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It also reminds me of the members we have lost along the way. Taken too soon, never having the chance to enjoy the spoils of a life well lived. These members will leave a lasting legacy, evidence of their struggles and commitment to union ideals clearly seen by the wages, conditions, and union culture enjoyed by the members who now take the torch and continue to move forward.
Retirements CBH seems to be going through a great gener- ational passing of the torch as veterans with de- cades of experience are starting to finish up and head off to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. This is always a time to celebrate but it’s always a little bittersweet. Years of working together will leave great memories of times shared, both in good times and importantly the struggles.
Congratulations and I hope your retirement is filled with nothing but enjoyment, good health, and peace.
Whether it’s using the continuous improvement committee to workshop and develop improvements on worksite efficiency through processes and en- gineering or working with the safety committee to develop safe systems of work and identifying caus- es/improvements through incident investigations. It seems the current tactic from CBH is to have every- thing finalised and bring it to the workforce for com- ment once it’s too late to change anything, making any feedback or input either useless or combative at best. Safety Matters With the recent issues at CBH around safety, a spot- light has been shined on the terminal both internally and externally. The members have made it clear that safety is a main focus. They can’t always be near misses, and if you want to fix something, you need to be involved. From recent reports on site this issue is starting to improve, but we all know this was not due to a sudden moment of clarity and more from effective pressure by the workers and safety reps. We have seen newly elected safety reps under- take training and are keen to start advocating for the members, making sure everyone’s safety is the number one priority for CBH. I encourage all mem- bers at CBH and in the broader union to support their safety reps. It’s one of the most important, dif- ficult, and rewarding responsibilities a member can take on in their workplace. If you stand up for us, you deserve to be supported by us.
The Higher They Are … It seems the winds of change are blowing fiercely over at the grain terminal. The new terminal man- ager who started mid this year has decided to seek employment at a different company. This sudden change of heart was a shock to everyone, but not unwelcome. It had been clear to everyone (includ- ing the manager apparently) that his authoritative, QUBE style management ethos was a poor fit for a site that has thrived for over 50 years on a culture of collaboration and respect. This sudden abdication of the throne has certainly taken the wind out of the sails of any management that wished to capitalise on this iron-fisted rheto- ric and hopefully allows for management that sees members as people, not subjects. While the recent occurrences might have brought a mild sense of op- timism, we are fully aware that it may be short lived if CBH doesn’t learn from previous mistakes in their hiring strategies. A Failure to Communicate While there were many issues between the workers and management, there seemed to be a common theme that was prevalent in most items. Consultation CBH have decided that workforce input and consul- tation in matters that affect them (whether legally required or otherwise) is not something that is seen as valuable anymore.
Daniel Piccoli WA Branch Organiser | P: 08 9335 0500 | M: 0437 354 224 Email daniel.piccoli@mua.org.au
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