Sex Toy & Crotchless Panties Spark (Alcoa) Worker Revolt

[matcom]

<snip>

A ROW over a gift of an apparent sex toy and crotchless panties, which led to a strike by about 400 workers from resources giant Alcoa, goes before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) today.

An Alcoa worker of 15 years was sacked by the company earlier this week for gross misconduct, after the present to his female co-worker, a trade's assistant, as an office Christmas gift.
Despite no complaint emanating from the woman, the company decided to go ahead with disciplinary action, saying the fitter at the Pinjarra alumina refinery had breached the company's harassment policy.

Following the dismissal, 200 maintenance workers at Alcoa's Pinjarra and Wagerup refineries walked off the job in protest, as well as at the company's two bauxite mine sites at Huntley and Willowdale in the Darling Range.

They were followed yesterday by construction subcontractors at the company's new $400-million plant at Pinjarra and a handful of Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) members.

Bosses from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), who have accused Alcoa of a puritanical attitude, say their members will not return until the worker is reinstated.

AMWU state secretary Jock Ferguson said that before the incident, the worker had an exemplary employment record.

"It is not the item that is causing us a problem, it is the process the employer used in regards to charging this individual without any recourse to representation," Mr Ferguson told radio 6PR.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12146364-13762,00.html

[xchrom]

1. jock ferguson?!?!

wonder if he's cute?

[blondeatlast]

2. Disciplinary action was indeed called for, but without a complaint from

the woman, the firing was too much.

Still, the "gift" speaks to colossal poor judgment on the part of the giver. That alone should give management cause for concern!

[Misunderestimator]

3. Exactly.

[interupt]

4. Wait a minute

I live in the Perth area and this story has changed very quickly.

Read the top line where it says "apparent sex toy" which turns out to be a massager. The crotchless panties thing developed in the last day which defies belief.

http://www.abc.net.au/wa/news/200502/s1296387.htm

[blondeatlast]

5. Where does it say that the panties were not found?

Your story mentions nothing whatsoever about what either of the gifts were.

With the evidence presented, I stand on my earlier post.

Edit: Even if the only gift was indeed a non-mechanical massager, not a sex toy, it still is an inapproriate gift for an office worker, regardless of the panties, IMHO.