Since the last ASU update, EBA negotiations have been continuing for a replacement agreement for On-Course and Special Events staff.
There has been some progress made over some issues, however the union must be satisfied that the overall agreement leaves people better off. The union will continue to negotiate with Tabcorp in good faith. The union has made it very clear to Tabcorp that we will not be agreeing to measures that disadvantage On –Course or special events staff.
As summary of the main issues are set out below.
1. Classification Structure:
Tabcorp have proposed the following revised classification structure.
Level 1 – trainee
Level 2 – Local Clerk/Operator
Level 3 – Concierge/Hand held
Level 4 – Supervisor/Banker
Level 5 – Casual Manager
2. Wages
Tabcorp have proposed a new hourly rate of pay for On-Course – you can view the proposed wage rates here.
(a) In addition to the Hourly Rates, Current Casual Managers will receive a Casual Manager Allowance of $10 per hour which is grandfathered for current Casual Managers only.
The ASU has indicated to Tabcorp that we believe there should be a higher rate of pay attached to Saturday work as compared to mid-week.
Tabcorp have proposed a different and lower wages structure for Special Events here.
3. Hours of Work & Rosters
Tabcorp has proposed:
• An ordinary span of hours from 9.30am to 11.30pm Monday to Sunday – this is a significant increase for special events staff who currently receive a penalty rate after 8.00pm. it also represents longer ordinary hours than both the Clerks and Retail Awards;
• A minimum shift from the start of the 1st local race to the start of the last local race – plus 30 minutes for Levels 1-3;
• A minimum shift from the start of the 1st local race to the start of the last local race – plus 1 hour for Levels 4 & 5;
• 10 hours off between shifts – or double time until this occurs;
• Rosters – Tabcorp will endeavour to publish rosters 6 weeks in advance;
The ASU continues to argue for a minimum 4 hour shift as we understand that under Tabcorp’s proposal some race meetings could fall under 4 hours in duration.
Although Tabcorp has modified its proposal there is still further negotiations required on hours of work in any new agreement.
4. Overtime
Tabcorp propose that overtime would be paid when:
• More than 10 hours worked in a day;
• An employee works outside the ordinary span of hours – 9.30am to 11.30pm Monday to Sunday;
5. Travel Allowances
(a) On-course Regional Employee, other than Casual Managers, will be paid $18 per 80kms (prorated based on distance travelled) travelled from their Local Track to their rostered work location, and return .
(b) On-course Metro Employees, other than Casual Managers:
(i) will be paid a travel allowance of $18 per day that they are rostered to work; or
(ii) where an On-course Metro Employee (other than a Casual Manager) is required to travel outside the Metro Region, they will be paid $18 per 80kms (prorated based on distance travelled) travelled from the Melbourne GPO to their rostered work location, and return.
(c) Casual Managers allowances unchanged from current agreement
6. Overnight Accommodation
Reflects the current agreement.
7. Training Rates
Tabcorp has proposed that staff receiving training be paid at the Level 2 hourly rate and that staff delivering the training be paid at the Level 4 hourly rate.
8. Spring carnival Availability
Employees must be fully available for:
• Derby Day
• Melbourne Cup Day
• Victoria Oaks Day
• Stakes Day
Failure to provide satisfactory evidence of inability to work these days would result in an employee not being rostered for any shift during the subsequent December/January period.
9. Other Issues
There are a range of other clauses that have either been deleted, changed and/or watered down including:
• Equitable rostering;
• One For One replacement – discussions are continuing about the regular pool;
• Use of Agency Staff – the company has proposed a clause that removes certain provisions;
• Extended periods of unavailability – the ASU is seeking to ensure that long term sick leave is excluded from these provisions;
• Various leave clauses – taken out of the EBA and reflected in Tabcorp policy;
• Redundancy clause – Tabcorp are seeking to red-circle redundancy entitlements for existing staff only.
The ASU is continuing to review the document for other issues.
10. Where to from here
The ASU has calculated the Tabcorp wages offer against the current sessional rate structure and the average shift lengths by day of the week.
We have done this by analysing the same set of wages data that Tabcorp has used to come up with their hourly rate of pay structure. The set of data is for all race meetings (Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhounds) across Victoria.
Please note that none of the wages data that Tabcorp have provided the ASU identifies individual employees.
In order to make sense of the employment and hours of work patterns across the state the ASU has broken down the data into:
• Levels
• Day of the week
• Thoroughbred & Harness
• Greyhounds
The ASU is also breaking down the data by track.
In addition Tabcorp has recently shared with the ASU an analysis that shows that over the year 85% of staff are better off under the company’s hourly rate proposal. We are testing this claim carefully as often the devil is in the detail. We also plan to have a look at how allowances, such as travel allowance, will enhance the overall package.
Over the coming weeks the ASU bargaining team will be focussing on:
• Wage rates;
• Getting the hours of work, spread of hours and overtime provisions right;
• Wage increases and indexed allowances over the life of any agreement;
• Ensuring that key provisions are maintained – eg: redundancy, use of Agency staff, equitable rostering.
The ASU will continue to fight hard for a fairer and more balanced EBA outcome and we will keep you informed of the progress every step of the way. We still have much work to do.
Please make sure the ASU has your most up to date details including email address. If you are not receiving regular email updates then you are missing out on important information about your wages and conditions.
Know someone not in the ASU? Encourage them to get on board and join. ASU members working for Tabcorp pay a special low fee of $4.39 per week as we recognise that work is irregular and casual in nature.
Join online at www.asuvic.org
