This is the CEPU view

WHY ARE WE PROPOSING A YES VOTE?

Your union negotiators are recommending you vote Yes to EBA6 – we believe this is the best agreement we can get. You‘ll be asked to vote first in a union ballot. If a majority of union members endorse the agreement, the Unions Div Exec will support a Yes vote for the ballot of staff.

We won a better outcome because of your support as members.
Post’s final offer was very different to their draft back in April/May. They changed position after the May strike and again when we threatened strike action in July and August.

Your union negotiators made the assessment in August that this is the best agreement we could get and another 24-hour strike would not have made it better.
Reps told us members couldn’t afford to take 5 or 10 days strike action. This is what it would have taken without a guarantee of getting a better result for members with the probability of losing the deal on the table all together.

We took 12 issues to Post in late August and got shifts on 9 of them. We didn’t get everything we want but we got a better EBA.
We got shifts on agreement expires 31 Dec 2006, consultation re PT DODO, same wages in Retail franchises, process for linehaul drivers determining the position on Post’s new remuneration package, finalising Post’s new remuneration package, finalising Post logistics EBA, Transport review terms of ref sorted before EBA i.e. certified, Delivery review use EBA6 dispute process so can access arbitration, super choice- education/seminars, get agreements with labour hire. We couldn’t get any movement on 6.30 starters or union officials access rights.

If we went on strike the risk was Post would attack your union the way employers like Telstra has.
This means offering individual non-union contracts (AWA’s), cutting off all union fees paid by payroll deduction, sacking key union reps and so on and Post being able to do as they please when they please.

WHAT’S IN THE AGREEMENT?

We got improvements/safeguard in 17 areas in this EBA. We didn’t get everything we wanted or could fix the current problems in 5 areas.

The areas we didn’t get everything we wanted are:

1. Didn’t fix non-penalty shifts- we couldn’t get changes for 6.30 starters. This means we have to campaign about this and make Post see they need to reconsider their position.
2. Potentially cuts/freezes in Linehaul pay- we’ve got a process to get the Industrial Commission to decide this but we may not get everything we want.
3. We didn’t get a lot of part-time jobs converted to full-time, particularly in Mails. However we did get stronger provisions on employment arrangements to make it harder for Post to move away from full-time jobs.
4. We didn’t stop DODO altogether but we did restrict it to a part-time cap and vert importantly we forced Post to do it using the consultation and dispute process so we can put alternative proposals and make them accountable for every new job proposal.
5. We didn’t stop retail franchising altogether but we did restrict it to 20 corporate offices and ensured staff will get the same wages, not the 30% less they would have got.

What we gained was:

1. Arbitration & consultation- this is really important, as Post will make more changes in the next few years. Now we can rely on the Industrial Commission to make decisions that force Post to act reasonably.
2. Union reps training
3. Union reps charter- together with rep training this means your reps are much better placed and recognised to help you win on issues in your workplace
4. Increased maternity leave
5. Stronger words on employment arrangements- linked to arbitration this provides an opportunity for future full-time job designs
6. Stronger contracting out clause
7. Increased $20 shoe allowance for retail $56 to now $76
8. 30% penalty for part-time staff working 12-4am and finishing before 8am
9. Protection of tea breaks
10. Discontinue AIMS
11. Won’t use sort/machine rates unreasonably against workers performance
12. Strong limits and conditions on retail franchising
13. No full-time DODO
14. Have to consult before introduce part-time DODO- along with stronger consultation provisions, this is very significant. We can put up alternative staffing proposals and look at OHS wherever Post tries to introduce part time DODO. And we can rely on arbitration if a dispute arises with DODO.
15. Consultation on team working in mails and parcels including an examination of SWLF
16. Got overdue review of Transport
17. Salary sacrifice improved
18. Pay rise of 10% with 4% up front for an agreement expiring 31 Dec 2006 which = 4.2% per year or (10%) $126 per fortnight.

For the first time, we didn’t trade off conditions for a pay rise. This is a significant win.

Post didn’t get the reduction in conditions and entitlements they wanted in their shopping list.

They wanted to change sick leave entitlements, redundancy agreement, hours of duty, cash overtime meal allowances and delivery duty allowance provisions. Open slather on DODO and Franchising (150). They couldn’t get any of these up.

It was always going to be hard to get everything we wanted because the law doesn’t let workers or the union to tell employers how to organise their business.

The workplace Relations Act doesn’t let unions or workers to tell employers how to run their businesses. They can close and open post offices, open and close DC’s, abolish workplaces and so on. So it was always going to be very difficult to stop DODO and Franchising altogether as Post can argue these are about the way they organise the business.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE NO VOTE IS SUCCESSFUL?

If the NO vote is successful we remain on EBA5 and have no restrictions on DODO, on franchising, no access to arbitration and no protection of union reps rights. No 10% pay rise and gives the ability for Post to remove the recent 4% pay rise gift whenever they like. Basically Post will be able to do as they please when as they please without challenge in the absence of an EBA.

EBA5 says nothing on DODO so Post could introduce full-time DODO. Similarly it says nothing on franchising so Post could franchise 150 P.O.’s like they first proposed.

Post could also change the EBA and put out a non-union agreement with some changes so some groups will vote for it and they can get a majority of staff. Then we are all stuck with a worse agreement and more importantly horrific industrial relations environment.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

If a majority of members vote YES then your union Div Exec will recommend a YES vote in the ballot of all staff. Once both the union ballot and the staff ballot are completed the agreement will be ratified.

Then we need to continue campaigning on the issues we haven’t fixed. Getting results isn’t just about the EBA. It’s about what we do on the ground over the next couple of years. We need your help. We want to train lots of union reps so we can continue organising in workplaces to fix your issues.

We’re committed to continuing what we’ve started in EBA- spending more time in workplaces, putting a lot of resources into training and supporting reps, getting members more involved and really acting you are the union- because you are.