CWU T&S WEEKLY BULLETIN NO 2021 / 32
8 August 2021
OPTUS CLARIFIES COVID ISSUE
Last week's bulletin contained the story that Optus was asking staff about their Covid vaccine status. We were concerned and wrote to Optus. Here the response:
In relation to your email, I'd like to confirm that Optus has no general requirement for employees to disclose their vaccination status. As you know, the Australian Government is encouraging people to participate in the COVID-19 vaccination program and Optus is doing what it can to support our people to take part in this should they choose to do so, including paid time off if needed. Some employees may be requesting flexibility / time off work in order to get vaccinated and of course in that context it would be relevant for team members to share this with their leader.
Absent the above context, if your members are being asked to disclose this and they are uncomfortable, please rest assured that there is no general requirement by Optus to share this information. If you are comfortable to share with me the area of our business or leader where team members have raised concerns, I can ensure that the relevant leaders are aware of Optus' position on this and reinforce this message to ensure that there is no confusion.
POST DISMISSAL PAYOUT
You no doubt saw the story. Post agreed to pay former CEO Christine Holgate a lump sum of $1 million plus $100,000 in legal costs Post did not make any admission of liability over her departure.
TELSTRA BARGAINING AGENT
Our union is automatically a bargaining agent, so you do not have to do anything. However you can appoint an alternative bargaining agent, or appoint yourself as a bargaining agent. The `Notice of Employee Representational Rights' issued by Telstra provides further information.
PRIVACY BREACH/SECRET FILES IN WORKDAY TO END - MAYBE
Telstra has responded to our representations re the use of secret files in Workday.
This was discovered in the E000 area but may be used across Telstra.
We have responded advising that we wish to meet face to face and that we will take other action.
SECRET FILES IN WORKDAY - TELSTRA RESPONSE - KEY POINTS
The full response is below. The key parts appear to be these:
- at the time that employees personal information may have been shared and it would be reasonable to try to contain further circulation where possible.
- there were instances where feedback was visible to all internal staff which appeared to have been intended just for the employee
- a manager had recorded notes from a 1:1 coaching session in the feedback tool as public
- while managers are entitled to record their observations and take notes as part of their day-to-day management of staff; the feedback tool in Workday is not the appropriate place for these items to be captured.
- As a result I have asked that managers be reminded of how the feedback function in Workday should be used
- There is currently no intention to disable the feedback function
- I have asked that these specific managers be briefed on the correct use of the Workday feedback tool and advised that this is not the appropriate place for manager notes/comments such as observations, records of meetings, KPI/coaching discussions, etc. to be stored
POST SPF LWG ON NIGHT SHIFT
Given the reports from several members re the meetings etc of the LWG, we wrote to Post as follows:
Further to my email re the terms of reference for the LWG (JWP).
I have a number of objections
1. No terms of reference were agreed.
2. Management unilaterally issued written directions to the LWG about the "scope" - whatever that means.
3. The LWG did not know the what it was being asked to do.
4. Management directed the LWG that its only role was to look at day and evening shifts.
5. This was later refined by management to say that they only had to decide the rotation period.
6. Management directly interfered with the workings of the LWG and therefore its efficacy.
7. The outcome is that what was proposed as a genuine proposal to allow local staff work out a solution to a management proposal was derailed by management who wanted only their predetermined outcome.
I believe that we need to start again.
I ask that the TCM be reconvened to determine the terms of reference so that the LWG can operate as it is designed to do.
NEED FOR JOBKEEPER 2
Sydney and most of NSW is in lockdown for at least another month due to the Prime Minister's botched vaccine program. But this time, workers don't have JobKeeper. Last year, union-won JobKeeper saved the Australian economy and the jobs and livelihoods of countless workers, because it provided financial support while protecting job security.
The ACTU has been campaigning for the return of JobKeeper since it was prematurely ended in March.
FWC SHOOTS DOWN MCCAIN'S SHABBY TREATMENT OF TAS WORKERS
The FWC confirmed that McCain's repeated lockout of workers at its plant in Smithton Tas was unlawful. This is an important legal and moral victory for McCain's loyal and dedicated Tasmanian workforce, who kept going right through the pandemic, despite the risk to their own health, to ensure McCain's products continued to make their way onto supermarkets.
These workers even agreed to lower pay rises during the pandemic to help keep the company in business.
McCain repaid this loyalty and dedication by locking these workers out of their jobs - not once, but twice - despite them having not taken any industrial action. These workers deserve better than McCain's shabby treatment.
This important decision upholds the right of working people to strike and says that employers can't behave like thugs by locking workers out illegally.
These workers are merely asking to be paid as much as workers doing the same job in Ballarat where they're paid 15% more.
The ACTU congratulates the AMWU and McCain's Tasmanian workforce on their hard-fought victory. ACTU.
SECRET FILES IN WORKDAY - TELSTRA RESPONSE
We have not been able to find any record that indicates personal employee information has been linked to a job advertisement and shared externally or that personal employee information has been shared internally, other than those details previously outlined (see email dated 20 April 2021 in the attached) which can be found through the employee profile in our Workday system.
I have engaged our privacy team regarding your advice that a manager had submitted a request in relation to this matter and confirmed that this had occurred and the privacy team investigated the issue. Their investigation did not show any employee records or personal information had been shared externally.
As a result, the request to have the advertisement removed was not actioned.
In response to your comments about that same manager asking staff not to discuss the issue, I do not find this action inappropriate given that the manager thought at the time that employees personal information may have been shared and it would be reasonable to try to contain further circulation where possible.
The investigation from the privacy team did highlight that there were instances where feedback was visible to all internal staff which appeared to have been intended just for the employee and their management chain. It was determined that where the feedback had been submitted as `public' it was visible to all internal staff.
The investigation also found that a manager had recorded notes from a 1:1 coaching session in the feedback tool as public.
The manager in question confirmed they meant to share the feedback with the employee only.
As a result, the manager asked if that single instance of feedback could be removed from public view, which it was.
I have already advised that this is the only instance of feedback being removed from the system to date.
In relation to your concerns more generally, while managers are entitled to record their observations and take notes as part of their day-to-day management of staff; the feedback tool in Workday is not the appropriate place for these items to be captured.
As a result I have asked that managers be reminded of how the feedback function in Workday should be used and we included detail during the annual review period for all staff regarding how to correctly submit feedback and what the varying levels of visibility meant.
There is currently no intention to disable the feedback function or change the options available to employees when submitting feedback.
However, the relevant page in our Ask HR employee information site has been updated to include information regarding how to submit feedback correctly and also how to submit a request for removal of feedback if it is entered incorrectly in the future.
In addition to these steps, given the concerns raised by yourself as well as some individual employees in the ESAP centres, I have asked that these specific managers be briefed on the correct use of the Workday feedback tool and advised that this is not the appropriate place for manager notes/comments such as observations, records of meetings, KPI/coaching discussions, etc. to be stored.
I have also asked that any manager notes of this nature that have been recorded in the employee feedback section be removed from the Workday system.
As stated, managers are entitled to take notes, but I agree they should not be stored in the feedback tool.
Those employees who have raised concerns about confidential information being on their f
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Authorised by Dan Dwyer Branch Secretary
CWU Telecommunications & Services Branch, Sydney City, NSW.
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