Communication Workers Union

If you wish to transfer to the Enterprise Agreement you must:

• Know your rights.

• Beware of any self serving nonsense from your managers and their HR managers on the issue.

If your AWA had reached or was beyond its expiry date prior to the commencement of the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, you are guaranteed the right by law to move to the EBA if you are in a part of the business covered by an EBA. Do not accept any management filibustering on this issue. If you want to move you can and any artificial barriers put in your way by management is a breach of the law.

• If/when you transfer to the EBA, you are entitled to all the benefits of the EBA without exception.

• Your banding level in category 1 of the EBA is decided by the negotiated/agreed banding system, e.g. if you are working at a Band 7 level you must be paid Band 7.

• Do not merely accept management’s assessment about your likely banding level if you transfer to the EBA. In most cases it is self serving nonsense designed to keep you on the AWA. Contact CEPU for advice and support.

NON EXPIRED AWAs

If your AWA has not yet reached its expiry date and you believe you are being disadvantaged by being on the AWA, please contact the CEPU for advise.

TELSTRA’S PAY SYSTEM – WHAT A STUFF-UP. “PEOPLE EXPRESS”? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!

Telstra has claimed that they realise there are “some problems” with the new pay system, but basically it is “sound”. Breath taking isn’t it?

We are gathering as many examples as possible to demonstrate what a nonsense this is and what pain employees are being put through by the new pay system.

Please email, snail mail, fax any examples of the pay problems/pay stuff-ups/delays/wrong information, etc, you have experienced/are experiencing to help CEPU with its campaign to get the system fixed. We also need you to provide us with a estimate of the work time you have had to spend on a pay problem or a pay query.

EXTRA LEAVE PURCHASE

One of the benefits of the new EBA is the capacity for individuals to purchase additional annual leave.

Telstra, even before the ink is dry on the agreement, is devaluing this aspect of the agreement by its internal policy of not making the extra leave purchase available till next year.

In talks with the CEPU they say it would be “too complex” and “too costly” to change and re-programme the pay system to vary the cut-off-date for applications which had been set prior to the EBA’s finalisation.

CEPU is examining any options which might be available to attempt to have this corrected. It’s pretty pathetic when one of the provisions of the EBA cant in effect be applied until the second year of the two year agreement.