Downer employees working on the Hunter's light rail construction have agreed to return to work and withdraw from any industrial action after being promised reinstatement of cut conditions and wages.
Ongoing strikes and protests have accompanied the company's previous decision to cut conditions and a minimal pay rise despite reporting a surge in profits, pushing workers into action.
The negotiations resulted in a restoration of penalty rates for weekends, an increase in wages from 2.25 per to 2.5 per cent and wage parity between Illawarra and Newcastle.
Electrical Trades Union Secretary, Dave McKinley said, "it is a win, but it's only a win in so far as the fact that we have basically got back what should have been there to start with and we have shaved off some major attacks by Downer.
"This negotiation was not about gouging huge wage increases out of Downer, it was about getting Downer to pay a reasonable wage increase.
Certainly, as the profits increase from Downer over the next few years, these guys will expect their share to come back down to them and I'm certain at the next agreement they'll be asking for a lot more," Dave McKinley said.
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| Image: Watt Electrical News |
