The combined unions ran a successful NO campaign around your Agreement on the grounds that many of you would have had members’ rights and conditions stripped from you via illegal, WorkChoices era Individual Employment Agreements. 

Furthermore, despite the strong resistance of the combined unions, TransGrid was happy to basically let a Commissioner decide if they were legal or not. In other words, TransGrid had no legal ground to stand on and was happy to submit your Agreement in the hope the Fair Work Commission would either not notice or simply overlook the fact that many of you would’ve been subject to working conditions of the type thrown out in 2009.
Not surprisingly, TransGrid hasn’t acknowledged what the rest of us know – that people won’t sell their rights and conditions to work under IEAs.  Instead, they asked you to participate in a survey.

Your union has had very little contact with TransGrid management since the vote result and has become concerned that they have no intention of moving “as swiftly as possible to resolve the EA.”

Your union has also come to be concerned as to TransGrid’s references to “your bargaining representatives” in that messages have been framed to suggest TransGrid management is negotiating on your behalf.  To be clear, your relevant union is your bargaining representative, not TransGrid management.  Any interference in your right to be represented by your union will be dealt with swiftly and accordingly. To address this concern, your union has written formally to TransGrid requesting them to address their sloppy and potentially unlawful language. Further, we have formally requested they issue a correction with regards to previous correspondence.  Your union believes this is only fair and would indicate TransGrid’s willingness to negotiate in good faith when negotiations resume.

MEMBERSHIP
If you or someone you know is not a member of your union, please join online at www.usu.org.au/join.  

Members who refer others for membership will be eligible for a payment of $50 per member joined.  These payments are paid periodically throughout the year.

YOUR USU OFFICIALS:
Troy Dunne, Sydney Transgrid Organiser, tdunne@usu.org.au or 0419 403 076
Brian Cameron, Newcastle/Hunter Transgrid Organiser, bcameron@usu.org.au or 0419 761 318