SATURDAY'S Cox Plate faces the prospect of strikes with allegations that the chief executive of the Moonee Valley Racing Club threatened staff with a loss of work if they did not sign a new workplace agreement, reports The Age. It says: Australian Workers Union state secretary Cesar Melhem said chief executive Michael Browell also threatened staff that any of their family or friends who worked at the club on a casual basis could be sacked unless the deal was signed. Mr Melhem said the ''appallin
SATURDAY'S Cox Plate faces the prospect of strikes with allegations that the chief executive of the Moonee Valley Racing Club threatened staff with a loss of work if they did not sign a new workplace agreement, reports The Age.
It says: Australian Workers Union state secretary Cesar Melhem said chief executive Michael Browell also threatened staff that any of their family or friends who worked at the club on a casual basis could be sacked unless the deal was signed.
Mr Melhem said the ''appalling'' threats were made yesterday morning and were a breach of the Fair Work Act, which prohibits coercion when workers are exercising their legal rights. ''Treating workers this way is not acceptable,'' Mr Melhem said. ''If the board have any decency left they should be sacking him ...'' The AWU's 20 members at Moonee Valley include grounds and maintenance staff, as well as workers who move the rails and drive the barrier on race day.