Ausgrid management and the combined unions met on 25 October for the latest round of talks on your EA. The parties agree that a negotiated outcome sooner rather than later is the desired outcome.
The combined unions presented and spoke to their principles on the topics of: Redundancy post 30 June 2020; contracting out; Consultation; and the DSP.
The parties have agreed to form a smaller committee comprising of union officials and Ausgrid management to progress these items. This committee is scheduled to meet next Tuesday & Wednesday, October 31 & November 1 respectively. This committee will then report the outcomes to the broader EA committee. The next EA meeting is scheduled for the following Wednesday, November 8.
Waiting for 4 years
We are aware of recent communications relating to the Agreement put out by the company. We feel these communications overlook some important points to remember – come December, it’ll be 4 years since anyone has had a wage increase. That being the case, a conditional pay increase of a mere 2% isn’t going to cut the mustard. It is also worth remembering that items such as consultation and the DSP had been all but agreed to, subject to some tinkering around the edges with a bit of wording: we have found ourselves back at square one on these items.
In any case, it is hoped that next week’s sub-committee will advance these discussions to a point where a negotiated outcome starts to look achievable.
Long Service Leave check
All members who have changed their ordinary hours of work/week you 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.
For more information contact your USU Organiser: Paul Sansom on: 0409 076 633 or psansom@usu.org.au or Troy Dunne on 0419 403 076 or tdunne@usu.org.au
