As you are aware, the combined unions have been in negotiations to replace your Enterprise Agreement, whereby we have met with the business on 18 occasions. Negotiations re-commenced after the Christmas break on 4 February, and we write to provide an update on the progress of some of the “big ticket” items. Please be aware that this is not an exhaustive list – an exhaustive run down of the progress of claims can be found in the Ausgrid provided packs on your internal Wire.
AGREED ITEMS:
Paid time on shift change – Ausgrid’s acceptance of this claim will ensure that those who undertake shift work will be paid for the time it takes to hand over to the next shift.
Pro-rata on redundancy – Ausgrid’s acceptance of this claim will ensure that those who have ever undertaken part time work in their careers are not financially disadvantaged in the event they take a redundancy. Redundancy in these instances will be calculated on the basis of an employee’s hours of work over the course of their employment or the hours they were working at the time they take redundancy, whichever is the greater.
Novated leasing – Ausgrid employees will be able to lease vehicles for private use using their pre-tax income.
Superannuation on PPL – Ausgrid’s acceptance of this claim will ensure that employees who access paid parental leave will be paid superannuation whilst on such leave. There is no legislative requirement for businesses make superannuation payments on PPL. This payment of superannuation on PPL will also be made to those who access PPL in the unfortunate circumstances of miscarriage or stillbirth.
ONGOING – IN DISCUSSION:
No loss of current conditions.
Carry-over of dispute settlement provisions in the event that the Agreement is replaced and there is a pre-existing dispute
This is a complex claim, however, the USU tabled this claim in light of a recent Full Bench of the FWC decision that effectively means that if the parties are engaged in the Dispute Settlement Procedure at the time an Agreement is replaced, the pre-existing dispute effectively ceases to exist. Ausgrid have agreed in principle to this claim and have provided a re-draft of the clause provided by the USU. We are currently seeking legal advice as to whether Ausgrid’s proposal satisfies our concerns. In short, the discussions around this claim have been positive & will provide better protection for members engaged in dispute proceedings.
Pay increases.
An increase in access to compassionate leave from 2 days to 4 in the instance a member of your household with whom you share a bona-fide domestic relationship passes on. This claim was tabled verbally by the USU on Thursday, 11 February and supported by the other interested unions, with a draft clause tabled at the meeting of Thursday, 18 February.
NOT AGREED – AUSGRID HAVE THUS FAR REJECTED THE FOLLOWING ITEMS.
- Job security;
- Superannuation differential to remain at 5.5%;
- Location flexibility – the USU will be pushing this matter in light of a recent survey of businesses conducted by the FWC and member concerns about location flexibility whilst the global pandemic is ongoing;
- Superannuation to be payable whilst on Workers Compensation;
- RDOs for those engaged in PM&S classifications; and
- Partial private use of company vehicles.
Troy Dunne – Sydney Metro Ausgrid
0419 403 076 / tdunne@usu.org.au
Paul Sansom – Newcastle & Hunter Ausgrid
0409 076 633 / psansom@usu.org.au
