Strike cloud clears at IBM Australia
The chance of industrial action at IBM's Baulkham Hills, Sydney facility has dropped dramatically after a workers' meeting last night broadly accepted the direction that union negotiations with Big Blue had taken.
Sally McManus
(Credit: ZDNet.com.au)
Unionised workers, who had voted to strike for better pay and conditions, met last night to discuss the latest offer made by IBM. The first offer was rejected two weeks ago.
"Our members decided last night to accept how things are going," Australian Services Union branch secretary Sally McManus told ZDNet.com.au today, with IBM having met most of the key demands, meaning members were happy with the progress and wanted to finalise the deal.
McManus said there were a few things that needed to be tidied up, but that at this point, she estimated the probability of industrial action at about one per cent. Workers have set a timeline of two weeks for the deal to be wrapped up.
The strike action, despite the small number of employees involved, could have wreaked havoc amongst IBM customers such as Qantas and Westpac, although these companies were not concerned when the issue was broached.
IBM could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.