Postal
A quick history to the Mercedes Sprinter van dispute
(17 April, 2009): For nearly a year, the CEPU has challenged the safety of the new Mercedes Sprinter vans bought by Post for use in Transport.
We challenged Post to demonstrate that the larger Mercedes vans - that had no side windows and limited peripheral vision - were fit for purpose.
There are a stack of stories you can read on this on our website, you can read some more by clicking here...
Here's 12 months of history in a nutshell:
- CEPU members in transport at Australia Post complain about the vans, we represent their concerns, Post ignores our views and refuses to act;
- The CEPU bans driving the vans on safety grounds;
- Post takes the CEPU to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission arguing we were taking unprotected industrial action;
- The Commission says the union should drop its ban - we don't, ignoring the recommendation because the Commission did not rule the vans as safe to drive and calling on members to protect themselves by following the law which allows employees to not perform work they believe is unsafe;
- Post takes us back to the Commission, the Commission says the union can't impose a ban but that employees are within their rights to decline work that they believe is unsafe;
- A Health and Safety Representative who works in Victoria slaps a Provisional Improvement Notice on the Mercedes Vans in July 2008;
- Post writes to Comcare, calling on it to investigate the safety of the vans and the way Post introduced the Mercedes into their fleet;
- Following eight months of investigations, Comcare brings down its report saying that Post has to do a better job of hazard identification and needs to work on its consultation with employees;
- After calling on Comcare to investigate the issue, what's Post's response? Take the advice, deal with the issues, make the vans safer? Nope - instead it announced this week that it will spend more money on lawyers appealing against the findings of the very investigation that it called on Comcare to perform.
Again: Post asked Comcare to investigate the safety of the Mercedes vans.
Comcare investigated - here's what they said (click here)