for them in Australia?
Its a fact that if most of the guys join the union we´ll see significant pay rises, but most wont do it.
Aný opinions on why from the other australians on this site…

[crusty]

carl@amou.com.au

[crusty]

carl@amou.com.au

thats not my email by the way thats a contact at the office in Fremantle

[Angry]

A lot of the ROV personell in Western Australia initially joined the MUA and were looked after very well and all promises kept by their representatives. Unfortunatley they did not have a constitution that would cover the ROV industry so all fees were refunded.
We then joined the AMOU (constitution to cover) and through all ROV personell encourgaing and cajoling people were starting to gain members and at last count had 40+. No work done by the fremantle rep here.
Unfortunatley for the members that had all parted with good dollars very little has been done (other than spam mail) by the AMOU to warant paying any further fees.
It seems the AMOU rep wants to sit back and ride on all the hard work done by the unions representing the Divers (after their Work Place Agreement has been put into place) As a paid member at the time I would of expected to have regular progress reports and drafts of the WPA mailed to me, not sent electronically to be lost in cyber space.
All members of the ROV industry i have spoken too will not be renewing their memberships with the AMOU.
Recently the CFMEU had started poaching memebrs from all different building industries which puts the question since the government changed the laws, " does this now mean a strong real uni0n such as the MUA now have the capabilities to represent us with gusto and vigor.

[Taggs]

Totally agree with Angry…it was a waste of time. Only after joining the MUA were we informed that we, Rov, new to the union, should not expect to receive the benefits the MUA has strived for, for years!
The reason we joined in the first place!!!!
It would be nice to think that the situation had changed and representation would be as expected.

[SewerPipe]

There are currently moves afoot to try and change the Uni0n represntation in Australia from the AMOU to the MUA. The first step in this process is to petition the AMOU to release us (ROV personel) from their representation. A few people have already done this and all Oz workers are encouraged to do so. Only through action can we effect change. A number of people have also have resigned from the AMOU, to hopefully send them the message that we are not happy with their inaction.

[WillyV]

Crusty and Guys, new fellas to the game such as myself, would like to think that we will be represented well if we put our names and money towards an organisation…to date I have heard nothing but negative comments..this will change no doubt when we see support from more ROV people. I think that getting all this out in the open on sites such as (ROV world) is a good start and will bring back the confidence we need for new and old….fingers crossed. Either way it will assist in benifitting us all in the long term.

[rovgreg]

So from this am I to beleive The uni0n is not trying to do up our new EBA based on the one the divers have just got through earlier this year.

I am currently working overseas and have just renewed my membership but only email Paula has answered was the one with my credit card details.

Let me know what is hapening would like to see us get across to mua as they are very keen to deal with both divers and rov.

Greg 😈

[Angry]

Greg I would suggest you try to get your money back and then send them a letter resigning from the AMOU.
Im lead to believe there are moves afoot with the MUA so stay tuned.

[Mack]

This was sent to the 100 of us that replied to the MUA request for interest in joining. They tell me .. ( and I believe them ! ) they will be in touch soonest in the New Year … with info about joining up.

Please pass on to anyone working abroad –
Hope you all get onboard … Start by giving Will your details.

The Will guy has been employed for ROV.

here is the latest letter ,

MUA ROV Newsletter
Number 1 – December 2007
MUA and AMOU agree to work together…

Following on from last week’s “Open Letter from the MUA to all ROV Workers” the MUA is happy to report on the positive progress resulting from this weeks meeting between Ian Bray from the MUA and senior national officials from the AMOU. That meeting occurred on Tuesday December 11th in Singapore and resulted in an outcome that will benefit all ROV workers in the industry.

The MUA and AMOU have agreed to work constructively together to advance the wages and conditions of all ROV workers in Australian waters and part of that agreement includes the MUA having the ability to recruit and represent ROV workers. The 2 Unions have decided that only by working together can we achieve the best outcome for ROV workers in the offshore industry.
ROV workers can now join MUA…

The most significant outcome from this historic agreement between the 2 Unions is that ROV workers can now join the MUA and both Unions will work together to advance the industrial interests of ROV workers. The MUA looks forward to working hard to organise this industry and achieve success just as we did with the diver’s campaign. The MUA also congratulates the AMOU on it’s progressive stance in working with the MUA to achieve the best possible outcome for all ROV workers.
Get on board…

If you have not already done so make sure you contact Will Tracey on the email address below to add your contact details to the MUA contact list that already has in excess of 100 ROV workers on it. We need to work together to campaign hard and smart on wages and conditions that properly recognise and reward the contribution that ROV workers make to the huge amount of wealth that is being generated in the offshore oil and gas industry.

MUA Contacts:
Will Tracey wtracey@mua.org.au

Ian Bray ianbray@mua.org.au

Campaigning to ensure ROV workers are recognised and rewarded for the contribution they make to the oil and gas industry!!!

[Angry]

Well its great news the MUA is on board at last.
Lets all support the MUA and give them the support at meetings & input towards our future EBA.

The AMOU should have plenty of energy and drive to support them, considering the amount of money they have taken from the ROV industry and lack of anything done over the last few years. 🙂

[WillyV]

Guys the first meeting was held in Nth Freo last week with around 15 guys turning up from SS7/I-Tech Oz and Technip.

The meeting was well presented by Will Tracey and Ian Bray, both appearing keen to represent us and well organized, the revised copy of "the log of claims" has been sent out and it looks good. The ball is rolling.
8)

[SewerPipe]

As stated in previous posts the MUA are now on the job. I encourage all ROV workers in Australia to join up as quickly as possible. Only thru 100% membership will the uni0n be able to plead our case. They are well organized and have a plan of attack. GET ON BOARD!!!!!!

😛 😛 😛

[rovgreg]

The MUA is on to it and have just released the 8th news letter. They have been told they have to work with every individual company so they have taken on Subsea 7 first as they have lions share of work. They are now in negotiations.
They have asked every Subsea 7 contractor to elect them as there appointed representative in talks with Subsea 7.

[Author]

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