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CEPU Bulletins
Telstra general
01/12/2009 E-Bulletin #22 - Telstra EA: negotiations progress 1. Telstra EA: negotiations progress 2. CEPU tackles Telstra on unpaid overtime 3. Broadcast Australia EA: management jumps the gun 4. CEPU secures training opportunities for redundant Telstra employees 5. Optus profits soar 22% 6. Unions urge humane treatment of asylum seekers 7. Labor to act on pay equity for women 8. James Hardie gets asbestos loan 9. Openreach Service Delivery Transformation: jobs still under threat 10. State of the unions. 1. Telstra EA: negotiations progress Over the last two weeks, negotiations between the CEPU and Telstra for a new Telstra Enterprise Agreement have progressed. The union is hopeful that an agreement that can be put out to employees for a vote can be reached in the near future. Earlier this month, the Communications Division Executive agreed to suspend planned industrial action in order to allow the talks with Telstra to continue in a positive spirit. As a result of these discussions, the CEPU now believes in can achieve further improvements in the three key areas that were still in dispute: • The size of the wage rise. • The structure of the agreement, particularly in relation to the pay and conditions of new employees. • The dispute settlement process. At the time the E-bulletin went to press, the CEPU and Telstra were still involved in discussions over the wording of the proposed agreement and over how to handle some matters, such as the updating of job descriptions, which cannot readily be addressed in the short space of time left this year. However, the CEPU has begun discussions with members on the basic features of the agreement and will be continuing this process over the coming weeks with a view to formalising its final recommendation at the earliest possible date. 2. CEPU tackles Telstra on unpaid overtime The CEPU is tackling Telstra over what it believes is the increasingly common practice of requiring employees to work unpaid overtime. The particular case involves workers at Telstra’s customer service call centre in Burwood. Information from members about work practices at the end of shifts suggest that some, if not most, employees may be being required to work unpaid overtime to complete the handling of customer requests. The CEPU is using the provisions of the Fair Work Act to seek access to Telstra’s employee records to establish whether this has been happening. Under the legislation, a union can request to inspect such records if it suspects there has been a breach of an award or agreement covering its members. The union is seeking access to the records of its own members and also of some non-members, as allowed under the legislation. The union is doing this in such a way as to ensure that the actual names of its members are not disclosed. If the CEPU is successful in establishing its case, the Burwood employees will be eligible for back-pay (up to six years) for any unpaid overtime they have worked and Telstra will have been put on notice that this practice is unfair and unacceptable. 3. Broadcast Australia EA: management jumps the gun Broadcast Australia (BA) has put its proposed new Enterprise Agreement for Broadcast Technicians out to employees for consideration. It has done so despite having been advised by the CEPU that the union had not had sufficient time to consult with members about its contents. The CEPU has been in discussions with BA over the details of the agreement for several months but there is still a number of key issues to be resolved. However, under the new Fair Work Act, it is not necessary for an employer to reach agreement with “bargaining representatives” – in this case the union – before putting an agreement out to employees for a vote. The CEPU is disappointed that BA has chosen to go down this path and regards its actions as ill-advised. Feedback received from members to date suggests that a majority of them are not satisfied with the current provisions of the proposed EA. BA has scheduled a vote on the EA to commence on 17 November and to run until 24 November. The CEPU will advise members of its formal position on the proposal when the Divisional Executive is confident that the views of all BA members have been canvassed. 4. CEPU secures training opportunities for redundant Telstra employees The CEPU has succeeded in securing 400 full-funded training places for employees recently made redundant from Telstra. The places are funded under the Structural Adjustment Places (SAPs)section of the Federal Government’s Productivity Places Programme (PPP) and are available to any Telstra employee made redundant (or about to be made redundant) since 24th February 2009. The programme offers a wide range of training options both within and beyond the telecommunications industry at Certificate III level and above. The training is provided through Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) such as TAFEs and private providers. Information about the range of courses available can be found at the Government website at http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/ProductivityPlaces/Pages/default.aspx This has a section on the SAP programme which shows what courses are available from which RTOs in different states. The CEPU strongly recommends that members interested in taking up this training opportunity contact their state branches as a matter of some urgency. While training for some of the options members may be interested in may not start until next year, the CEPU needs to demonstrate to the Government that there is a real demand for this training. In other words, it’s a case of use it or lose it. Get in touch with the CEPU now if you want to make use of this chance to retrain for free. 5. Optus profits soar 22% Optus half-yearly results for the 2009-10 reporting year have revealed a 22% rise in second quarter profits, based on strong growth in the mobiles and, to a lesser extent, broadband markets. In the mobiles area, the company recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of double digit revenue growth – results which underscore the resilience of this market sector, given the economic downturn. Optus appears to have grown its market share here at the expense of Telstra, although analysts warn that a response from Telstra can probably be expected before Xmas. Telstra’s strategy to date has been to maintain pricing levels and hence margins even at the risk of losing customers, but the Optus figures suggest it might now be time to change tack. In the broadband market, Optus increased its total subscriber numbers to just under a million, with the main growth coming from customers using Optus services based on the Telstra Unbundled Local Loop Service (ULLS). ULLS-based broadband customers increased by 30% over the last 12 months compared to an increase of only 2.7% for those using Optus’ HFC network. These figures cast an interesting light on arguments that Telstra should be broken up (and made to shed its HFC network) to increase competition, particularly in the broadband area. Together with figures recently released by the ACCC, which showed a 27.5% overall increase in ULLS-based services over the last 12 months, they suggest that competition based on access to Telstra’s copper network is in fact growing strongly without any need for the radical restructuring that sections of the industry (and now the Government) have proposed. 6. Unions urge humane treatment of asylum seekers The ACTU, the peak body of the Australian union movement, has called for an end to the stand-off that has left 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers stranded on a Customs ship, the Oceanic Viking. The move comes after unions from all parts of the labour movement spectrum called for the asylum seekers to be taken to and processed in Australian territory. A half page advertisement in support of the call was placed in national newspaper, The Australian, on 2 November. ACTU President, Sharan Burrow, said that the Rudd Government should demonstrate Australians’ strong humanitarian values by resolving the current stalemate. This has seen both Indonesia and, more recently, New Zealand rebuff Australian requests to have the asylum seekers processed in those countries. “Everyone deserves a fair go,” she said. “These unfortunate people have been through enough. Their ordeal should be brought to an end and they should be given immediate shelter and proper care by Australian authorities.” “We should deal with their claims for refugee status under Australian laws in accordance with our international obligations and not allow them to become pawns in a political game.” The union statement also warned that the demonisation of asylum seekers was not in Australia’s international interests or in the interest of Australian working people. The Howard Government’s cynical use of the issue to divide the Australian community and to win support for its backward-looking and anti-worker agenda must never be forgotten. 7. Labor to act on pay equity for women The Federal Government is set to respond favourably to recommendations that it take more active steps to address the gender wage gap. The recommendations will form part of a report from a Parliamentary Inquiry set up last year to examine factors affecting pay equity and women’s participation in the Australian workforce. At present there is a gap of more than 17% between the average earnings of male and female full-time workers. A World Economic Forum report recently found that Australia ranked 60th out of 134 countries on the measure of wage equality for similar work. It is expected that the Inquiry will recommend stronger powers for Fair Work Australia to address gender-based pay inequalities and special consideration to be given to gender issues in minimum wage decisions. Companies may also be required to report in greater detail on how many women they employ at senior levels and what they are paid. Unions have welcomed the proposals but say that action on women’s pay is long overdue. ACTU President Sharan Burrow said that in recent years corporate Australia had dropped the ball on gender equity and stronger legal obligations need to be imposed on employers to make sure business lifted its game. “On many indicators – pay, participation, or senior executive positions - the place of women in the workforce has stood still or gone backwards over the past decade,” she said. “Over the course of her career, an Australian woman will earn $1 million less than a man, and will retire with less than half the savings in her superannuation account. This simply has to change.” 8. James Hardie gets asbestos compensation loan The Federal and NSW Governments have combined to ensure that asbestos victims are not left in the lurch as a result of the Global Financial Crisis. The governments have agreed to lend building materials manufacturer, James Hardie, $320 million to ensure that the company can meet its liabilities to former employees suffering from asbestos-related diseases. The company’s Asbestos Injury Compensation Fund has suffered significant losses as a result of its exposure to the US housing market and its ability to continue to fund lump sum compensation payouts has been in doubt. The Government loan will mean that these payments will still be available to asbestos victims. E-bulletin readers will know that James Hardie has form when it comes to the way it handles its responsibilities to former staff. Earlier this year, its directors were found guilty of falsely claiming in 2003 that the Compensation Fund was in good financial health. In fact at that time it was close to bankruptcy. So while the union movement has welcomed the present government initiative it has warned that it will be watching closely to ensure that the loan is fully repaid and that the move doesn’t let James Hardie off the hook. 9. Openreach Service Delivery Transformation: jobs still under threat Employees in British Telecom’s functionally separated network company, Openreach, are still considering their options in the face of the threat that their work will be outsourced. The threat comes as the company moves to implement its Service Delivery Transformation programme, aspects of which will be familiar to CEPU members. As reported in E-bulletin #20, BT has said that unless Openreach employees agree to radical cost-cutting measures, it will outsource a wide range of functions, including work on any Next Generation Network build that BT undertakes. The company wants to slash its overtime bill by requiring all Openreach employees to be available for at least some Saturday and evening work at ordinary rates. It also wants to introduce lower wages for new starters, along the lines that we have seen in Telstra’s PartA/Part B agreements. And in case all this was not familiar enough, BT is also involved in installing GPS systems in its field workforce vehicles with a view to increasing “productivity”. Openreach members are currently voting for a second time on a union-negotiated agreement which will give them some control over the implementation of this Service Delivery Transformation programme in return for guarantees about outsourcing. Future E-bulletins will report on the outcome of this ballot. 10. State of the unions Unions are organisations run by workers for workers to help them get a fair go at work. Last year, union membership in Australia increased by 56,000 people. When casual workers are excluded from the data, nearly one in four employees in Australia is a union member. And those workers earn, on average, $96 a week more than workers who are not members of a union. The President of the ACTU, Sharan Burrow, says that these figures point to the fact that unions are more relevant than ever before. “It can be very intimidating for younger and new employees in the workforce,” she says. “There is nearly always an imbalance in the power relationship, especially when negotiating directly with managers on pay and flexible working arrangements. So having an experienced union workplace delegate as a back-up is very reassuring.” Sharan Burrow points out that unions offer extra protection amid the fall-out from the global financial crisis. “As employers try to change pay and conditions, workers need someone to turn to for advice and representation,” she says. “Unions help protect jobs and redundancy rights.” The ACTU also highlights the fact that the costs of union membership are relatively low and are tax deductible. So get your workmates to sign up. |
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Europe: European transnationals abuse workers’ rights in America | Middle East: Domestic workers in the Middle East have a horrible time : Little better than slavery | Mexico: One dead in clashes at Cananea copper mine | France: Unions call for further action against increase in retirement age | Global: Photo-essay: The world's most repressive workplace environments | France: Millions protest over higher pension age | USA: Mott's Strike in Media Spotlight on Labor Day | South Africa: Strike suspended: Unions claim victory | India: Trade unions go on a 24-hour nationwide strike | Global: Unions Step up Pressure for Jobs and Social Justice– One Month to World Day for Decent Work | USA: Obama Unveils Huge Infrastructure/Jobs Program at Milwaukee’s LaborFest | France: Unions to Strike as Sarkozy Pension Bill Debate Starts | Mexico: ICEM Condemns Repression of Workers by Government, Grupo Mexico | South Africa: Did the World Cup Wreck South Africa? | North America: Hyatt faces strikes and protests in cities across North America
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NSW Telecommunications & Services Branch
