Union win on permanent jobs

As a result of ongoing negotiations with the union, PN Bulk has agreed to start the process of converting all fixed-term employees to permanent full-time.

They have also acknowledged that fixed-term contracts were only supposed to provide labour flexibility for special projects and were never meant to replace permanent employment.

The increase in fixed-term contracts has been of considerable concern to the union over the last few years as the number of permanent jobs has declined and fixed-term contracts have continued to rise to about 100 employees in PN Bulk.

While it was not the intention of the senior managers at PN Bulk, workers on these contracts often feel their jobs are constantly under threat and are afraid to speak up about conditions, put complaints in writing or become a union member (or even associate with the union) fearing that their contract would not be renewed.

As PN Bulk begins the process of converting employees from contract to permanent, the usual performance reviews will be applied.

Members are encouraged to contact their local delegate or organiser if they feel they are being unfairly targeted or held back from being converted to permanent employment during this process – in particular if performance issues which had not been previously mentioned by their local manager are suddenly raised and used to question whether the employee should be made permanent.