Post's greedy attack on take-home pay and fifth-week leave for shift-workers
Members have had their take-home pay and fifth week leave entitlement unilaterally reduced in an unprecedented and purely greed-driven attack by management at Sydney Parcel Facility (SPF).
Despite warnings from Officials and members about the limitations associated with their new multi-million-dollar automation investment, management’s own failings to address the issues associated with its implementation at SPF, Australia’s largest parcel facility, resulted in a series of significant delays and missorts followed by an absolute savaging of Australia Post in the media and by the public earlier this year.
NSW Branch Secretary Jim Metcher said members worked constructively with management to assist in ensuring the parcel operation got back on its feet.
“Members understood the importance of delivering a quality service to their customers, and recognised that this couldn’t be achieved without significant change to their duties and rosters.”
Mr Metcher explained that local Union nominated representatives formed working groups with management to make resourcing recommendations crucial to meeting the customer demands of not only today, but well into the future — maximising the operations’ capabilities.
“Although members would have preferred to continue on in their comfort zones in terms of their duties at work and their shift commencement times, they accepted the challenge. They played ball.
“They cooperated with management to find a win-win solution that everybody could live with.
“And what did they receive in return? A kick in the mouth.”
Mr Metcher said the unprecedented move by management to reduce members’ take-home pay and their fifth week leave entitlement by refusing to compromise on Sunday duties was ‘disgraceful’.
“These unprecedented changes significantly affect our members who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet in one of Australia’s most expensive cities.
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” said Mr Metcher.
Mr Metcher explained that throughout the lengthy and thorough consultation process, not once were the Union, members nor the local working groups ever advised that the impacts of these changes could possibly result in the outcome members are now forced to live with.
“This is Parcels, Australia Post’s supposed ‘booming’ business.
“Members have worked cooperatively with management to pull them out of the chaotic mess their arrogance had created in the first place — ensuring it continued to boom.
“Further, the Parcels business isn’t shy of a quid and they’re preparing to increase the cost of parcels to the public again from next month.
“This decision has been motivated purely by the most disgusting form of corporate greed we’ve ever seen dished out by this out-of-touch management group,” he said.
Mr Metcher said he feared that members at SPF were only the first of many to come in this out-right attack on shift-workers’ traditional conditions and entitlements.
“We’ve now formally placed the matter in dispute and we will fight this one to the end through whatever forum necessary to ensure that our members don’t suffer the consequences of management’s own shortcomings and failures.”
