Australia Post workers vote YES to new Fair Work Agreement (APFWA)

Australia Post workers have strongly endorsed a new Union collective agreement that maximises full-time work and protects important workplace conditions and entitlements in a time of flux for postal services worldwide.

The results of the APFWA ballot, administered by the Australian Electoral Commission have now been formally declared. The results of the APFWA ballot are:

The overwhelming YES vote is a clear endorsement of the new agreement by the majority of workers returning a vote within each State across Australia.

The Union’s main goal during negotiations was to maximise quality, full-time jobs with certainty for employees, while ensuring a sustainable future for Australia Post.

The three-year agreement:

• Maximises full-time work as the preferred employment option through job design and a new employment classification;
• Enshrines all existing Award conditions and entitlements;
• Prefers training and redeployment into growth areas of the business, as opposed to redundancy, with a $20million training fund investment made by Post;
• Ends the ‘sick’ Facility Nominated Doctor system;
• Provides a pay rise of up to 10% – building on pay increases of 12% already received by employees during the Global Financial Crisis 

The CEPU would like to take this opportunity to thank all members and their local Union representatives for their hard work in bringing this agreement to fruition after a long and successful campaign.

We also thank Australia Post management led by Managing Director Ahmed Fahour, who approached negotiations in genuine good faith with the future of both the postal service and its employees in mind.

The CEPU now looks forward to working co-operatively with Australia Post to implement the agreement to the benefit and security of all Union members.

Yours faithfully,

JIM METCHER
BRANCH SECRETARY