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15-11-12 Optus Employment Partnership Agreement 2012-2015

Optus has advised that the EPA was strongly supported in the ballot - more details to come

09-11-12 Optus Employment Partnership Agreement 2012-2015

The ballot for a new Enterprise Agreement in Optus opened on 5 November and will close on 12 November.

Employees will be voting on a proposed three year agreement which generally represents a continuation of current conditions.

The CWU entered into negotiations with Optus for a new Agreement in August this year. Among key matters we raised were:

  • Hours of work
  • Redundancy payments
  • Annual pay rises
  • Ability to purchase additional leave
  • Minimum long service leave availability
  • Compliance with Fair Work Act

    What has been achieved?

    The negotiations have produced improvements to the current Optus EPA in some areas:

  • Maximum redundancy payout increased to 44 weeks. This is still less than is available under the Telstra Enterprise Agreement but well ahead of the minimum set by the National Employment Standards.
  • Acknowledgement of Optus' obligation to balance its operational needs with the needs of its employees.
  • Ability to purchase one additional week of annual leave for each flex period. Now 4 weeks a year.
  • Clarification of employee entitlements under the disputes process. New wording makes it clear that employees are entitled to union representation at all stages of any dispute over EPA entitlements. Unresolved disputes can be taken to Fair Work Australia for settlement.

    What are the problems?

    The CWU was not able to reach agreement with Optus on a number of issues which are of major importance to employees throughout the communications industry.

  • Hours of work. Many in the communications industry work a 36 ó rather than a 38 hour week. The CWU has recently reached agreement with other companies, including those working on the NBN roll-out, for a 36 ó hour week. But Optus would not agree to a reduction of working hours, even on a phased-in basis.
  • Performance-based pay. The CWU believes that all employees should receive specific, guaranteed pay rises each year that reflect factors other than individual performance.

    Performance pay has been a major issue in the recent Telstra Enterprise Agreement, with members telling the CWU and Telstra that they had no confidence in the company's performance pay system.

    The CWU argued that Optus should make commitments to specific pay rises for all employees over the life of the Agreement. These also needed to be more than minimum rises in line with rises in CPI because inflation is now running at quite low levels. Any individual performance-based payments should come on top of those rises.

    Optus rejected this proposal.

    The CWU's assessment

    Some positive changes to the earlier agreement have been made and these will be of benefit to members and other employees.

    However, the Agreement falls short of certain benchmarks which the CWU wants to establish in the industry as a whole, most obviously as regards working hours and pay systems.

    For this reason the Union's Telecoms Council does not consider that the CWU should positively endorse the Agreement. However, if a majority of employees agree to accept it, the Council believes that CWU should apply to be covered by it.

    This will ensure that it is best able to represent members and defend their entitlements in the event of any future disputes over its implementation.

    02-11-12 Optus Employment Partnership Agreement 2012-2015

    Time to Decide

    The proposed Optus Employment Partnership Agreement 2012 - 2015 has now been available to Optus employees for some time and voting on it is due to commence on 5 November.

    So now is the time for CWU members and other Optus employees to decide whether the new agreement will provide them with fair and reasonable pay rises and conditions of employment over the next three years.

    Bargaining for the agreement: the issues.

    The CWU entered into negotiations with Optus for a new Agreement in August this year. Among key matters we raised were:

  • Hours of work
  • Redundancy payments
  • Annual pay rises
  • Ability to purchase additional leave
  • Minimum long service leave availability
  • Compliance with Fair Work Act

    CWU members had identified redundancy entitlements, in particular, as an area where they wanted to see improvement. The union also proposed that the Agreement address some specific issues raised by members such as payment for travel to and from work.

    What has been achieved?

    The negotiations have produced improvements to the current Optus EPA in some areas:

  • Maximum redundancy payout increased to 44 weeks. This is still less than is available under the Telstra Enterprise Agreement but well ahead of the minimum set by the National Employment Standards.
  • Acknowledgement of Optus' obligation to balance its operational needs with the needs of its employees.
  • Ability to purchase one additional week of annual leave for each flex period. Now 4 weeks a year.
  • Clarification of employee entitlements under the disputes process. New wording makes it clear that employees are entitled to union representation at all stages of any dispute over EPA entitlements. Unresolved disputes can be taken to Fair Work Australia for settlement.

    What are the problems?

    The CWU was not able to reach agreement with Optus on a number of issues which are of major importance to employees throughout the communications industry.

  • Hours of work. Many in the communications industry work a 36 ó rather than a 38 hour week. The CWU has recently reached agreement with other companies, including those working on the NBN roll-out, for a 36 ó hour week. But Optus would not agree to a reduction of working hours, even on a phased-in basis.
  • Performance-based pay. The CWU believes that all employees should receive specific, guaranteed pay rises each year that reflect factors other than individual performance.

    Performance-based pay has become more common in a number of industries in recent years as employers seek to have more control over both their corporate budgets and how much individual workers get paid. But CWU members typically say that they regard this kind of pay system as unfair.

    This has been a major issue in the recent Telstra Enterprise Agreement, with members telling the CWU and Telstra that they had no confidence in the company's performance pay system.

    The CWU argued that Optus should make commitments to specific pay rises for all employees over the life of the Agreement. These also needed to be more than minimum rises in line with rises in CPI because inflation is now running at quite low levels. Any individual performance-based payments should come on top of those rises.

    Optus rejected this proposal.

    The CWU's assessment.

    The CWU's Telecommunications Council has now considered the proposed Optus EPA in detail. It acknowledges that some positive changes to the earlier agreement have been made which will be of benefit to members and other employees.

    However, the Agreement falls short of certain benchmarks which the union wants to establish in the industry as a whole, most obviously as regards working hours and pay systems.

    For this reason the Council does not consider that the CWU should positively endorse the Agreement. However, if a majority of employees agree to accept it, the Council believes that CWU should apply to be covered by it. This will ensure that it is best able to represent members and defend their entitlements in the event of any future disputes over its implementation.

    Casting your vote in the ballot.

    It is now up to all employees to make their judgement about the Agreement. The CWU urges all members and other employees to cast a vote to ensure that the ballot result genuinely reflects the opinion of the majority of those who work at Optus.


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