Telstra Wideband: design review
On Tuesday 12 April Telstra began notifying employees of the progress of the review it has been conducting into banding structures in Wideband design.
The review has involved some redefinition of roles as well as a move towards multiskilling.
At this stage the work has only been finalised in the Support area where five core roles have been defined: Team Manager, Design Technical Specialist (SME), Workflow, Site Assess Team (SAT) and Design Assistant. Further work remains to be done in the rest of the Design area.
As reported in E-bulletin #5, this review was conducted without the input of the CWU and has been the cause of considerable concern among members.
Rumours of downgrades and effective pay cuts through grandfathering of current pay levels (ie through pay freezes) have been rife.
Telstra has now told the CWU that no employee will have his/her pay level reduced as a result of the review, while many will have their pay increased as a result of reclassifications, with new rates to be paid as from 1 April.
Employees whose current role has been re-banded at a lower level will continue to receive their current pay rates and any increases paid under the EA.
Despite these assurances, it would appear that some employees could still be out of pocket at the end of the process. This could occur if an employee has been receiving higher duties for a certain position and that position is assessed to be at a lower banding level under the new system.
The CWU will be raising this issue with Telstra and wants to hear from any members in this position.
While protecting members current pay levels is an immediate priority for the union, the review also obviously opens up a far wider range of issues about the level at which work/roles are now being banded and the relationship between this exercise and the current Workstream Job Descriptions.
Members should note that to date there has been no consultation with the CWU around these issues and no agreement by the CWU to a new banding structure.
