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CWU: Your Voice in Enterprise Bargaining |
Telstra Bargaining Update #7 - 25 June 2012
The most recent meeting between Telstra and the unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) was held on 21 June. The Pay and Classifications working party met on 18 June. There has yet to be a meeting of the working party being set up to deal with shifts and rostering.
Overview of progress to date
As has been indicated in earlier Updates, the negotiations over matters such as dispute resolution, consultative arrangements, leave and union delegate rights have been progressing well and these matters are close to finalisation. A summary of what has been agreed about dispute resolution can be found at the end of this Update.
The pay and classification issues are more difficult as they go to the heart of the way Telstra employees' jobs are defined, how employees progress through the company and how (and how much) they are paid along the way. These were issues that could not be agreed upon during the last round of EA negotiations and led to the two-part collective agreements (Category 1/Category 2) we have today.
Possible changes to arrangements governing irregular hours of work (shifts, rosters, committed scheduling) may also be difficult to agree upon as they have the potential to affect employees pay and working conditions significantly.
Last but not least, Telstra's proposals for changes to redundancy processes (reported on below) have only just been tabled. This too is an issue of critical importance to Telstra employees and it is unlikely that any differences between Telstra and the SBU in this area will be resolved quickly.
The CWU is committed to trying to reach an agreement which is acceptable to members and which delivers a good pay rise within the shortest possible timeframe. The fact that this Update is longer than usual, however, reflects the range and difficulty of the issues that still have to be resolved.
Pay and Classifications
When negotiations for this EA began, Telstra indicated it saw essentially two options for dealing with the current differences between pay and classification structures in the company. Its preferred option was to extend its "Job Family" model to all employees.
Telstra says that over 18,000 employees are currently covered by this model.
The alternative was to retain the dual system (Part A, Part B; Category 1/Category 2) for those in the CFW and TW workstreams, possibly with some streamlining of classifications and updating of Job Descriptions.
These two alternatives still remain on the bargaining table as options. However, the SBU has indicated that it is interested in exploring a third option which would contain elements of both current systems and provide the basis for a unified employment structure in the company.
The SBU has outlined what it has called a "developmental" model which would keep employee skills and experience at the centre of the job and pay structure and provide for annual negotiated pay rises (as in Category 1/Part A) but would allow a salary range rather than one single classification pay point (as in Category 2/Part B). Placement in and progression along the salary range, including any "performance" related element of pay, would have to be tied to clear and explicit criteria.
Telstra has yet to respond to this proposal other than to ask for further information as to how it would work and to how current employees would be "translated" across to it. This issue is scheduled for discussion on 2 July.
Obviously, this aspect of the current negotiations is of key interest to CWU members. Around 80% of those in Telstra who are employed under the Category 1/Part A system are in the technical grades where pay and progression based on skills, experience and responsibility (rather than some other thing called "performance") is a way of life.
The CWU also believes that such a system is well suited to a company in a technologically dynamic industry where skill-based productivity rather than simple cost-cutting will ultimately provide the basis for competitive advantage. Whether it can be successfully combined with a system (the Telstra Job Family model) which broadbands skill levels and gives management virtually total discretion over pay remains to be seen.
Members will be kept informed of progress in this crucial area and will, of course, have the final say about what is acceptable to them, remembering that retention of the current "dual" model remains an option.
Redundancy and Redeployment
The most significant new item to be discussed at the negotiations on 21 June was Telstra's proposal for new redundancy procedures.
As indicated previously, Telstra is not seeking any changes to the basic entitlement (i.e. up to 80 weeks payout). But it has flagged a change of strategy which would put much more emphasis on redeployment than on redundancy.
Under the proposal, any employee whose position was redundant would automatically be considered for redeployment and would continue working with this goal in mind during the current 4-6 week notice period. A new internal programme would be established aimed at maximising opportunities for redeployment including through retraining where appropriate.
At the same time the 2 weeks early leaver and $4500 job search payments would no longer be available.
Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the proposal, however, is the requirement that employees accept redeployment to "suitable" jobs whether or not they would prefer to leave the company. An employee refusing a "suitable" redeployment opportunity would not be eligible for a redundancy payment.
So who is to say what is "suitable"?
The CWU welcomes a focus on retaining staff rather than pushing them out the door (while sometimes also sending their jobs overseas). But we do not believe members will accept a scheme which directs them into work which is clearly unsuitable - work in which they are very likely to be unhappy, or which is at a significantly lower pay level or which represents a downgrading of their current standing in the workforce.
Such outcomes would also clearly be at odds with the aim of increasing productivity - a goal which business, government and unions all agree should be at the centre of workplace policy.
Unhappy workplaces are generally not productive workplaces.
At the meeting the unions also questioned whether any one set of arrangements would be suitable for all employees. It is likely that any scheme such as Telstra is proposing would need to be fine-tuned to reflect the very different circumstances facing different sections of the workforce e.g. those close to retiring age vs those in the early stages of their careers; those with families vs those without (i.e. re-location issues) and so on.
The unions will be addressing these issues in detail in two weeks' time.
Dispute Resolution Clause
The parties have nearly finalised the disputes resolution clause. The new clause effectively extends the rights won by the CWU and other Telstra unions during the last EA campaign to all Telstra employees while at the same time improving some parts of the process.
An explanation of the new clause can be found at the end of this Update.
Other issues
The negotiators agreed to defer consideration of a number of items, including job security clauses proposed by the unions and the wording of the consultative clause, to their next meeting. An improved offer on delegates training has been made by Telstra and the unions will respond to that at the next meeting. They have also indicated they want to see delegate access to certain facilities (phone, meeting room etc) provided for in the new Agreement.
Next meeting
The full negotiating group will meet again on Thursday 28 June. It will be discussing flexible work, allowances and provisions for retail employees.
ENTERPRISE BARGAINING 2012 -DISPUTE RESOLUTION CLAUSE
Telstra and the unions' Single Bargaining Unit have finalised a Dispute Resolution Clause to be included in the Enterprise Agreement which is currently being negotiated.
Discussions have been based on the Dispute Resolution provisions of the Telstra Enterprise Agreement 2010-12. As previously reported, none of the negotiators has been seeking any major change to the clause. However Telstra wanted greater certainty about how the steps in the dispute process should be followed while the unions wanted some simplification of the arbitration provisions.
As before, disputes will be dealt with initially at a local level (with the local manager) and then, if not resolved, escalated up to the two-up manager, then to senior HR level (i.e. to the Director/Executive Director HR for the relevant Business Unit and to the Director-Workplace Relations.)
There are timelines attached to these steps. They are designed to ensure that when a dispute arises both sides recognise it should be dealt with promptly, not left for another day.
The new wording of the clause makes it clear that all these steps will have to be gone through before a matter can be referred to Fair Work Australia for settlement. It won't be possible for either Telstra or an employee to skip a stage in the process except in circumstances where both sides agree to that or where the matter is so urgent that there genuinely is not time to go through all the normal steps.
It is only after this internal process has been exhausted that the matter can be referred to Fair Work Australia for conciliation and ultimately for arbitration. Under the new draft clause, arbitration can be requested by either party to a dispute without Fair Work Australia having to give a written opinion that this is the best way forward.
Telstra and the SBU believe that the amended clause meets the objectives of both parties in the negotiations and will give certainty to employees about how the process works. The full wording of the clause will be available to employees once the drafting of the agreement as whole has been finalised and it can be considered in that context.
Telstra Bargaining Update #6 - 15 June 2012
The most recent meeting between Telstra and the unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) took place on Thursday 14 June. It continued discussion of the items reported on in Update #5 i.e. consultation, leave arrangements, delegates training and arrangements governing irregular hours of work (shifts, rosters etc).
In addition discussions commenced about the pay differential between current EA Category 1 and ECA Part B employees.
Consultation
The CWU and other unions have made proposals as to the circumstances in which we believe employees and their unions need to be consulted at both the higher, institutional level and at the local level. We have also proposed wording that goes to the question of when consultation about major change should occur if it is to be meaningful.
In the SBU's view, if consultation is not to be an empty formality it needs to occur at an early stage of the decision making process - not after the ink is all but dry on the outsourcing contract.
The SBU sought clarification on the relationship between the general clause and the specific consultation obligations laid out in the redundancy provisions of the EA and ECAs.
Telstra will be responding to the SBU on these issues at the next negotiating meeting.
Leave
No reduction in current entitlements is being proposed, but the parties are considering possible changes which could be of benefit to employees.
Delegates training
As reported in Update #5, the unions are seeking an increase in the number of days of paid leave available for delegates training. The unions have now put forward some concrete proposals and anticipate a response from Telstra at the next meeting.
Shifts/Rosters/Committed Scheduling
Discussions in this area are still at an early stage and further clarification is being sought by the unions about the precise nature of Telstra's proposals in this area.
Telstra has laid out some broad objectives including simplifying and aligning the different provisions which currently govern irregular hours of work. But as members well know, the devil is in the detail.
Telstra has undertaken to give a fuller explanation of its proposals in this area by the next meeting.
Pay differential
The difference between company rates in the current Telstra EA and those in the Telstra ECAs is a legacy of the last round of bargaining. It has produced the obviously inequitable situation where one group of employees is getting paid less than another to do exactly the same work.
All parties recognise that this situation must be resolved in the new agreement if it is to be seen by employees as fair.
Discussion of how the gap might be closed has begun but the parties have agreed that it is best to deal with it when other issues, especially those relating to pay and classification, have been further progressed i.e. in the context of an emerging agreement "package" rather than as a stand- alone question.
Job security
The SBU has undertaken to provide Telstra with a draft job security clause at the next negotiating meeting.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the full negotiating group will be held on Thursday 21 June. It is scheduled to discuss redundancy, redeployment and job security as well as to deal further with the issues reported on above.
It will also receive feedback from the pay and classification structures working party which will be meeting the prior Monday 18 June.
Telstra Bargaining Update #5 - 1 June 2012
Regular weekly negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement in Telstra are continuing. This week the working party considering pay and classification structures met on Monday 21 May and the full negotiating group on Thursday 24 May.
Progress on disputes resolution, consultation
As previously reported, the main negotiating teams are at present concentrating on a number of procedural items in the proposed agreement as well as on some areas where relatively straightforward issues are being considered (leave, delegates training).
We are close to finalising a dispute resolution clause which will effectively extend the provisions of the Fair Work Act in this area to the great majority of Telstra employees.
There is also general agreement on the wording of the consultation clause though the parties are still discussing what form of consultation is appropriate and necessary at local level.
Some minor wording issues are still being dealt with in relation to leave provisions. As regards delegate training, the Telstra unions are arguing for a larger number of training days and will be putting specific proposals to Telstra at the next negotiating meeting.
Classifications and pay
The issues being explored by the working party looking at current work/pay models are complex. Although both Telstra and the CWU would in
principle prefer to see one single pay and classification structure in the company, there are some considerable differences in outlook between us in this area.
CWU members expect Enterprise Agreements to deliver annual pay rises for all employees, not only for those who meet management "expectations". Under Telstra's preferred pay system it is possible for some employees to receive no pay rise at all, depending on management's assessment of their performance.
The working party has signalled these differences to the main negotiating team. In the meantime Telstra is still providing information about its preferred performance rating system, its banding and job description structure and its remuneration ranges.
The CWU is now in a better position to make a comparison between the Job Descriptions which are part of the current Enterprise Agreement (Category 1) and the Generic Job Descriptions in the Telstra Job Family model and to see how readily they might be aligned.
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