TELECOM eBULLETIN NO 17 - 14 September 2012
This issue of the Telecommunications E-bulletin is devoted to an explanation of the proposed new Telstra agreement - the Telstra Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015.
A single agreement....
The Telstra Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015 is designed to replace most of the various forms of agreement that now exist in Telstra with a single agreement that provides the same conditions of employment for all Telstra employees.
There are some exceptions - most importantly in the areas of pay and classifications - but generally all employees to whom the agreement applies will now be guaranteed the same entitlements and protections.
This is in part because award conditions that previously only applied to Category 1/Part A collective agreement employees have been incorporated into the new EA and so will now apply to everyone.
All former ECA employees will now also be covered by the provisions of the Fair Work Act such as the requirement that employees be consulted over major changes in the company which affect them.
Other conditions that were secured by CWU members during the last EA dispute such as access to arbitration will be extended to all employees. And staff in Telstra Retail will for the first time be entitled to the same redundancy benefits as the rest of the company's employees.
...for three years
The new Agreement is for three years and contains three pay rises over that time.
Initially Telstra indicated a preference for a two year agreement. The CWU took the view that a longer agreement would provide members greater protections given the current uncertain political and economic outlook.
The final three year period reflects both parties' recognition of the value of a relatively stable work environment, at least as regards pay and conditions, for both the company and its employees.
Will the new Agreement apply to me?
The Agreement will apply to the majority of Telstra's present and future workforce and to CWU members except for those still on AWAs and ITEAs.
It will not apply to:
The options open to AWA and ITEA employees who decide to come onto the Agreement are explained below.
Workstream and Job Family Employees
The single most important difference in the terms of employment in the Agreement is that between Workstream and Job Family employees.
The Workstream system at present applies to Category 1/Part A employees on the current collective agreements (EA/ECAs).
Workstream employees are employed on the traditional pay and classification system familiar to CWU members e.g. CFW 4, CSSW 3, TPW 5 etc.
Under this system each grade in each "Workstream" has a single pay rate. Bonus payments above this rate based on performance are available but they form a relatively small part of the total pay package.
The Job Family model at present applies to Category 2/Part B employees and to those on AWAs and
ITEAs.
The Job Family system has fewer grades (3i, 3ii etc). It also has a pay range for each job and your position in the range depends on your manager's assessment of your performance.
Most employees to whom this new Agreement applies are on the Job Family system. But most CWU members are employed on the Workstream system - and prefer it that way.
CWU members have repeatedly said that they do not regard the Job Family pay system as fair. They have most recently sent this message in the survey conducted during negotiations for this Agreement.
This explains the structure of the new Agreement. Telstra has acknowledged that most current Workstream employees do not want to move to the current Job Family model and, despite lengthy discussions, the negotiators were not able to come up with a compromise model that would satisfy both Telstra and the CWU.
Of course many Job Family employees don't think their pay system is fair either. The union negotiators have been able to make some improvements to this system but not enough to represent any major change.
The new Agreement, however, contains a commitment by both Telstra and the unions to continue to try to develop a system that is acceptable to all employees.
Which system will apply to me? Do I have a choice?
Current EA and ECA employees
AWA and ITEA employees
Movement between work models
If you are a Workstream employee you can choose to move to the Job Family. You can also go back again - but only once and only if you have been in the Job Family for less than 12 months.
Job Family employees cannot move to the Workstream system.
Most members will already know that the Agreement delivers pay rises of 3.5%, 3% and 3% over three years, with a further initial 2.37% for Category 1 EA employees to align their company rates with those on Part A of the ECAs.
Workstream employees will get these rises in full. Job Family employees may get more or less than the full rise depending on their performance.
Other payments will be available through current incentive schemes and performance-related bonuses. Specific commitments in relation to two such schemes - the Customer Satisfaction Bonus and Zing - are included in the agreement.
Most CWU members are employed on the Workstream model which provides performance-based bonuses but on which basic pay levels are not related to performance.
The pay of Job Family employees however is based almost entirely on management's assessment of their performance. The new Agreement offers some new guarantees and protections for these employees.
Performance pay "pool"
For the first time Telstra has committed itself in the Agreement to specific "aggregate" pay rises for Job Family employees - the same 3.5%, 3% and 3% as apply to those on the Workstream model.
Not everyone will get these exact rises - some may get more, some may get less - but it will no longer be possible for all Job Family employees to get no rise at all as it is, at least theoretically, at present.
(In the past, in fact, whole groups of Job Family employees have had their pay frozen for a year or more.)
Performance pay principles
The Telstra unions were not successful in getting Telstra to agree to including employees and their representatives in the process of setting targets and procedures for performance assessment.
However the Agreement does commit Telstra to ensuring that such targets are transparent and achievable and that employees understand how the annual review process works.
Pay structures: the move to Fixed Remuneration
Over the life of the Agreement Workstream employees will continue to be paid a set company rate which is not based on individual performance. However, from 1 July 2013 they will move to a Fixed Remuneration structure in line with the formula Telstra currently uses for Job Family employees.
Fixed Remuneration includes:
Overtime and penalty rates are based on your Fixed Remuneration minus superannuation (i.e. on base pay plus leave loading). Redundancy payments are based on Fixed Remuneration.
What this effectively means is an increase in the total value of any redundancy payout for Workstream employees as from 1 July 2013.
This needs to be borne in mind when considering the changes to the redundancy provisions relating to job search and early exit payments.
The Agreement contains provisions for the phasing in of Labor's compulsory increase in employer superannuation payments. These must now be 10% by 1 July 2015.
These payments will be made mid-year over each year of the Agreement in amounts of 0.25%, 0.25% and 0.5%, with the first falling on 1 July 2013.
Employees who are already receiving more than the minimum employer contribution (9%) will receive their additional payments as part of salary once the contribution reaches the new 10% threshold.
Employees on a defined benefit scheme will receive the 1% increase as salary over the life of the Agreement. Telstra will also ensure that its contribution to the scheme does not fall below the legal minimum.
There has been no change to the basic redundancy payout formula, including the maximum 80 weeks entitlement.
However, in line with Telstra's stated preference for redeployment over redundancies, the current $4,500 external Job Search payment and the two weeks early exit payment have been replaced with a mandatory redeployment period of four weeks (six weeks for site function closures).
In some circumstances, such as there clearly being no realistic options for redeployment, employees may be able to leave the company before the full redeployment period has expired. In this case they will be paid out the balance of their redeployment period.
Generally, however they will remain in the programme for the full period. If they have not been redeployed by then they will be retrenched.
Members should note that redeployment is not compulsory. While all employees must participate in the redeployment programme, Telstra cannot force you to accept a job which you do not want to perform.
Other conditions preserved ....
Working hours
Telstra proposals for significant changes to conditions such as hours of duty and shift work arrangements were not accepted by the CWU and other unions and do not form any part of the Agreement.
A new temporary shift work provision has been introduced but this can only be used by agreement with employees and carries with it a special allowance of 5% of annual salary during the time you (voluntarily) make yourself available to perform temporary shift work.
Overtime and penalty payments
These are unchanged. There have been some drafting omissions in the Agreement, however, which have resulted in conditions currently contained in the General Conditions of Employment and the Technical and Trades Awards not being explicitly picked up in the Agreement.
This applies to minimum overtime payments and payment for hours worked between 11 pm and 7 am.
Telstra has confirmed with the CWU that here is no intention to change these entitlements and the CWU will be considering how best to ensure that they are made explicit and enforceable.
Log on and related arrangements
Unchanged.
... and some new or improved entitlements
There have, on the other hand, been improvements made in some areas:
Parental leave
Emergency duty
Emergency duty on public holidays will be paid at 300%.
Recognition of prior learning
Telstra will provide reasonable opportunities for employees to gain formal recognition of their skills/competencies through Telstra's internal Registered Training Organisation.
Height allowances
Allowances have been increased and now also reflect varying height levels.
Consultation on Telstra policies
For the first time Telstra has agreed to consult with the CWU when it is considering changes to policies that affect employees' pay and conditions.
Delegates rights
A package that represents a fair outcome
The CWU has not been able to secure all the changes that it wanted in this Agreement.
Travel allowance matters, for instance, remain outside the Agreement.
We have not been able to fully bridge the gap between actual pay levels of the EA and ECA employees although the company rates have been aligned.
And we have not, of course, been able to achieve changes that would allow all employees to choose freely between the Workstream and Job Family models i.e. between traditional and performance-based pay systems.
On the other hand we have successfully resisted the introduction of changes sought by Telstra which would have represented a significant backward step for members e.g
On the whole the Agreement should deliver real pay rises, above the level of inflation, to CWU members while preserving and improving key entitlements.
On this basis, the CWU is recommending that members vote to approve it.
We welcome your comments and contributions - send us an
email and let us know what you think via
Feedback
 | Database |