On Thursday 20 November your representatives again met with the company to continue the EBA negotiations.
As outlined at our recent members meetings it was our expectation that the company would take seriously the compromise position put by your negotiating team.
This significant compromise by the Unions in the interest of trying to reach an agreement with the company was also endorsed by meetings of members held just prior to last week’s negotiations.
Gobsmacked by companies offer.
Whilst we weren’t necessarily expecting the company to come back and agree in the first instance with 100% of our modified claim we certainly weren’t expecting them to come back with a lesser position than was on the table in previous weeks.
It’s fair to say that the negotiating team were gobsmacked with what was presented to us.
What made this even worse was that the company as part of its offer said that there would be no back pay and no pay increase until January 2015 even though the delays in negotiations have been at the request of the company.
On more than one occasion Toll Dnata have requested extensions between meetings so that they could (in their words) “seriously consider their position and then present us with a detailed and fair offer” which has effectively delayed negotiations at their request.
A real kick in the guts!
Even after the sensible and reasonable position taken by members last year to do a short term agreement with a lesser pay increase the company came back with a position that we think is a kick in the guts and shows you absolutely no respect or regard for the hard work and efforts that you have put in to assist this company.
What was the offer?
The company put forward its offer (if you could call it an offer) which is outlined below;
- 2.5% from 1 January 2015
- 2.5% from 1 July 2015
- 3% from 1 July 2016
- EBA expiry date 30 June 2017
- NO BACK PAY from 1 July 2014
- Buddy Training allowance of $20 per shift when buddying a new employee
- Some wording around the use of casuals and labour hire
- A commitment to rostering committees and consultation around workforce planning and mix
But wait there’s even less!!!
Not only did Toll Dnata come back with a completely inadequate offer they also back flipped on some of things that we thought were already agreed in principle.
Fortnightly pays.
After withdrawing their claim for fortnightly pays only a matter of weeks ago the company has back flipped on this and has reinstated its fortnightly pay claim.
How do they say this would be implemented?
Effectively you don’t get paid for 2 weeks and you’ll just have to manage.
They say that in the first week of the fortnightly pays you can ask for an advance payment of 45% of your fortnightly pay that would be paid in week 2, however, you won’t get paid again after that until week 4. No matter how you slice it you’ll need to make a week’s pay stretch for 2 weeks.
It would appear that during that pay free week you won’t need to pay your mortgage, rent, bills or even eat so this shouldn’t be a problem!!!!!
Overtime
We also thought that the principle of getting paid an additional amount for overtime was agreed in theory however the company have now back flipped on this as well and don’t believe your extra time is worth paying for at a higher rate!
One pay rate
We believe that there was also an understanding that there would be one rate of pay, not a pay structure where a part time employee incorrectly gets a lesser hourly rate than a full time employee.
Unfortunately the bean counters have been at it again and tried to reinterpret how the EBA applies and so this has been withdrawn as well.
To date not one calculation or figure that the company has provided us throughout the negotiations has been correct or accurate and we still continue to find mistakes in presentations they provide us. This does not give us a lot of confidence in any interpretation or calculation that we are provided.
Night Shift Allowance
The Union put a position that any shifts finishing after midnight or starting before 5am should attract an additional penalty payment. The company have also rejected this.
Don’t get caught up in the spin.
The company claims that you will receive a 5% pay increase in the first year (2.5% January 2015 and 2.5% July 2015). What they fail to tell you is that morally they should be paying you a percentage increase from 1 July 2014.
Your last pay increase was from 1 July 2013 and with the company not offering an increase before January 2015 then this really means they’re offering a 2.5 % pay increase for that 18 month period (without back pay for the first 6 months) and then another 2.5% in July 2015.
What it really means is a 5% increase over 2 years NOT the 12 months that they claim.
Where to next?
If you’re not in the Union you need to join.
You need to ensure your personal details such as home address and emails are up to date with the union. This is important in the event that we need to conduct a ballot for industrial action.
It is a real shame that we have arrived at this position given we were reasonably hopeful of reaching an agreement. Unfortunately it appears that Toll Dnata have become gymnasts with the amount of backflips currently being done. This is extremely disappointing given the reasonableness and restraint that employees have shown over the last 18 months. Stay tuned for details of upcoming members meetings.