Lend Lease initiates bargaining
Lend Lease has notified its employees that it wants to enter into negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) and that they have a right to be represented in those negotiations by a representative of their choice.
As E-bulletin readers will know, this is the first step in bargaining under the Fair Work Act.
Under that legislation, union members are automatically represented by their union in negotiations unless they choose otherwise, so there is no need for CWU members to respond to the notices.
Members are encouraged, however, to contact their state branch representatives now so as to have early input into these discussions.
It has been some time since Lend Lease entered into such bargaining. Its last agreement relevant to the telecommunications sector was made in 2010 and ran for only a year, reaching its nominal expiry date in October 2011.
But having recently won a contract for NBN work, the company says it is now looking to increase its permanent employees and to reach agreement with them on employment conditions.
While it is early days, the CWU’s overall position will be that the new agreement offers fair wages and conditions and does not undermine current industry standards. An initial meeting is scheduled for Thursday 22nd September.
