Understanding The EBA Negotiating Process

When Australia Post continued to negatively affect our rights and continued to insist on the input of very unacceptable clauses in the EBA6, your Union sought membership authority to take industrial action for the first time in nearly 30 years. Australia Post informed their staff, through inflammatory newsletters and team briefs, that the industrial action would not get them to change their minds, and that the EBA6 would include all the previously mentioned negative clauses. An extremely effective industrial action took place. This action was supported across the membership in all divisions and in all states. The action resulted in a significant loss of income to many members. Australia Post, in other states used a secondary workforce even after the action ceased thereby continuing to disadvantage members.

The result of the effective stoppage was that Australia Post did change its tactics and did agree to significantly reduce the harsh claims in the initial document. Your union still believed that the new revised EBA6 document was not commensurate with the efficient, dedicated work done by our members to make Australia Post the enterprise that it has become.
Your Union sought a back-pay clause and even more changes. We gave Australia Post an ultimatum. Australia Post was told that further industrial action would follow if more changes were not made. Other forms of strategic action were implemented. This indicated to Australia Post that your union had the support of the membership and that the membership wanted to continue to pursue a fair and just EBA6.

These continuing actions forced Australia Post to make the following changes to the previously unacceptable EBA6 document.

Union workplace representatives will be paid training and receive official status.
Union workplace representatives will have a charter introduced into the EBA6 which will give the representatives a better chance to adequately represent members in the field.
It was agreed to put arbitration and consultation into EBA6.
Better maternity leave provisions were introduced.
Better employment arrangement clauses were put into EBA6.
Stronger clauses protecting against contracting out were put into the new document.
Retail shoe allowance was significantly increased.
Protection for tea breaks was introduced.
AIMS was taken out of the document and will not be implemented.
Machine sort rates will not be unreasonably used to monitor workers.
Strong and acceptable limits are to be placed on retail franchising arrangements.
There is to be no fulltime DODO.
Any form of DODO will only be introduced into super centres for part timers and only after Union consultation.
There will be no absolute requirement to work fixed teams or fixed shifts in order to obtain the team skills loading.
There is to be a review of the transport structure.
Salary sacrifice provisions are to be enhanced.
Australia Post will make a payment to members to seek superannuation advice.
Meal Allowances will continue to be paid according to the current process.

Australia Post also agreed to increase the pay offer to 4% up front with three payments 8 months apart of 2%, and a four hundred dollar bonus.

Your Union continued the campaign. The aim of all negotiations is to get the best deal available and possible for the membership. Australia Post was then directed by its owner, the Liberal government, to cease all negotiations with the Union, to withdraw all offers mentioned above, to cease any involvement by the Union and not to allow the Union to have access or to provide workplace representation of its members. Your Union then sought expert advice and assistance from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Secretary, Greg Combet of the ACTU lead further negotiations.

During these new negotiations, Australia Post’s position was clear. With direction from the government they were to terminate the bargaining period thus giving the membership, no access to protected industrial action. Australia Post would then continue to trade under the provisions of EBA5. This would allow Australia Post open slather on:
Franchising
DODO
AIMS.

The CEPU would be left with no access to workplaces and our local representatives may loose their right to effectively represent member’s issues. There would be no access to arbitration, no improved consultation, no union representatives training and no Union representatives charter. Only disputes which had no impact on Australia Post’s finances would be allowed to be arbitrated by a third party.
The government directed Australia Post to launch an all out full anti-member attack. Australia Post would then go down the track that Telstra took some years back. They would offer members pay increases through Australian Workplace Agreements whereby individuals would argue for their own pay increases thus loosing the bargaining power of the collective. Australia Post would then withdraw from all forms of EBA negotiations. Telstra’s strategy was to decimate the Union by sacking key union representatives, to stop payroll deductions and limit access. If any of this type of action were to take place your CEPU would need to mount a strong and continuing campaign with a minimum of ten days of industrial action and still face an anti Union employer not willing to back down just before a Federal election and with government support.

There is an understanding amongst the membership that an orchestrated, comprehensive campaign would then be required to affect any change over perhaps the next five years. No further pay rises, no union involvement, and a possible hostile government for the next five years. Many of the other state branches and many of our members in Queensland rejected this scenario, particularly when the benefits of the EBA6 (newly negotiated), as listed above were taken into account.

This is part of a Special Edition of The Latest Postal News dated 24th August.
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