Today Tabcorp asked the union to a meeting to discuss the plans that RVL have to trial shorter race meetings at some country and metropolitan tracks.
As members would have noticed there have been some changes to the scheduling of races, currently being trialled by RVL and certain racing clubs, with the time between races being reduced to half an hour. So far this has been trialled at Pakenham, Bendigo and last weekend at Caulfield.
Tabcorp think that Sandown will also trial a shorter race meeting soon.
At this stage there is not much information available about how long the trial will go on for, the scope of the trial, or whether or not it is likely to become a more permanent and regular occurrence across race tracks in Victoria.
Tabcorp have explained to the ASU that they believe that RVL and racing clubs are doing this because they want a more dynamic experience for race-goers and they believe this will increase patronage on-course. Whilst the ASU supports efforts to increase on-course patronage we need to ensure that there are not unintended consequences for staff and jobs.
The ASU has urged Tabcorp to hold urgent discussions with RVL to try to gather more concrete information. The ASU will be seeking discussions with RVL independently from Tabcorp as we believe that this change will impact on Tabcorp staff and we want to be armed with all the relevant information. As soon as we have more information we will share it with members.
So what does this mean for you and what has this got to do with our EBA?
Aside from some of the scheduling (clashes with interstate races) and other commercial issues, there are potentially big implications for on-course staff associated with such a change. The ASU wants to ensure that our EBA protects staff into the future.
As the trial continues we hope to gain a clearer picture of how thouroughbred racing is going to look and then we should be in a better position to consider exactly how this may impact employees.
Given we are currently in negotiations regarding your EBA we plan to continue discussions with Tabcorp about the EBA keeping ASU members interests at the heart of all considerations that are brought to the table.
We will continue to bring you regular updates as information comes to us and as negotiations progress and of course we will be seeking your input throughout.
We’ll be holding a mass meeting on Saturday the 12th for members on course before the operator shift commences so stay tuned for more information in the lead up to that date.
If you have any questions please get in touch via email kdickie@asupsvic.org or phone 9342 3302
Got a mate on course who still hasn’t joined? Get them on board today. Visit www.asuvic.org or fill out a membership form and send it in.