Wild scenes overnight as the protest for equal rights takes over the station. The LVL Communications Union (LCU) has gone rogue and demanded that “systematic abuse, neglect and awful mistreatment of station UHF radios end”. These claims come days after the tragic news of a fellow member who has been left bruised, battered and fighting for a charge due to a fall from heights.
The LCU represents the station fleet of hardworking black-collar UHF—the unsung heroes of Antarctic communications. It insists that its members have had enough and will switch from channel 7 to channel 12 at midday in a move of solidarity.
“Our members have had enough. They are over being treated like a piece of trash,” said one spokesman.
“First, they give us numbers over names. Now we face the possibility of being phased out and replaced with those low battery-life headsets I've seen getting priority over us in all Hagg trips. Where’s our trip?”.
Number 76, a retired UHF from the glory days of the late 90s, states that it's nothing personal – every radio is down here to do a job – but the safety of his fellow members must be investigated.
In more shocking revelations, 76 reveals there are now feelings of corrosive jealousy towards not only the headsets but the biggest bludger of them all, the Makita radio.
“Mate, I'm telling you all he does is sit in rosella pumping Triple J to the Chippies, while we freeze our batteries off keeping the workers in the loop of who has the ute," 76 fumed.
"It's just not acceptable. One morning in those katabatics and he would fake a toothache so Nuyina would pick him up early. Mr Makita wouldn’t know what hard work is.”
The final straw came this week when notorious radio abuser Steve – yes, that’s right, Steve from Burnie – dropped number 12 from the top of the wind turbine during what has now been documented as “Monthly Maintenance.”
Number 12s fall follows a string of incidents that include:
- Number 102 being misplaced twice in one week
- Number 65 being left at sea after a fall from the IRB around at West Arm
- Number 16 being run over by a Hagg
Union representatives claim they are not asking for miracles here, they just demand the following actions be taken.
- 50-50 share of communications in Hagglunds trips
- Radio respect training
- An apology from Steve
- All Makita radios relocated to Casey or Davis
When contacted, Steve said: “It's just a radio, there's hundreds of them on the station.”
“Is that right?” 76 snapped back.
“Mate. She was a model XTR-5000 and was about to retire at the end of the season. How do we expect you to look after your pliers when you can't even look after a UHF?”
As the war of radio rights erupts, bets have been taken on who will be the first to crack, with LVL Communications Union looking like it has the edge in this ongoing saga.
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James McKinlay, Carpenter(& LCU delegate)
