The delegates and myself again met with management this afternoon in a genuine effort to resolve our ongoing EBA negotiation.
If I can be blunt – your management have got no idea how to resolve this dispute.
Despite Sandy McIntosh’s nonsense email yesterday saying that it was good the Union finally want to negotiate a settlement (remember how management negotiated by coming to five meetings in a row with an unchanged and aggressive position!!!) they continue to put ridiculous demands on the table.
On the positive side we have dragged the wage offer back up from the insulting 2.2% per annum they offered last week to the 2.5% position of a few weeks ago.
But – to get the 2.5% management have identified a series of offsets they want in return.
Some of these offsets may be worth considering but some are just ridiculous.
They include:
– Removal of the training support allowance of $10.00 per day
– Removal of the clause limiting the ratio of part time employees per full time employees in the RAC
– Clarity around how breaks are placed in the schedule
– Requirement for medical certificates for absences of three days or greater or unpaid sick leave
– Side by side call coaching
– Change of tea breaks from 15 minutes back to 10 minutes in length
Obviously there are a range of new matters contained in that group of proposed offsets.
So we did the very obvious thing and said to management that we wanted to take this proposal back to a meeting of union members for further consideration.
We asked that in the good faith we proposed to take the management wages/offsets offer back to the union members that such good faith should be returned by management and that a paid time meeting for all ASU members to attend should be granted.
Guess what everyone?
Your management team refused to grant a paid time meeting!!!
Goodness me – if there is an obvious path to go down at any stage in these negotiations your management team will ALWAYS go the opposite way.
Their decision making is breathtaking.
So that leaves us with little choice but to do it ourselves in our own way.
We will arrange a meeting of all members for sometime next week.
Given management’s lack of cooperation we need to take industrial action for an hour for this meeting so that everyone can be there.
Of course there will be a chorus of the “bad union taking industrial action instead of negotiating” from your managers.
In reality their continued state of disarray leaves us with no choice but to call a stop work to hold a simple meeting to get some guidance from YOU the members on which of the items in the abovementioned management wish list you may want us to discuss with them. It may be that you don’t want us to discuss any of those matters and I’m sure you’ll tell us that at the meeting as well.
Anyway sit tight and we’ll work out the best day for the meeting next week. Stay patient when the inevitable management email comes out in response to this email calling us irresponsible.
I can tell you quite honestly that there is only one side that is genuinely trying to resolve this dispute and it’s NOT them.
We also must clearly say that the management offer does not address a number of matters we have made clear we want resolved.
These include backdating of the first wage increase and an agreed process for dealing with the management attack on the current annualised hours.
Stay tuned everyone and we will arrange for this meeting as soon as possible.
Can I again just say how proud you should be of your delegates – they were magnificent in the two meetings we have had with management this week and they certainly make my job a thousand times easier.
Stay united everyone – your strong and tough stance in these negotiations will ensure we gain a good agreement for everyone and fight off the attacks on your terms and conditions.