Freightliner: union wins three extra safety reps

Your union has had a win with the completion of the Freightliner OH&S committee elections, where we successfully argued for three additional representatives, taking the total amount to four.

We are now focussing on putting pressure on the company to find a suitable replacement for the Newcastle depot, as it’s clear it has outlived its suitability.

There have also been some personnel and administrative changes within the company since the sale, including:

• Genesee & Wyoming are now starting to run Freightliner from Adelaide. They have cleaned out the Pymble office and most reporting is now going to Adelaide based managers (Safety, HR, etc)
• the State Operations Manager who oversaw NSW operations and looked after the Newcastle & Mudgee coal / Grain Operations has been moved sideways, and the local Operations manager has taken over these responsibilities.

Loco division representatives will be meeting with Freightliner management next week to discuss some general concerns, including rostering issues. We’ll continue to keep members informed.