NORTH QLD

Having started in the organiser’s role at the start of the year, I have been reaching out to delegates and members across the region trying to meet as many as possible We have just completed our run of Ergon meetings, where I got to visit all of the depots across the region

Spotless Downer Defence has been going through an EBA process which has led to a national industrial action campaign Local members from the CEPU have been taking part in regular action from Lavarack Barracks and the RAAF base in an attempt to try and get their claims heard This will continue until an agreement can be reached These workers are looking for fair wage increases with the current cost of living crisis, pay parity to fix up a two tier pay issue with workers who are working alongside each other getting paid different rates, along with a range of other claims from around Australia, as it’s a national agreement

He had some questions about the same job, same pay provisions for contractors and had picked up that he was not getting the correct conditions, he was right, we took the issue up and won! from there he agreed to being the delegate for labour hire ETU members at TMR. Here was a bloke who was in precarious employment himself not afraid to stand up and be counted. Sharkey was involved in the campaign to get rid of labour hire and get workers converted to permanent work. Again, he stood up and when we won, getting 20 long term labour hire members converted to permanent work, he agreed to take on the role of delegate across the site.

Sharkey will be a great organiser because he brings people along the journey with him, he’s a true collectivist with great communication skills, but above all else, he cares.

Brenton Muller, State Organiser

"Sharkey for the last couple of years has filled the role as senior ETU delegate for all BEMS members across the state, in that role he has demonstrated his leadership skills, showing his intelligence passion and leading from the front with a ' never say die' attitude With his workplace leadership coupled with the wider resources of the union we have managed to achieve unbelievable outcomes for ETU State Govt Members (see related article) I have no doubt that Sharkey will excel in his new role and will be a huge asset to the ETU and its members going forward "

Scott Reichman, State Organiser

We have EBA negotiations kicking off soon with Wilmar & QSL Site visits will start shortly to give members the ability to discuss what a log of claims may look like moving forward

If you have any concerns or queries, or just want to introduce yourself please don’t hesitate to reach out or give me a call