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Alcoa deal 'on'
PERTH: Alcoa is to go ahead
with its private agreement for a 36
hour working week with Western
Australian unions despite the op
position of the Arbitration Com
mission and the Federal and State
Governments.
The Federal Government has said
there is nothing it can do about such a
private agreement and the State Gov
ernment said it would monitor the ex
tent to which both sides of the agree
ment were observed.
Last month in a decision seen as an
attempt to kill productivity bargaining
the Arbitration Commission rejected
the agreement as being against the
public interest.
About 2,000 workers will begin the
| nine-day fortnight officially from
March 1 and the company has called
in the union that represents its clerical
staff for talks on a similar agreement,
i it was announced on Friday.
The secretary of the Western Aus
tralian Trades and Labour Council, Mr
Peter Cook, said the reduced hours
would unofficially begin on January 1
but the benefit for the workers would
be made up in extra annual leave for
the months of January and February.
The general manager of Alcoa, Mr
Jim Vann, said it was anticipated that
the agreement would mean between 200
and 250 new jobs by the end of next
year. The closure of one of the five units
at Pinjarra, to cut production by 10 per
cent, would affect up to 30 of the
potential jobs.
It would have been morally wrong of
the company not to adhere to the agree
ment.
The Acting Premier, Mr O'Connor,
said the agreement should not be re
garded as a precedent and the Govern
ment would contmuc to oppose reduced
working hours.
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