Latest news with #TWU
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tyler City Council approves $12.6 million contract to modernize Lake Tyler Pumping Station
TYLER, Texas (KETK) — The Tyler City Council approved $12.6 million contract with Taknek to modernize the Lake Tyler Pumping station. Tyler water line extension gets $2.1 million contract approval Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) will use the money to upgrade the Lake Tyler Raw Water Pump Station, one of the most important links in the City's water supply system. 'We're designing a system that can serve Tyler's growing population and withstand emergencies without skipping a beat,' TWU Project Engineer Jacob Yanker said. 'This investment ensures families can continue to count on clean water, even in the face of rapid growth or unexpected outages.' Raw water has been pumped into Lake Tyler to the Golden Road treatment plant for decades and is responsible for the majority of Tyler's drinking water. The upgrades will modernize with new Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) along with the service equipment. 'There are a lot of trees around Lake Tyler, which has led to a loss of power for the pump station during severe weather,' Yanker said. 'The back-up generator would solve our power issues and keep water flowing.' The upgrades will focus on long-term sustainability and service reliability. Construction is set to begin this summer and will take 36 months to complete. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
7NEWS
27-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Major delays expected as hundreds of bus drivers go on strike in Victoria
Commuters in Melbourne have been warned to expect major delays on Wednesday when more than 800 bus drivers at two of Victoria's biggest bus companies go on strike. Transport Workers Union (TWU) members employed by Dysons Group and CDC Victoria will strike for 24 hours as part of planned industrial action over improvements to pay, rostering and safety. The strike follows months of failed negotiations, with the TWU demanding a deal that better recognises bus drivers and their importance within the community. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 'The current offers from CDC and Dysons fall short. Our members have been patient, but that patience has run out,' TWU Victorian/Tasmanian director of organising Sam Lynch said. 'It's time for CDC and Dysons to stop dragging their feet and start listening to workers' calls for respect and a fair day's pay.' Dysons said it was disappointed with the union members' decision to strike given its recent proposal to improve wages and benefits for bus drivers, including a 9 per cent year-one wage increase. 'Industrial action, if carried out, will cause unnecessary inconvenience to public transport bus passengers,' it said. 'Dysons is working closely with the Department of Transport and Planning to minimise disruption to our passengers and valued customers, should this action proceed.' CDC said it was committed to negotiating with the TWU 'to reach a fair and reasonable resolution'. According to the transport department, if the strike goes ahead as planned about a quarter of Melbourne's 400 bus routes could be impacted. Commuters have been warned to expect major delays on routes in Melbourne's north and west, as well as in Ballarat, Mildura and Geelong. Bus routes operated by Dysons across Melbourne will run to a Saturday timetable. There will be no Dysons services on routes 301 Reservoir to Latrobe Uni express, 389 Mernda Station to Doreen Loop and 546 Heidelberg Station to Queen Victoria Market/Melbourne Uni. School services on all Dysons routes will continue to run. CDC Victoria will only operate school services from its depots in Oakleigh, Tullamarine, Sunshine and Mildura. 'Passengers on affected routes should consider other transport alternatives on Wednesday,' the transport department said. Normal timetables should resume on Thursday.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Australian unions present demands amidst recent strike activity
A trade union leader has vowed to inflict the most disruptive strikes in history on Australia, collapsing freight and passenger transport networks and choking supermarket food supplies. In an explosive speech, Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine threatened the widespread pain as 200 enterprise agreements between Australian workers and companies expire next year. The agreements affect airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia, logistics companies Linfox and Toll, Amazon, supermarket chain Aldi, construction materials company Boral, waste disposal chain Cleanaway and airport ground handling firm Swissport. 'Make no mistake – this will be the largest co-ordinated industrial campaign in Australian transport history,' Mr Kaine (pictured) told the TWU's national conference in Brisbane on Wednesday. 'This alignment of agreements isn't accidental. It's been carefully orchestrated to maximise our collective bargaining power.' Mr Kaine vowed the TWU, a trade union affiliated with Anthony Albanese 's Labor Party, was prepared to shut down Australia's transport logistics networks unless employers met union demands. 'We are prepared to shut down Australian transport,' he said. 'There will be disruption. It will be significant. It will be coordinated. And it will be effective.' Mr Kaine also boasted the Labor Party would be in power for at least another six years, given the size of its landslide majority. 'We're now looking at the potential of six more years of Labor government, six more years of progress for working people,' he said. 'We are in the best position we have ever been in to create change.' He argued the co-ordinated strikes - legally allowed during enterprise negotiations - would be designed to address workplace safety. 'This disruption isn't our goal - it's a means to an end,' Mr Kaine said. 'We must have an industry where workers stop dying, where they receive fair pay, in short, where standards aren't constantly undermined by ruthless, profiteering cost-cutting. From airports to highways, from distribution centres to city streets – whatever it takes to stop this client pressure killing workers, community members and good businesses.' The Opposition's employment and workplace relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said Labor's multi-employer bargaining laws had encouraged unions to be more militant. 'This type of widespread and co-ordinated industrial action is exactly what I warned about at the time the multi-employer bargaining laws went through the previous Parliament,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'The unions have been emboldened by an Albanese Government hellbent on handing them the sort power they desire and now they are threatening to "shut down Australian transport". 'This is a test for the new Workplace Relations Minister, Amanda Rishworth. She needs to ensure that these strikes do not go ahead. The Albanese Government needs to bring this militant union under control.' Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth said workers had a right to take protected industrial action. 'While we support the rights of workers to take protected action, the general rate of industrial disputes remains low compared to historical trends,' she told Daily Mail Australia Workers are allowed to strike during enterprise bargaining negotiations thanks to the Fair Work Act of 2009, introduced by a Labor government. The TWU's vow to shut down Australia's transport network is an extreme position compared with past blockades. In 1979, it declined to join 3,000 owner truck drivers in blockading highways in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia in protest at state government road taxes. The TWU counts Labor MPs and senators among its members including Tony Sheldon and new Ageing and Seniors Minister Sam Rae. Since coming to power in 2022, the Albanese Government has also revived multi-employer bargaining where pay rises in a workplace can be replicated across an industry. 'When workers across the transport industry negotiate together, when they stand together, they can achieve outcomes that would be impossible in isolation,' Mr Kaine said.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Australia on the brink of a total shutdown: Biggest strike in history set to cripple the nation as union boss drops bombshell demands in explosive speech
A trade union leader has vowed to inflict the most disruptive strikes in Australia's history that would collapse freight and passenger transport networks and choke supermarket food supplies. In an explosive speech, Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine has vowed to inflict widespread pain when 200 enterprise agreements between Australian workers and companies expire next year. The agreements affect airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia, logistics companies Linfox and Toll, Amazon, supermarket chain Aldi, construction materials company Boral, waste disposal chain Cleanaway and airport ground handling firm Swissport. 'Make no mistake – this will be the largest co-ordinated industrial campaign in Australian transport history,' Mr Kaine told the TWU's national conference in Brisbane on Wednesday. 'This alignment of agreements isn't accidental. It's been carefully orchestrated to maximise our collective bargaining power.' Mr Kaine vowed the TWU, a trade union affiliated with Anthony Albanese 's Labor Party, was prepared to shut down Australia's transport logistics networks. 'We are prepared to shut down Australian transport,' he said. 'There will be disruption. It will be significant. It will be coordinated. And it will be effective.' Mr Kaine also boasted the Labor Party would be in power for at least another six years, given the size of its landslide majority. 'We're now looking at the potential of six more years of Labor government, six more years of progress for working people,' he said. 'We are in the best position we have ever been in to create change.' He argued the co-ordinated strikes - legally allowed during enterprise negotiations - would be designed to address workplace safety. 'This disruption isn't our goal - it's a means to an end,' Mr Kaine said. 'We must have an industry where workers stop dying, where they receive fair pay, in short, where standards aren't constantly undermined by ruthless, profiteering cost-cutting. 'From airports to highways, from distribution centres to city streets – whatever it takes to stop this client pressure killing workers, community members and good businesses.' Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth said workers had a right to take protected industrial action. 'While we support the rights of workers to take protected action, the general rate of industrial disputes remains low compared to historical trends,' she told Daily Mail Australia The union boss has vowed to inflict the biggest strike in Australia's history that would cause chaos across the country Workers are allowed to strike during enterprise bargaining negotiations thanks to the Fair Work Act of 2009, introduced by a Labor government. The TWU's vow to shut down Australia's transport network is an extreme position compared with past blockades. In 1979, it declined to join 3,000 owner truck drivers in blockading highways in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia in protest at state government road taxes. The TWU counts Labor MPs and senators among its members including Tony Sheldon and new Ageing and Seniors Minister Sam Rae. Since coming to power in 2022, the Albanese Government has also revived multi-employer bargaining where pay rises in a workplace can be replicated across an industry. 'When workers across the transport industry negotiate together, when they stand together, they can achieve outcomes that would be impossible in isolation,' Mr Kaine said. Mr Kaine told union members in Brisbane unions had waited years to be able to flex its industrial muscle. 'That system, that legal right to take protected industrial action, has afforded workers in Australia so many of the protections we now take for granted,' he said. 'Our alignment preparation to legally deploy our system to awesome positive effect has taken years. 'Now the time has arrived to significantly shift that dial yet again.'
The Advertiser
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Qantas makes mercy plea for illegal sackings 'mistake'
Qantas did not deliberately break the law when it illegally sacked 1820 workers and its "mistake" warrants a "mid-range" penalty, a court has been told. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has heard final submissions on the penalty to be imposed on Qantas for the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian history. Last year, Qantas agreed to pay $120 million to the ground staff as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Transport Workers Union is seeking the maximum penalty of $121 million and an order that the money be paid to the union, while Qantas has urged Justice Lee to impose a "mid-range" penalty between $40 million and $80 million. The airline's "failure was in the territory of mistake, rather than deliberate breach of the law," Qantas counsel Justin Gleeson SC told the court. "The failure has now been exposed and recognised by the contravener, and the contravener has put in place appropriate steps to minimise the risk of the failure occurring again," he said on Wednesday. Qantas argued that its actions were driven by "business calamities" caused by the pandemic, not exploitation, and the illegal sackings were the result of a single decision and therefore only one breach of the law. It also pointed to the $120 million compensation deal and and its expression of contrition for its actions. On Monday, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told the court the airline was "deeply sorry" for the impact on the workers, their family and friends and the union. Mr Gleeson argued the court should not infer negatively from the failure to call Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson as a witness, and emphasised concrete steps she had taken, including rebuilding relationships, creating an inclusive culture and public apologies. "There's a recognition that a change needed to be made ... there was a top down culture which impacted empowerment and a willingness to challenge or speak up on issues or decisions of concern," he said. "There's been a significant refresh of the group leadership team. Seventy per cent are either new to Qantas or to their role or to the (team)" Most of the submissions at Wednesday's hearing focused on meetings between senior managers at Qantas, a group management committee meeting and a board meeting. After initially saying he would aim to deliver a judgment on Friday, Justice Lee reserved his decision. At a protest at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday, the TWU called on airlines, airports, governments and regulators to ensure fair standards at companies like Swissport, which took over much of the work done by the sacked Qantas workers. "That work has been shoved off to operators like Swissport, who have a horrific international reputation for maiming workers, for underpaying workers, for wage theft," TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said. Recent safety visits revealed that in Brisbane, Swissport has more than 400 safety reports a month, he said. "The Albanese government must put in place a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to stop the spiral of dangerously low standards and ensure there's oversight in such a vital industry to our island nation." Qantas did not deliberately break the law when it illegally sacked 1820 workers and its "mistake" warrants a "mid-range" penalty, a court has been told. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has heard final submissions on the penalty to be imposed on Qantas for the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian history. Last year, Qantas agreed to pay $120 million to the ground staff as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Transport Workers Union is seeking the maximum penalty of $121 million and an order that the money be paid to the union, while Qantas has urged Justice Lee to impose a "mid-range" penalty between $40 million and $80 million. The airline's "failure was in the territory of mistake, rather than deliberate breach of the law," Qantas counsel Justin Gleeson SC told the court. "The failure has now been exposed and recognised by the contravener, and the contravener has put in place appropriate steps to minimise the risk of the failure occurring again," he said on Wednesday. Qantas argued that its actions were driven by "business calamities" caused by the pandemic, not exploitation, and the illegal sackings were the result of a single decision and therefore only one breach of the law. It also pointed to the $120 million compensation deal and and its expression of contrition for its actions. On Monday, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told the court the airline was "deeply sorry" for the impact on the workers, their family and friends and the union. Mr Gleeson argued the court should not infer negatively from the failure to call Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson as a witness, and emphasised concrete steps she had taken, including rebuilding relationships, creating an inclusive culture and public apologies. "There's a recognition that a change needed to be made ... there was a top down culture which impacted empowerment and a willingness to challenge or speak up on issues or decisions of concern," he said. "There's been a significant refresh of the group leadership team. Seventy per cent are either new to Qantas or to their role or to the (team)" Most of the submissions at Wednesday's hearing focused on meetings between senior managers at Qantas, a group management committee meeting and a board meeting. After initially saying he would aim to deliver a judgment on Friday, Justice Lee reserved his decision. At a protest at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday, the TWU called on airlines, airports, governments and regulators to ensure fair standards at companies like Swissport, which took over much of the work done by the sacked Qantas workers. "That work has been shoved off to operators like Swissport, who have a horrific international reputation for maiming workers, for underpaying workers, for wage theft," TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said. Recent safety visits revealed that in Brisbane, Swissport has more than 400 safety reports a month, he said. "The Albanese government must put in place a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to stop the spiral of dangerously low standards and ensure there's oversight in such a vital industry to our island nation." Qantas did not deliberately break the law when it illegally sacked 1820 workers and its "mistake" warrants a "mid-range" penalty, a court has been told. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has heard final submissions on the penalty to be imposed on Qantas for the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian history. Last year, Qantas agreed to pay $120 million to the ground staff as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Transport Workers Union is seeking the maximum penalty of $121 million and an order that the money be paid to the union, while Qantas has urged Justice Lee to impose a "mid-range" penalty between $40 million and $80 million. The airline's "failure was in the territory of mistake, rather than deliberate breach of the law," Qantas counsel Justin Gleeson SC told the court. "The failure has now been exposed and recognised by the contravener, and the contravener has put in place appropriate steps to minimise the risk of the failure occurring again," he said on Wednesday. Qantas argued that its actions were driven by "business calamities" caused by the pandemic, not exploitation, and the illegal sackings were the result of a single decision and therefore only one breach of the law. It also pointed to the $120 million compensation deal and and its expression of contrition for its actions. On Monday, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told the court the airline was "deeply sorry" for the impact on the workers, their family and friends and the union. Mr Gleeson argued the court should not infer negatively from the failure to call Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson as a witness, and emphasised concrete steps she had taken, including rebuilding relationships, creating an inclusive culture and public apologies. "There's a recognition that a change needed to be made ... there was a top down culture which impacted empowerment and a willingness to challenge or speak up on issues or decisions of concern," he said. "There's been a significant refresh of the group leadership team. Seventy per cent are either new to Qantas or to their role or to the (team)" Most of the submissions at Wednesday's hearing focused on meetings between senior managers at Qantas, a group management committee meeting and a board meeting. After initially saying he would aim to deliver a judgment on Friday, Justice Lee reserved his decision. At a protest at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday, the TWU called on airlines, airports, governments and regulators to ensure fair standards at companies like Swissport, which took over much of the work done by the sacked Qantas workers. "That work has been shoved off to operators like Swissport, who have a horrific international reputation for maiming workers, for underpaying workers, for wage theft," TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said. Recent safety visits revealed that in Brisbane, Swissport has more than 400 safety reports a month, he said. "The Albanese government must put in place a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to stop the spiral of dangerously low standards and ensure there's oversight in such a vital industry to our island nation." Qantas did not deliberately break the law when it illegally sacked 1820 workers and its "mistake" warrants a "mid-range" penalty, a court has been told. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has heard final submissions on the penalty to be imposed on Qantas for the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian history. Last year, Qantas agreed to pay $120 million to the ground staff as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Transport Workers Union is seeking the maximum penalty of $121 million and an order that the money be paid to the union, while Qantas has urged Justice Lee to impose a "mid-range" penalty between $40 million and $80 million. The airline's "failure was in the territory of mistake, rather than deliberate breach of the law," Qantas counsel Justin Gleeson SC told the court. "The failure has now been exposed and recognised by the contravener, and the contravener has put in place appropriate steps to minimise the risk of the failure occurring again," he said on Wednesday. Qantas argued that its actions were driven by "business calamities" caused by the pandemic, not exploitation, and the illegal sackings were the result of a single decision and therefore only one breach of the law. It also pointed to the $120 million compensation deal and and its expression of contrition for its actions. On Monday, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told the court the airline was "deeply sorry" for the impact on the workers, their family and friends and the union. Mr Gleeson argued the court should not infer negatively from the failure to call Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson as a witness, and emphasised concrete steps she had taken, including rebuilding relationships, creating an inclusive culture and public apologies. "There's a recognition that a change needed to be made ... there was a top down culture which impacted empowerment and a willingness to challenge or speak up on issues or decisions of concern," he said. "There's been a significant refresh of the group leadership team. Seventy per cent are either new to Qantas or to their role or to the (team)" Most of the submissions at Wednesday's hearing focused on meetings between senior managers at Qantas, a group management committee meeting and a board meeting. After initially saying he would aim to deliver a judgment on Friday, Justice Lee reserved his decision. At a protest at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday, the TWU called on airlines, airports, governments and regulators to ensure fair standards at companies like Swissport, which took over much of the work done by the sacked Qantas workers. "That work has been shoved off to operators like Swissport, who have a horrific international reputation for maiming workers, for underpaying workers, for wage theft," TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said. Recent safety visits revealed that in Brisbane, Swissport has more than 400 safety reports a month, he said. "The Albanese government must put in place a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to stop the spiral of dangerously low standards and ensure there's oversight in such a vital industry to our island nation."
