Telstra Purple Bargaining concludes - employee vote to occur imminently
Over the past two months, your Union has been bargaining with Telstra Purple to improve your terms and conditions of employment in the proposed Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).
Bargaining has now concluded and the access period, the statutory period in which an employer must allow employees to access and ask questions about a new proposed Agreement prior to a vote, has already commenced. Employees will be able to vote on the proposed Agreement from 9am AEDT on 8 December until 11:59pm AEDT on 10 December. Instructions on how to access the ballot will be provided by the service provider conducting the vote, shortly.
What we achieved
Your Union sought improvements across an exhaustive range of matters and we were able to secure a number of those which will be reflected in the proposed agreement you will be voting upon. In particular:
- On-call allowances will now be protected in the EBA – rather than in policy which can be changed with the stroke of a pen;
- The tool kit clause specifically specifies that employees will not be required to pay for any tools required to undertake their duties – rendering the current policy, which allows the company to deduct the tool allowance from your final pay, void;
- Consultation – obligating Telstra Purple to consult with you if they introduce changes that may impact on your employment;
- Dispute resolution – a broadened scope in a strengthened clause which provides a genuine structured process for raising and resolving workplace grievances;
- Vehicle related expenses for additional travel from your place of residence to and from client sites is now referenced in the EA with detail remaining in policy
- A time off in-lieu entitlement for overtime or weekend work, once agreed with your manager;
- The very scant classification structure now aligns some example roles to levels included in the agreement, to provide some context and transparency around these levels.
- The pay increase of 1% will now be paid upon a yes vote, rather than upon approval by the Fair Work Condition – ensuring that your wages are increased potentially months earlier than otherwise proposed. This will be in addition to the annual pay increase of 2 % over the 3 years of the Agreement.
It was particularly disappointing that the company rejected the Union’s claim pertaining to increasing Superannuation benefits, in the event that the planned increase to the guarantee level is not followed through by the Federal Government.
In conclusion, whilst we would like to see greater gains across some parts of the company’s proposed Agreement, there have been some significant improvements made as a result of the Union’s bargaining efforts. However, it is your EBA and you need to be comfortable before you vote.
We will be conducting a Zoom video conference this Thursday at 12:30, to allow members to ask any questions they may have about the proposed Agreement. Please contact your local State Branch Office for the login details.
Importantly, if you are not yet a member of the Union, now is the time to join. And if you already are, now is the time to ask your colleagues to join with you. By building collective strength in your workplace, we can improve upon this Agreement again at the next round of bargaining. Contact your local State Branch Office for information on how to join, today.
