|
CWU: Your Voice in Enterprise Bargaining |
CWUnion: Your Voice in Enterprise Bargaining
Two meetings between Telstra and the unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) have taken place since the last Update one on Tuesday 14 and one on Thursday 16 August.
These meetings were largely taken up with fine tuning the wording around a number of items such as ETT, log on and travel arrangements and essential customer servicing. Bargaining Update #13 reported on the issues being considered in these areas which are largely of a "housekeeping" nature and involve no major changes to existing arrangements.
On the big ticket items still outstanding- pay rises and hours of work and scheduling - there is still no final agreement although progress continues to be made on finding common ground. The next few weeks will be critical in determining whether we can negotiate outcomes in these areas which will satisfy members.
Pay rises and pay principles
The CWU continues to press for wage rises that will provide a comfortable buffer against inflation over the next three years and which reflect Telstra's improved commercial position.
The company has returned to positive growth this year in terms of both earnings and net profits - the first such growth since 2009.
As far as pay structures go, the two pay models currently in operation are set to continue. The SBU is seeking greater transparency, however, for the way any performance-based component in pay is determined. We have argued that:
Recognition of Prior Learning
At an earlier stage of these negotiations, the CWU proposed that Telstra provide Recognition of Prior Learning opportunities to employees who do not have any formal recognition/certification of their skills under the current national qualifications framework.
Such recognition is useful for all employees but especially for those facing retrenchment.
Telstra has now agreed to assist employees to gain such recognition where the qualifications or competencies in question are within its scope as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO).
Telstra policies
For many years, the CWU has been concerned that many matters affecting the working lives of members have not in fact been covered by registered agreements but are dealt with through Telstra policy which, in the notorious words of the Telstra AWAs, can be "varied from time to time" i.e. are written in sand.
It is true that under current laws not all workplace issues can be dealt with through enforceable clauses in collective agreements. That makes it all the more important, however, that unions have knowledge of and input into policies affecting their members.
Telstra has now agreed to consult with employees and unions about any changes to company policies that may affect pay and conditions. Although there are no guarantees about the outcomes of consultation, this is major step forward in terms of offering protection to members against arbitrary and unreasonable changes in policy, especially where they work to employees' disadvantage.
Next meeting
The SBU is scheduled to meet again with Telstra on Monday 20 August.
17 August 2012
The most recent negotiations between Telstra and the Telstra unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) were held on Thursday, 9 August 2012. The parties are still working within a schedule that is designed to see pay rises for all Telstra employees by October. A number of major issues are still well short of final resolution however.
Pay and classification structures
It is now clearly too late to reach agreement on a single integrated pay and classification structure. As we flagged in Update #12, the new agreement will in all likelihood retain the two current models - the Job Family and Workstream - though the objective will be to have all other conditions the same or almost the same for all employees covered by the agreement.
Employees doing CFW or TW work (or Job Family equivalent) would have a choice as to which pay system they are on - the company rate system or the performance pay system. This choice would apply not only to those currently on these arrangements but also to new starters and those coming off AWAs.
If this approach is finally agreed upon it would represent some improvement on the current "job movement rules" which to date have prevented some members on AWAs from coming onto the Company Rate system.
Telstra has not given up on its longer-term objective of creating a single pay/work model however and it is likely that the agreement will contain some formal commitments by both the company and employee representatives to continue to explore options for an integrated model.
Shifts and scheduling
Earlier Updates have reported on this matter and Telstra's initial "wish list" of changes in this area has been circulated. A copy can be found on the CWU's new EA website www.t-bargaining.com.au.
No agreement has been reached on any of Telstra's proposals, the more radical of which would significantly affect availability of overtime payments for all Telstra employees.
For its part, the CWU has been actively pursuing the issue of 12 hour shifts on behalf of members. Some members already work 12 hour shifts and wish to retain them. Others want this option to be available to them.
The matter is still under discussion but at a minimum it has been agreed that where 12 hour shifts are currently being worked these arrangements will remain.
Travel arrangements
A number of travel-related issues have been under discussion. The CWU has clarified with Telstra that log-on arrangements that currently apply to certain Service Delivery staff do not apply to other sections of the workforce (e.g. Network Construction) and have not been agreed to in relation to them.
Where these log-on arrangements don't apply, staff may be entitled to Excess Travelling Time (ETT). At present ETT entitlements are contained in the Telstra General Conditions of Employment Award rather than in the Enterprise Agreement. The CWU is now seeking to have them included in the new EA as a safeguard against any changes that could occur as part of future award modernisation negotiations.
Telstra has agreed to this process and at present we are negotiating wording that will clarify the situations in which ETT must be paid.
Telstra has also agreed to wording that will ensure that travel in an employee's own time will be appropriately compensated for irrespective of whether the travel is by air or in a Telstra vehicle.
Delegates training
The SBU is waiting for a response from Telstra to its most recent proposal for a total of 300 days each year to be available for paid delegates training leave.
Next meetings
Meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, 14 August and Thursday, 16 August 2012.
13 August 2012
There have been several meetings between Telstra and the unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) since the E-bulletin last reported on progress.
Meetings are now being held twice a week in a bid to resolve issues in time to allow all employees to receive a pay rise by October. Bargaining Update #11 reported on the meeting held on 25 July.
Any E-bulletin reader who has not seen that Update can find it on the CWU's new website www.t-bargaining.com.au.
Two further meetings have been held since that time, one on Monday 30 July and the other on Thursday 2 August. Both were largely taken up with discussions over pay and classification issues.
Pay and classifications structures
It has become apparent over the last few meetings that the development of a single pay and classification system that would meet the objectives of both the SBU and Telstra would not be achieved within the timeframe that we are working to in these negotiations (i.e. one that delivers a pay rise for all employees by October).
This means that it is likely that the two current systems - the Job Family and Workstream models - will be carried over into the new agreement. Telstra has indicated, however, that it still wishes to pursue this issue over the life of this next EA with a view to having an agreed unified system ready for introduction in the following EA.
Just how such a process would be structured and formalised is yet to be discussed.
Pay rises
The unions are still arguing for a guaranteed real (i.e. above the expected rate of inflation) pay rise for all Telstra employees.
The CWU wants this to be on top of the 2.37% increase which is needed to close the gap between the company rate for Category 1 EA employees and Part A ECA employees.
Closing that gap is one of the more obvious steps that need to be taken if there is to be any move towards aligning pay and conditions across the company. It should be done now and doesn't need to wait until all the other differences between the ways people are paid in Telstra are addressed.
Redundancy and redeployment
There remain issues to be resolved in relation to redundancy and redeployment procedures, although as previously reported no changes are being proposed to the core entitlement and Telstra has now agreed that this will not be at risk if an employee rejects an unsuitable redeployment offer.
Telstra have also agreed that any new procedures should make provision for employees for whom there is no realistic prospect of redeployment. This would include such employees being able to leave the company before their set redeployment period had expired and receiving a cash payment. Details of how this would work are still being discussed.
Shifts and scheduling
The union negotiators are still considering whether agreement can be reached on any elements of Telstra's proposals on shifts and scheduling.
Telstra wants to introduce significant changes for new call centre employees (a larger span of hours, lower penalty rates), extend committed scheduling across the whole company and create more options for employees to perform shiftwork.
There is little doubt that the main aim of these proposals is simply to lower costs by reducing the amount Telstra pays in overtime and penalty rates.
The CWU recognises that it can at times suit particular employees to work irregular hours, either because of their personal circumstances or because of the nature of the work they perform. But the union believes that employees should have a choice about whether or not they work such hours and that when they do they should be appropriately compensated.
So it is unlikely that the unions will be able to accept Telstra's proposals as they stand. Discussion, however, is continuing.
Travel arrangements
The CWU has raised a number of matters relating to travel to and for work during these negotiations including clarification of ETT entitlements, payment of travel allowance and any special provisions that may be needed to cover remote area travel.
There appear to be no major disagreements about these issues but wording of the relevant clauses is yet to be finalised.
Delegates' training
This matter was raised early in negotiations but has taken a bit of a back seat in recent weeks.
CWU members may recall that the current Enterprise Agreement provides for 100 days of paid delegates training leave per year, with those days to be shared among the three Telstra unions as they themselves decide.
The SBU wants to see an increase in the total number of days available for such training and initially proposed 4 days per delegate each year. Telstra's counter-proposal was 200 days.
The SBU has now proposed 300 days a year.
Length of agreement
At the beginning of bargaining, Telstra indicated that its preferred position was an agreement for two years. The CWU's view was that a longer agreement could be a better option, depending of course on its content.
Telstra has now indicated it is willing to enter into a 3 year agreement. Given the uncertainties facing the international economy, the possibility of a change of government next year and the many unresolved questions surrounding the NBN, a 3 year agreement would have advantages for all concerned.
There is not, as yet, any formal sign-off on this question however.
Next meetings
The next bargaining meeting will be held on Thursday 9 August. The SBU will be spending a full day on Monday 6 August drafting proposed clauses for areas where as yet there is not agreement.
3 August 2012
As was noted in Update #10, we are fast approaching the "pointy end" of Enterprise Agreement negotiations - at least if there is to be an agreement in place by September/October.
A tight timetable
The nominal expiry date for the present Enterprise Agreement is 24 September and pay rises for those on Telstra's performance-based system are due in October so ideally negotiations would be completed in time for everyone to get a pay increase around that time.
The negotiators are still working towards this objective.
To try to meet the timelines, the meeting schedule has now been increased to two full day meetings a week, with the next meetings due to be held on Monday 30 July and Wednesday 1 August.
In addition to these meetings, CWU negotiators are also meeting regularly with other members of the Telstra unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) to establish shared understandings and positions and to prepare for each negotiation.
The CWU negotiators are also reporting regularly to the union's Telecommunications Council which is effectively the internal union steering committee during bargaining.
Most recent meeting
The most recent meeting between Telstra and the unions' Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) as held on Wednesday 25 July. This meeting once again looked at key issues such as redundancy entitlements, irregular hours of work and pay structures.
Redundancy and Redeployment
As previously reported, Telstra initially proposed that employees who knocked back a "suitable" redeployment offer would not be eligible for any redundancy payment at all. The CWU strongly opposed that proposition and Telstra is no longer pursuing it.
Discussion is now focussing more on the procedures and conditions pertaining to redeployment. These will be considered at the meetings scheduled for the week beginning 30 July.
Hours of work
Telstra's early proposals on rosters, shifts and span of hours were circulated with Update #8.
The most controversial parts of the proposals relate to changes in conditions for new employees working in call centres. Here Telstra wants to increase the span of ordinary hours and to cut penalty rates for work outside those hours.
There are, however, some changes proposed for existing employees which could have the effect of reducing current overtime and penalty entitlements.
For instance Telstra is proposing that current committed scheduling arrangements apply across the whole company, not just in call centres. The CWU believes this could allow Telstra to require employees to work up to 48 hours a week for a number of weeks in a row without paying any overtime.
No agreement has to date been reached on these proposals.
Allowances
A number of allowances are being reviewed as part of these negotiations e.g. height allowance and Excess Travelling Time (ETT). Telstra has put some proposals in this area which the CWU is currently reviewing.
The CWU has again raised the issue of the inclusion of travel allowance and other related travel conditions (e.g. remote area travel) in the new agreement.
Further discussions are scheduled for next week.
27 July 2012
Two meetings of the Telstra EA negotiating teams have been held this week (beginning 16 July) - a full meeting on Thursday 19 and a slightly smaller one on Monday 16. The purpose of the 16 July meeting was to focus more closely on the pay and classification questions which have always been central to this round of negotiations. The 19 July meeting was also largely concerned with these issues.
 | Telecom |