Police have trouble swearing

Industrial scene in Melbourne turns ugly ... Hospital bosses' plan to intimidate nurses during strike ... Vic Police achieve productivity gains by dispensing with the need to swear affidavits ... Fat Tony changes his plea ... Wallopers fail to break-up chicken factory picket line ... Peach Melba reporting  

On August 18, 1855 the Stonemasons' Society in Melbourne issued an ultimatum to employers that they needed time in their day for work, rest and to do what they will.

The global movement for an eight hour day can find its origins carved into the sandstone of the University of Melbourne, quite literally, in the Old Law Quad.

Melbourne became the natural home for those fighting industrial battles. 

Over 150 years later, little has changed. Of late, Melbourne has been immersed in the concerns of organised labour - not just one struggle, but many fights.  

An industrial nursery

The Pinkertons have long been relegated to history, but the idea of employers' bully boys still remains.

The purpose of the Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association is "to provide its members with easy and equal access to a full range of workplace relations services and proficient support from industry experts."

More recenty its services have become a little too easy to access. 

In a controversial memo leaked to the press, the VHIA candidly discussed the option of locking out nurses. 

While VHIA boss Alec Djoneff insisted there was no plan for hospital management to do "a Qantas," such assurances are more difficult to stomach than a hospital lunch - specially given the Vic Health Minister David Davis' stated aim of cutting the annual nursing budget by $104 million.

That's solidarity for you. 

The VHIA advice recommended taking photos of nurses who were pursuing industrial action and recording down their number plates.

These actions may well be in breach of the Information Privacy Act, most notably Information Privacy Principle 1, which states that:

"an organisation must not collect personal information unless the information is necessary for one or more of its functions or activities."  

Unless the VHIA is suggesting that the nurses are taking action that is unlawful (which it has not said to be the case) the taking of photographs could be considered the collection of personal information without consent and without a proper purpose.

Costly advice from VHIA, potentially.

Christmas with the Fuzz

The Police Association, on the other hand, doesn't seem to understand the concept of solidarity - not with nurses anyway.

It believes that pay increases ought to be coupled with productivity improvements.

In it's controversial EBA negotiated this year, the cops secured a pay increase of just under 18 per cent (higher, mind you, than the nurses' demand) and they also promised to be more efficient.

Productivity increases, according to the cops, seem to involve not bothering to swear affidavits correctly.

Saying all those words out loud is too time consuming. This was recently revealed by various witnesses in the case DPP v Marijancevic.

Under cross-examination, Senior Sergeant McIntyre revealed the problem:

"You haven't observed anyone in all of your years in the Crime Department actually going about properly swearing an affidavit? -- That's correct."

Such devotion to efficiency received short shrift from the Court of Appeal bench last week, unsurprisingly, where it was noted that "the fundamental role which oaths and affirmations play in our system of criminal law is readily apparent".

The case was thrown out on the basis that the affidavits were not properly sworn, including those for the purposes of obtaining a search warrant.

Possibly thousands of other convictions are now tainted and maybe thousands of upstanding Victorian citizens currently on holiday in Port Phillip have just discovered a cause of action in trespass.

Demonstrating true leadership Fat Tony has promptly changed his plea with a trial potentially adding $10 million to the already estimated $50 million spent on bringing Mokbel to justice.

Recent twists and turns had suggested that the coppers may avoid this embarrassment, with Mokbel likely to concede that such an application may be outweighed by the remaining, overwhelming evidence against him. But such a reprieve was not forthcoming, with Mokbel successfully changing his plea. 

Fat Tony only represents the tip of a very Fat iceberg.

Think of it as an early Christmas present from the wallopers to the criminal bar, at the taxpayers' expense.

Hardly a productivity saving for Victorian taxpayers.

Copping flack

That's not the only bit of industrial heavying in which the Victorian Police have been involved of late.

In an another epic fail in the solidarity stakes, the coppers have been busting a picket line in a recent strike at Baiada poultry processing plant in Laverton.

About 200 workers walked off the job in early November, seeking better pay and conditions, including in respect of safety, after a 34-year-old man was decapitated by machinery at the plant in August last year.

There was zero sympathy from the men and women in blue, however, who seemed strangely lacking in compassion given the recent flexing of their industrial muscle.

Last Friday (Nov. 11), about 80 police tried to break a 130-strong picket line and failed miserably.

The result: a man was admitted to hospital with crushed legs and dozens of others with serious complaints.

This is one of many instances of heavy handedness by the wallopers.

The busting up of the Occupy Melbourne camp was similarly controversial.

Protesters had their bags confiscated and thrown into a van and were told they would be available for collection at the cop shop.

The van was last seen heading towards the local tip and their possessions were never seen again.

The police are all for collective action until it no longer applies to them.

Peach Melba, signing off