Telstra EA negotiations underway soon
The CWU and other Telstra unions are finalising preparations for the beginning of Enterprise Agreement (EA) negotiations next month.
Your union is your bargaining representative.
While no definite start dates have as yet been set, the CWU expects that initial discussions are likely to be held in mid-May. Prior to that Telstra will have to notify employees formally of its intention to start bargaining and explain the bargaining rights you have under the Fair Work Act.
The main thing for CWU members to be clear about at this stage is that your union is automatically your bargaining representative in these negotiations – unless you specifically choose otherwise.
So there is no need for you to nominate a bargaining representative yourself.
Still time to have your say.
Once bargaining officially starts, the CWU and other unions will be presenting Telstra with their claims – and we will hear from Telstra about theirs! Over the last few months, the views of CWU members on the content of the EA have been expressed through membership surveys, face-to-face meetings and through direct communications back to the E-bulletin.
As previously reported, “headline” issues identified by members have been retention of the 80 weeks redundancy entitlement and leave entitlements; availability of RDOs; performance monitoring and assessment; wage rises. Some more specific issues around classification structures have also recently been raised with the union.
It is still not too late to raise any other matters you want dealt with in the EA. Fill out the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NL6WTTG or contact your state branch or write directly to the National Office via the E-bulletin at cwu@cwu.org.au.
