The CEPU and other Telstra unions met with Telstra on Thursday 26 April as part of the current enterprise bargaining negotiations.
This was the second formal meeting between Telstra and the unions’ Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) and was again largely concerned with establishing an agreed approach towards and timetable for bargaining.
There was also some preliminary discussion on one of the central issues for these negotiations:
- the way work roles are described and assigned and
- how job definitions relate to pay structures
Lastly, the issues of the length of the new Enterprise Agreement (EA) and it’s scope (who’s in and who’s out) were discussed but not finalised.
Bargaining timetable
The Single bargaining unit (SBU) and Telstra have reached a broad agreement on the timetable for the next few months of negotiations up until mid-August.
The CEPU proposed some changes to the original draft timetable as it seemed to us that it would be better to deal with such issues as the length of the agreement and its scope (i.e. who’s in and who’s out) once its likely content of the agreement becomes clearer.
Telstra agreed with these proposals. A copy of the revised timetable will be posted on the CEPU website. Members should regard it as a guide ONLY rather than a hard and fast set of dates as all parties agree changes might be necessary as talks progress.
Scope of agreement
As previously reported to members, both Telstra and the union agree that, in principle, it would be better to have one agreement for all Telstra employees rather than hundreds –in fact thousands – of separate ones (EAs, ECAs, AWAs, ITEAs).
At present, though, some employees who might want to be covered by the new agreement may not be. Employees on AWAs which have not yet reached their expiry date may not be “in scope”. They also may not have the option of coming onto either the present or the new EA until that expiry date is reached.
The CEPU believes that all AWA-based employees should be given the option of coming onto the present or the future EA whether or not their AWAs have expired – if they wish. Under the current laws AWAs can be terminated at any time if both the employer and employee agree.
Telstra has agreed to consider the unions’ position on this question.
Telstra “work model”/job descriptions
Job descriptions and related pay structures are set to be at the centre of these negotiations.
Currently the jobs of employees in Category 1 of the current Telstra EA or on Part A of ECAs are classified on the basis of what was initially an agreed system (the Hay system). Workstreams and job descriptions based on this system were negotiated with the Telstra unions in the mid-1990s.
The other system currently in use in Telstra is what Telstra calls the “Job Family” model. This was adopted by Telstra without negotiations with the unions during the Howard era and now applies to the majority of employees likely to be covered by the new EA.
Telstra and the unions have agreed to set up a working party to see whether it is possible to move to a single “work model”. This will be a complex task and will in the CEPU’s view require input from our members who know most about there current Telstra jobs. The CEPU will also require attendance at the working party from some of our key reps from the workplace.
The CEPU will report to members on the composition of the working party and its methods of work once it has been set up. Our aim of course will be to ensure that, at a minimum, no employee is worse off under any integrated “work model”.
The CEPU considers that this element of the proposed EA poses a major challenge to all parties and that there are no “quick fixes” in this area.
Members should also note that although classification structures and pay levels go hand in hand, it is not at this point intended that pay increase issues be addressed directly by the working party.
Length of agreement
Telstra has indicated it would prefer a 2 year agreement. As reported above, the unions’ view is that we should wait until we have a better idea of the likely content of the agreement before discussing its length. Telstra has agreed to defer this question until later in the negotiations.
Next meeting
The next meeting between the Single Bargaining unit (SBU) and Telstra will be on 7 May. Members will be kept informed of further progress.
Your feedback
We encourage feedback from our members on these issues and if you would like to send in your comments, suggestions or questions, please reply to this email or email: feedback@cepu.org
For further information please contact Branch Assistant Secretary Shane Murphy or Branch Official Peter O’Connell at the Union office on (02) 9893 7822.
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