Update 15, Monday November 6
Download a PDF of this update here.
Your combined rail unions (CRU) negotiating team met with management on the 24th and 26th October to try to reach agreement on the issues you said matter most in your new Enterprise Agreement. At that meeting, your CRU team put proposals to management on,
- Your rights when involved in a critical incident;
- Managing the use of contractors in a way that doesn’t exploit contract workers and
doesn’t undermine the job security of permanent staff;
- Improving disciplinary investigations;
- Engineering qualification recognition; and
- Extending the use of travel passes to private operators.
Unfortunately management is yet to respond. Your CRU team has written to management demanding answers on these issues as well as,
- Their proposed pay increases;
- Details of their proposal for the deed on redeployment and redundancy rights;
- Their proposed changes to Clause 12 (the facilitation clause);
- The number of days domestic violence leave to be included in the new Agreement;
- Including your Health and Safety Representatives right to choose their own accredited
trainer in the Agreement;
- Y our right to accident make-up pay;
- Limiting changes to the Master Roster;
- Priority assessments for current staff for new roles; and
- How long the new Agreement will run for.
11 days after the last meeting we are still waiting for answers from management. Instead of working with members to resolve this Agreement, management are claiming they need to delay negotiations because of their roadshow on pre-negotiated clause 12 changes for drivers, train crew and infrastructure workers. Your unions are willing to meet while these tours are happening, its unfortunate management will not do the same. Management says they can’t meet this week but instead need another 8 days to consider issues you have been telling them to resolve for months – this is not good enough!
Your CRU team will meet this week to decide on next steps. To make sure you are kept up to date with Agreement information as it comes in; make sure you update your contact details here. Also make sure you give the same details to HR.
Together, we will fight for an Agreement that values you and the work you do.