Post by lennie on Jun 2, 2007 16:57:26 GMT -5
Imports take trolley jobs
Investigation as contractor sacks locals
By SARAH DEAN
THE Office of Workplace Services is investigating the employment of trolley collectors at an Albury shopping centre.
It follows a decision to make trolley collectors at Centro Wodonga, Albury and Lavington redundant this week and to replace them with workers hired from Melbourne.
A spokesman for Office of Workplace Services said it had received a claim that the trolley collectors who lost their jobs at Centro Albury had been underpaid.
It is understood Centro trolley collectors are employed by a company called Effective Supermarket Services.
The Border Mail has been unable to contact that company.
One former Centro Wodonga employee, who does not want to be named, said he got a phone call on Tuesday night saying his services were no longer required.
“There was no warning and I later discovered all the local trolley collectors across the three Centro centres had been sacked and were being replaced with people from Melbourne,” he said.
“They are Nigerian and have all worked for ESS before, but some of them don’t even speak English.”
He said a representative from the Office of Workplace Services visited Centro Wodonga yesterday requesting the employees’ time books.
“My area manager said the company was being investigated for underpaying staff and unlawful dismissal,” he said.
“One guy who never signed a workplace agreement is threatening to take legal action as he was never paid the award rate.”
One concerned resident, Phil Morton, told The Border Mail he was alerted to the situation after his wife spoke to a check-out assistant at Centro Lavington.
Mr Morton said that as a community people should be incensed that local trolley collectors were now unemployed and that their jobs had been given to people who were not local.
“Many of these trolley collectors were people with some kind of disability, and the simple fact that they were able to earn an income of some kind gave them a sense of accomplishment.”
Mr Morton said he was saddened he would no longer be able to enjoy the conversations he once had with the local collectors.
Centro declined to comment yesterday.
Investigation as contractor sacks locals
By SARAH DEAN
THE Office of Workplace Services is investigating the employment of trolley collectors at an Albury shopping centre.
It follows a decision to make trolley collectors at Centro Wodonga, Albury and Lavington redundant this week and to replace them with workers hired from Melbourne.
A spokesman for Office of Workplace Services said it had received a claim that the trolley collectors who lost their jobs at Centro Albury had been underpaid.
It is understood Centro trolley collectors are employed by a company called Effective Supermarket Services.
The Border Mail has been unable to contact that company.
One former Centro Wodonga employee, who does not want to be named, said he got a phone call on Tuesday night saying his services were no longer required.
“There was no warning and I later discovered all the local trolley collectors across the three Centro centres had been sacked and were being replaced with people from Melbourne,” he said.
“They are Nigerian and have all worked for ESS before, but some of them don’t even speak English.”
He said a representative from the Office of Workplace Services visited Centro Wodonga yesterday requesting the employees’ time books.
“My area manager said the company was being investigated for underpaying staff and unlawful dismissal,” he said.
“One guy who never signed a workplace agreement is threatening to take legal action as he was never paid the award rate.”
One concerned resident, Phil Morton, told The Border Mail he was alerted to the situation after his wife spoke to a check-out assistant at Centro Lavington.
Mr Morton said that as a community people should be incensed that local trolley collectors were now unemployed and that their jobs had been given to people who were not local.
“Many of these trolley collectors were people with some kind of disability, and the simple fact that they were able to earn an income of some kind gave them a sense of accomplishment.”
Mr Morton said he was saddened he would no longer be able to enjoy the conversations he once had with the local collectors.
Centro declined to comment yesterday.