Agreement
The last meeting around your Agreement was held on September 25th at Kogarah Golf Club.
Once again, the parties went around in circles on the contentious issue of IEAs. The company has done nothing to meet the combined unions in the middle on this matter and make an Agreement that is not just legislatively compliant, but also fair to staff. Funnily enough, the company points to similar arrangements available in the Ergon Energy Union Collective Agreement 2015, yet wish to exclude the very protections that Agreement clause offers to its staff. The Ergon Agreement is easily found on the FWC website or by searching Google – its reference to IEA type arrangements can be read from page 37. It is also worth remembering that the combined unions have, to no avail, made many other suggestions that meet the needs of all parties and legislative compliance requirements.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, 6 November.
Long Service Leave check
All members who have changed their ordinary hours of work/week might want to check your LSL entitlement. This can be done by dividing the LSL “Hours” recorded on your pay slip by your ordinary hours of work each week. This will identify your recorded LSL entitlement in “Weeks”. Then establish your actual LSL entitlement in “Weeks” from the relevant clause of your Agreement and see if they are the same (if you have taken any Long Service Leave remember to deduct that amount).
If there is a difference, then you may wish to discuss this with your local Delegate or your Organiser to assist in recovering any anomaly.
Membership
The strength of a union is in its membership – no membership = no leverage which amounts to no negotiating strength.
In the case of TransGrid, basically anyone who doesn’t perform the role of a certified electrical tradesperson is eligible to join our union.
Joining is easy – simply complete the attached form & return to tdunne@usu.org.au or join online at usu.org.au/join
Need help?
If you have any questions about the role of a work place delegate, please don’t hesitate to contact your delegate/s or Troy Dunne, USU Energy Sector Organiser, on 0419 403 076 and tdunne@usu.org.au or Melissa Pond mpond@usu.org.au or 0408 620 741
