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General Motors announces it will close Holden Adelaide operations in 2017
gtc:
Go back about 2 years ...
Holden signs record pay deal as unions win 22 per cent wage rise
by Ewin Hannan, Industrial editor, The Australian
February 14, 2012 12:00AM
GM Holden has agreed to an extraordinary wage deal that will lift the income of 4000 employees by up to 22 per cent by 2014, despite the carmaker seeking a taxpayer-funded assistance package from the Gillard government.
In a deal hailed by union leaders as "spectacular", workers will receive a "guaranteed" 18.3 per cent increase over the next three years, with some workers to receive up to 22.3 per cent.
Holden refused to comment on the deal yesterday but The Australian has obtained full details of the agreement, which the union said contained no productivity trade-offs. "In the automotive industry it represents the best deal yet to be negotiated and is highly recommended to members," union leaders Ian Jones and John Camillo wrote in a circular to members outlining the deal.
They said the "value of the wage deal is magnified tenfold when you gauge it against the latest CPI (inflation) figures of 2.1 per cent and the horrendous state of automotive manufacturing in this country".
The deal provides for increases in wage and payments equal to 8 per cent for all workers in the first year, and a guaranteed 5 per cent rise with another potential 2 per cent in the second and third years. The agreement involves a 3 per cent wages increase for each year and a guaranteed "hardship recognition payment" of $1750 in the first year and $1000 in the second and third years.
Workers will also receive a 2 per cent "base wage variable bonus" in the first year, with similar increases potentially available in the subsequent two years. Mr Jones told The Australian the hardship payments recognised the financial sacrifices made by Holden employees during the global financial crisis when they were stood down for extended periods on 50 per cent of normal pay.
Holden is negotiating a new assistance package with the federal, Victorian and South Australian governments and critics of the taxpayer-funded support are likely to attack the level of pay rises agreed to by the company.
Earlier this month, Holden told the state government it would cut an undisclosed number of casual and full-time jobs at its Elizabeth plant in Adelaide's north.
Federal Liberal MP Jamie Briggs yesterday questioned pay rises previously awarded to Holden employees, saying recent enterprise agreements did not appear to be delivering productivity and efficiency gains. Mr Briggs said if taxpayers are "handing over large wads of cash", they would expect that companies receiving support would make improvements to their operations.
Holden workers received pay rises of 28 per cent over two enterprise agreements that operated between November 2004 and November last year.
In their circular to members, Mr Jones and Mr Camillo, the chairman of the Federation of Vehicle Industry Unions, said the latest "outcome sees a spectacular approximate minimum 18.3 per cent leap in members' income over a three-year period with a potential for that to rise to 22.3 per cent by the end of the agreement".
Union members will be able to refuse to work overtime if they believe the request to be unreasonable.
The deal also allows workers to bank up to 40 overtime hours on a voluntary basis, which can be cashed out when the employees require it.
Education leave for union shop stewards has been doubled while the company had agreed to new meeting processes and procedures for the Holden Victoria Shop Stewards Committee.
Workers will also receive improved leave provisions, including five days for paternity leave that can be drawn from sick leave. Male workers will also have access to up to 14 weeks paid leave if they are the primary carer.
"The deal is a good balance between fixed increases applied at the base wage and other payments that add to members' disposable income," the circular says.
"In the automotive industry it represents the best deal yet to be negotiated and is highly recommended to members."
Mr Jones said limiting the fixed pay rises to 3 per cent annually reflected the objective of GM Holden's parent company to keep a lid on wages.
"If you look at what is a trade-off from the employer perspective, it means their fixed wage costs are manageable and not blowing out," he said.
coradict72:
Thank you for posting the lengthy article by De wit.
I'd like to ask a question if you in the market for a new car
say something for the misses or son/ daughter
what would be a model you would possibly consider
disregarding yesterdays news just for now
bfit:
Well this is one race that ford won
Bfit
Lefty:
Ford, Holden, maybe Toyota will leave.
Australia may not need their own car manufacturer.
When they leave they will leave behind legacy, but more importantly car manufacturing plants.
Australia has some of the best technical ability on the planet,
Where is the opportunity here?
Can Australia build a world class electic vehicle, improve battery technology, increase photo voltaic cell technology to the point is able to be used readily in the automotive industry,a nd offset the carbon footprint we create with our vets.
Might seem far flung, but now it's time to find the silver lining. Any other ideas out there?
coradict72:
Well I'll answer my own question
Yaris,echo.mazda3,i20.suzuki?
why,, reasonable and cheap appealing to the buying market
good chance to maybe resell
Oh did I mention the big two
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