TELSTRA EBA CERTIFIED
The Telstra EBA will commence on 19 June 2020. It has been certified after a very long consideration by the Fair Work Commission. The FWC was not convinced that it passed the Better off Overall Test (BOOT) and Telstra needed to give a number of undertakings. (See Below). Undertakings are not unusual but Telstra had a long list. The EBA and the undertakings will become law together. The nominal expiry date of the EBA is 30 September 2021, just 15 months away!
See Telstra EBA19 on the CWU web site.

TELSTRA EBA UNDERTAKINGS
The undertakings refer to job family classifications. They cover minimum rates of pay, first aid allowances, meal allowances, essential customer servicing, minimum overtime hours, part time conditions, Casuals and personal/carer's leave. These are too large for a bulletin. The undertakings can be found on the FWC web site and on our CWU T&S NSW web site.
See Telstra EBA19 Undertakings on the CWU web site.

OPTUS SATELLITE CONTROLLERS
We have been seeking reclassification of the Controllers for some time and advised Optus two weeks ago that we would refer the dispute to the Fair Work Commission. Optus did respond advising that the Controllers would be reclassified. WE are pleased to see this development but have to see the details at this stage.

SPF - OVERTIME RULES
We have been unable to resolve the dispute. As a result we have referred it back to the FWC. The FWC conciliation is listed for Monday at 11.30am. To date we have been referred back to working parties. These did not resolve the matter. Our letter to the FWC stated (in part):

The Australia Post SPF has considerable need for overtime due to a number of circumstances. There is no dispute over the need for overtime. The overtime dispute relates to the method of fair and transparent allocation of overtime. Members complain that it is biased, unfair, discriminatory and constitutes adverse action.

SPF - RESETTING OVERTIME TALLY TO ZERO
A proposal was floated that the overtime tally be reset to zero. Our union does not agree to this. The current tally has problems and there could be a partial reset. But this would need to be done to prevent unfair outcomes. It would need genuine consultation and some work. Our first priority is to get a fair system, not resetting the tally.

POST JOB CUTS
While debate continues on the number of delivery staff, the media is reporting that "dozens" of other jobs will be cut in HQ in Melbourne. The delivery change (to alternate day delivery) is before Parliament and the change has an end date of June 2021. However many believe that the change will be permanent. The ALP will vote against the change in the Senate. Regulations are "disallowable instruments" and sit before the Senate for 15 sitting days. There are 13 sitting days to go (it appears). However the ALP does not have the numbers without support of the independents.

TELSTRA STRUGGLES WITH BELONG
Media reports: Telstra-owned Belong accelerated plans to switch to a fully digital customer support model after COVID-19 slashed the capacity of its contact centres and caused 11,000 unanswered requests to pile up. While the Melbourne-based teams moved to a work-from-home arrangement, "85 percent of our customer service workforce overseas weren't able to work anymore," Van de Kamp said. Support requests quickly ballooned, which led Belong to adjust its Australian operations. "I think at our worst we had about 11,000 requests that needed attention at any given time," Van de Kamp said.

TELSTRA SERVICE UNAVAILABLE
We received an SMS this week - which says it all about the job cuts and redundancies and the forced annual leave:

We recently contacted you to explain that due to impacts on our staffing levels as a result of COVID-19, we weren't able to provide you with the full benefits of your Platinum Subscription as we were not currently offering 24/7 tech support over the phone or online. We're working hard to get tech support back, but staffing impacts are still ongoing. We initially applied a credit to your account for the following two months. We're now going to apply an additional credit for another month of charges. This new credit, for $10.00 will appear on an upcoming bill.

USEFUL QUICK LINKS
We provide these quick links so that you can quickly review previous important articles:
Forced ARL and LSL
Telstra EBA Notes
Telstra EBA19
Telstra EBA19 Undertakings
Optus EBA18
Post EBA9
0428 942 878 dan.dwyer@cwunion.net Dan Dwyer Secretary/Lawyer - for industrial matters & advice
0447 365 433 reception@cwunion.net Administrative eg payments, applications, change of details

Authorised by Dan Dwyer Branch Secretary
CWU Telecommunications & Services Branch, Sydney City, NSW.