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Cochlear workers fight for union representation

15 February, 2008Workers vote for AMWU representation for a fourth time yet the company still refuses workers the right to bargain collectively.

Australia: Workers at the Cochlear manufacturing facility in Sydney have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a union collective agreement several times, but their employer is using the WorkChoices laws to refuse negotiations with the workers and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union.

The company has applied to the labour court (Australian Industrial Relations Commission) to terminate the current collective agreement. In considering whether to terminate the agreement, the Commission ordered a ballot to be conducted to consider the views of the workforce on whether they wanted individual contracts.

Over 95% of workers voted in favour of a union collective agreement. The workers have now voted overwhelmingly on four separate occassions to reject the company's attempts to force them onto non-union agreements. The case is still being heard before the Commission.

In August, 2007 the International Metalworkers' Federation, to which the AMWU is an affiliate, and Public Services International, which represents workers at clinics where Cochlear hearing devices are distributed, launched a global campaign in solidarity with Cochlear workers.

"The efforts of the IMF and its affiliates in taking up the campaign internationally against Cochlear has clearly had a significant impact. The CEO of Cochlear, Chris Roberts, has on a number of occasions expressed publicly his concern about the effect of the unions' international campaign on his company's reputation in lucrative overseas markets," said AMWU national president Julius Roe, adding "It is now clear that Cochlear is under immense pressure to come to the bargaining table with the AMWU and finally resolve this dispute -- however to date they have refused any dialogue with the AMWU."

The IMF is urging affiliates to join the Listen Up Cochlear campaign and help Cochlear workers win a union contract. Go to: www.imfmetal.org/ListenUpCochlear for campaign details, protest tools, affiliate letters and a list of clinics that distribute Cochlear products.