Communication Workers Union

TELSTRA EA 2010-2012

WHAT MEMBERS SHOULD CONSIDER

With voting now due to commence on a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) in Telstra, CEPU members need to make sure they have weighed up the pros and cons of the proposal carefully.

The CEPU has participated in many of the employee briefings conducted in Telstra in preparation for the ballot. Most employees should now be familiar with the key features of the agreement and have heard the arguments for and against its endorsement.

Those who are still deciding how they will vote should consider the following issues.

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE EA

• The EA delivers a wage rise of 4% per annum over 2010 and 2011. This is in line with wage rises in other sectors of the economy and above the expected rate of inflation.

Telstra originally proposed a 3% pay rise in 2010 and 4% in 2011. The pay rise now is 4% + 4%.

• All current entitlements, including redundancy pay-outs, have been preserved for Category 1 employees. (There are minor changes for Category 2 employees.)

• There is a choice of employment model (Category 1 or 2) for all current EA-based employees and most current CEPU members. Choice of Category is available for new CFW and TW employees.

Telstra originally wanted all new employees and all AWA-based employees to go onto Category 2.

• New employee entitlements have been won:

Salary packaging. (Telstra resisted this for 10 years.)

Ability to cash out and purchase annual leave.

10% increase in Essential Customer Servicing Allowance.

• The EA offers new protections and extends union rights:

Access to mediation and arbitration of disputes by Fair Work Australia. (Telstra resisted this for 15 years.)

Enhanced ability for union to monitor and intervene in performance assessment and performance pay issues.

Trade union training leave for union representatives. (3 days per year up to a maximum of 90 days shared between the three Telstra unions.)

• Telstra has undertaken to continue discussions with the unions about the EA/ECA pay differential. Formal negotiations for the next EA will commence 4 months prior to the expiry of this one.

• The current economic and political climate facing Telstra is highly uncertain. The unions’ EA campaign has achieved real gains which should be secured now.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE EA

• The pay rise proposed by Telstra will leave EA-based employees behind those who accepted ECAs. The 2.5% bonus paid to employees in December 2009 does not count as salary and there is no back pay for the October 2008 - October 2009 period on offer.

This is obviously unfair. It goes against the principle of equal pay for equal work.

• Although Telstra has agreed to continue discussions on the ECA/EA pay differential, there is no guarantee that this will mean the issue is resolved in the foreseeable future.

• The proposed improvements to the current EA (e.g. access to arbitration, union involvement in performance monitoring) should not have to be “bought” with an inadequate pay rise.

• The Category 2 structure will apply to new employees in all workstreams other than CFW and TW. (New CFW and TW employees will be able to choose between Category 1 and Category 2 employment.) This means that over time an increasing number of employees will be on Category 2 conditions which give the employer more control over pay outcomes.

• By rejecting the proposal, members do not put any of their current conditions at risk. These are guaranteed by the current Telstra Enterprise Agreement 2005-08 and the current Telstra Redundancy Agreement.

THE DECISION IS YOURS

As part of an agreement with Telstra to allow the EA ballot to proceed, the CEPU has undertaken to outline what it sees as the pros and cons of this agreement but not to make a recommendation to its members as to how they should vote.

If the EA is voted up the union will apply to Fair Work Australia to be covered by it, in line with the procedures of the Fair Work Act.

If the EA is rejected, the union will call on members to resume the EA campaign.

The decision now is yours.