NBN agreement still on hold
There has been no further progress in negotiations for a new agreement to cover technical staff at NBN Co.
The current CWU agreement covers staff working at, or in connection with, the Network Operations Centre. However there are also three other Enterprise Agreements (EAs) operating in NBN Co, each covering different sections of the workforce and involving different unions.
All are facing the same difficulties as a result of the federal government’s policy of demanding trade-offs for any wage rise, even ones below inflation.
The government also says that there can be no back pay in the new EAs, a policy obviously designed to “starve” staff into accepting cuts to conditions.
Meanwhile, Joe Hockey saves money for his budget!
On 20 March the CWU met with the other unions involved in NBN Co to consider how to progress negotiations and to examine the options available to employees and their representatives under the Fair Work Act.
Meanwhile, negotiations between individual unions and NBN Co are set to resume. The CWU will next meet with company representatives on Tuesday 31 March.
