Harness racing in Victoria to be crippled

Harness racing in Victoria will be severely disrupted from Friday when stewards take industrial action.

Australian Workers' Union Victorian Secretary, Cesar Melhem, said the action would cost the TAB tens of thousands per race meet, depriving the industry of the flow-on monies.

He said the 14 stewards were reluctant to harm the industry they love so much, but had no other option after being double-crossed by Harness Racing Victoria, which had reneged on an in-principle enterprise agreement made just last month.

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"They are paid incredibly poorly when you compare them to workers in other fields or to their counterparts in NSW and WA," he said.

"Stipendiary Stewards work 45-hour weeks and are lucky if they take home$49,000 per year," he said.

"We know for instance that a person at the same level as a stipendiary steward in WA can earn $90,000-plus per year, for a 35 hour week."

Mr Melhem said the in-principle agreement which HRV had reached with the AWU in February would have given the stewards aimmediate pay rise which would have then been compounded with wage rises in July and August and in following years.

"HRV was keen to reach an agreement in February to avert industrial action at the Inter Dominion, the most prestigious harness race series in the Southern Hemisphere," Mr Melhem said.

"Our stewards accepted that deal and in good faith averted their industrial action at the Inter Dominion, only to be double-crossed after the race was run."

Mr Melhem said HRV had then retracted its in-principle agreement and instead told the AWU it would delay the first increase in the stewards' wages for a year until next February.

"This will result in our members' losing thousands of dollars, because their wage increases will not be compounded throughout the next 12 months," Mr Melhem said.

"We had a handshake deal which the stewards were relying upon in order to support themselves and their families," he said.

Mr Melhem said the stewards had voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking the industrial action in a secret ballot held last weekend.

"It's about time these stewards were paid the respect they deserve - after all, they are the most vital cog of the racing industry," he said.

"Holding a race without them would be like playing a game of football with no umpire."

Mr Melhem made the comments afters the AWU held a mass meeting of the stewards on Tuesday, ahead of the industrial action.