Sock Nazis Spark Casino Strike

Date: 14 April 2000

Intrusive management practices, including written warnings for staff who wear navy rather than black socks, is behind strike action that will hit Sydney's Star City Casino this weekend.

Workers will work off the job from 4am Saturday until 4am Sunday over the Casino management's refusal to enter into meaningful talks on an enterprise agreement to replace the one that expired on March 30.

It is the first strike action ever at the Casino and follows a sustained organizing campaign of the 2800 workers by the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union. A further 500 members have joined the union this week alone, brining coverage to around 70 per cent.

Casino delegates Sean Dwyer and Stephen Clark told the NSW Labor Council last night that the deadlocked negotiations have occurred against the backdrop of heavy-handed management adopting stalling tactics.

Dwyer cited the socks incident as a sign of the "extremely regimented" manner in which the workforce is treated. This also included authorizing routine security checks of workers' lockers.

At the same time the management was refusing to address the key concerns that workers had put up for negotiation in the enterprise agreement.

These were:
- Passive smoking, particularly for croupiers who have smoke blown in their faces.
- Protection against abusive customers
- Security, including installing metal detectors to ensure patrons are not carrying knives or other weapons.

The NSW Labor Council has supported the casino workers and secretary Michael Costa will join them Saturday morning when they walk out the door.

For further information

Contact:	Peter Lewis
Union:	Labor Council of NSW
WWW:	http://workers.labor.net.au/

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