USU has been in the process of negotiating a new enterprise agreement for our members at Rex! We have had some major wins in this round of bargaining, and have even managed to bring non-EA employees back into EA coverage.
Rex commits to bringing contract employees back under EA coverage
During the final review of the Rex draft enterprise agreement, we found that Rex had removed some definitions from the agreement, as well as certain positions from the wage table. After we raised our concerns with the Rex, they conducted a review of the roles they had proposed to remove from the EA, as some of those employees in non-airport roles had previously been removed from enterprise agreement coverage. After reviewing these positions, Rex offered those employees to be covered again under the EA.
This is a major win, as EA-covered employees often have more favourable pay and conditions than contracted employees. We applaud Rex for their work on this issue and for helping to ensure that their employees are not disadvantaged by removing their roles from the enterprise agreement.
Major WINS in this agreement!
Rex members have scored some major wins in this agreement – here’s just a few!
Pay – At the start of negotiations, Rex members made a claim for a 6% pay increase. Our USU/ASU bargaining representatives have been able to negotiate a CPI or Award Percentage Increase in the corresponding year, whichever is greater, with a floor of 2.5% and a ceiling of 5%, plus the additional 1% agreed in lieu of the profit share, to be paid each year for the life of the Agreement in July as a lump sum payment.
We initially raised with Rex that a floor of 2.5% was too low, however, with the added 1% in lieu of profit share, this effectively rounds up the pay floor to 3.5%. With the 5% pay increase ceiling, this has the potential to become a 6% pay increase, which reaches the highest rate of our claim and is a massive win for members!
Health and safety – in response to USU/ASU’s concerns regarding fatiguing rosters that the need to maintain work-life balance, Rex has agreed to include terms in their agreement that specifically reaffirm our members’ rights under WHS legislation. This reinforces Rex’s obligation to follow all applicable WHS legislation and regulations, and ensures that WHS considerations are included at every stage of staff consultation, and will become a standing agenda item at meetings of the Rex Airline Services Committee (RASC).
Ad hoc annual leave and greater flexibility – there will be increased access to ad hoc annual leave, and members will have more flexibility in how they would like to work their minimum hours, such as where their hours sit in each fortnight. Members will now have the option to work their minimum hours across their rostered fortnight as opposed to each week, which gives you greater flexibility and work-life balance.
Improved staff consultation mechanisms – union members will now have greater rights and input into Rex staff consultative mechanisms. This is important, as Rex is already obliged to notify your union on all proposals for major workplace changes, but also because involving your union in staff consultations leads to more efficient and collaborative processes.
Reproductive health gender affirmation leave – while Rex has acknowledged the importance of these leave types, they have held off on including them in your enterprise agreement at this stage but will look to developing a company-wide policy.
Union inductions – union delegates will be afforded the right to attend new staff inductions during paid work time to inform new staff on their right to join their industry union and talk about the benefits of union membership.
Better recognition of union member rights – your EA will now reaffirm your right to be a member of the USU/ASU, which provides you with even greater protections and support for being a union member.
Classification review – Rex has recommitted to a classification review during the life of this agreement, which was previously put on hold due to the company going into administration, to ensure that our members are paid at their correct level and rate.
Congratulations to all our members who’ve been active and engaged in this round of EA negotiations at Rex – we can only score these wins when we all stand together!
