Firstly, congratulations to everyone who participated in the stoppage over the weekend. The turnout for the picket line was incredible, and it is very clear that support for the industrial action was even stronger than the first stoppage.
The media that we received prior to, on the day of, and after the stoppage was incredible. A few days prior to the stoppage, we did an interview with Ray Hadley, which you can access HERE.
On Friday morning, the stoppage was mentioned on Triple M, 2DayFM, ABC and 2GB. On Friday evening, the picket line was on a number of TV stations, including on Channel 9, Sky News, the Today Show, Channel 10 and Channel 7. You can read a really good write up of the stoppage HERE as well.
In total, the media over the past seven days alone has reached a cumulative audience of 8.95 million people – this is huge!
Of course, the fight is not yet over. MTC still need to come to the table with a better offer, which is something they have failed to do so far. This morning, the union wrote to MTC and invited them back to the bargaining table, but only on the proviso that they have a revised offer. We are not interested in hearing MTC talk about how they have no money, when we all know that this is a lie. You can read a copy of the email that the union sent to MTC HERE.
As soon as MTC responds (if they do), we will advise members. In the meantime, we will continue to assess our options and engage with the media in order to keep the story alive. Political pressure and media attention are a necessary ingredient in any industrial fight, and MTC deserve to feel the heat for their continued stubbornness, particularly given that what union members are asking for is not unreasonable. Indeed, the Fair Work Commission’s latest two-week snapshot shows that the average payment increase given to workers in this period was 4.1 per cent – much more than MTC is offering you.
Again, we will let members know what (if anything) MTC comes back with. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Mark Ward or Brian Kirk. You can also call Jess on 0401 521 561 or Kim on 0408 249 277.
