TELSTRA BARGAINING UPDATE - 9 MAY 2024
Your Union bargaining representatives met with Telstra again this week, and formally submitted the following claims:
1. Policies that provide employee benefits should be incorporated into the Agreement.
Enterprise Agreements serve as the foundation document for your terms of employment and should include all benefits due to employees. By incorporating them, these benefits become entitlements. It also ensures that the dispute resolution procedure would apply to their application.
2. A pathway to secure employment arrangements.
We are seeking to introduce a clause that ensures fixed term employees are offered a permanent role following 12 months of cumulative employment.
This provides a clear pathway from insecure to secure employment arrangements, providing certainty to employees and demonstrates the company’s commitment to support the long-term career development of the workforce.
3. Contracting out and outsourcing.
We are seeking a commitment from Telstra to prevent out-sourcing or offshoring any roles or duties currently being performed by Telstra’s internal, onshore, workforce during the life of the Agreement.
This provision would ensure that at any time Telstra functions are being performed by non-Telstra employees, they are paid at the same equivalent rate as would be payable to Telstra employees – preventing the use of contractors simply to undermine the wages and conditions of Telstra Group employees.
4. Working from Home provisions to be included in the EBA.
The Union acknowledges Telstra’s commitment to a hybrid working model.
The benefits of the model have demonstrated improvements to productivity and enhanced Telstra’s ability to attract and retain employees. It has improved employee well-being and is proving its ability to future proof the workspace.
As such, we believe the arrangement should be formalised as part of the EBA.
5. Flexible work and a 4-day work week.
The Union is seeking to introduce flexible arrangements, allowing employees to alter their working hours, including accessing a 4-day work week. Further, we seek for this to be the default presumption, in favour of granting the flexibility.
At this meeting, Telstra also provided its response to some of our claims raised and tabled at our last meeting:
1. Access to RDO/ 9-day fortnight for all employees and accrual of RDOs
Telstra have not agreed to this claim. Telstra claims doing so would be an administrative burden and that the current individual flexibility provisions are satisfactory.
We are extremely disappointed with this response and have reiterate our claim that giving all employees access to a 9-day fortnight/RDO allows employees to enjoy longer periods of time off without compromising productivity, enhanced work/life balance, reduced stress and improved mental wellbeing. We argue that it also provides employees with greater flexibility to manage personal commitments such as childcare and pursuing further education.
2. Superannuation paid during workers compensation and on all hours worked.
Telstra have not agreed to this claim.
We have reiterated that superannuation is a critical component of retirement, and by not paying superannuation to workers’ compensation entitlements, they are disadvantaged in their retirement for situations outside of their control – and compensable by the company.
3. Abolish junior rates.
Telstra have not agreed to this claim, despite being the only company out of the big three, (Telstra, TPG and OPTUS) that pays junior rates in retail. Telstra will continue with what the Union believes is a discriminatory employment practice.
Bargaining will continue next week and we will keep members updated as talks progress.
In the meantime, should you require any further information, please contact your Branch Official.
