IBM Australia workers vote to strike

Workers at IBM's Flightdeck in Baulkham hills have voted to strike for better pay and conditions, according to the Australian Services Union, which counted the vote today.

A section of under 100 employees working at the organisation's "Flightdeck" at Baulkham Hills wanted a collective agreement granting them better pay and conditions, and had decided to vote on a strike after IBM failed to address employee concerns.

The ballot opened two weeks ago and closed today, with the votes being counted at 11:00am.

An organiser from the Australian Services Union presiding over the count told ZDNet.com.au that 45 workers voted on the ballot, which he said was well over the number of returned ballots necessary for the vote to stand.

There were nine yes or no questions on the ballot form, which asked if the employees were prepared to go through with forms of industrial action. Each question received a majority yes vote.

The actions which were put to vote and their tallies were:

1. An unlimited number of bans on overtime: 43 yes, 2 no
2. An unlimited number of four-hour stop work meetings: 44 yes, 1 no
3. Rolling four-hour stop work meetings over an unlimited number of 48-hour periods: 45 yes, 0 no
4. An unlimited number of stoppages of work for the duration of a single shift: 43 yes, 1 no, 1 informal
5. Rolling stoppages of work for the duration of the shift over an unlimited number of week-long periods: 45 yes, 0 no
6. An unlimited number of 24-hour stoppages: 43 yes, 2 no
7. An unlimited number of 48-hour stoppages: 40 yes, 5 no
8. An unlimited number of 72-hour stoppages: 40 yes, 5 no
9. An indefinite stoppage of work: 39 yes, 6 no

The organiser said the results meant the ballot for the strike had been won, and it was now up to the union members as to which actions were taken.

The aim of the strike is to achieve rights for all Flightdeck employees including regular pay rises, pay equity, travel allowance, fair redundancy and retrenchment provisions, paid shift handover periods, fair access to leave entitlements and time off in lieu, shift penalties and the option to work from home.