August 2009

Late today Fair Work Australia approved the CEPU’s applications for a ballot of members to authorise the taking of protected industrial action in Australia Post and in Post Logistics. “This is a significant step forward in attempting to successfully approve within our Australia Post membership the biggest workplace ballot in the country,” said CEPU State Secretary Jim Metcher. “Tens of thousands

Read more

Decision on our ballot put off ’till Monday. Australia Post yesterday used the equivalent of a “sick note” to deliberately sabotage a hearing into your Union’s industrial action ballot application. Under the law, Fair Work Australia (FWA) — the body that has taken over from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission — must consider ballot applications within two days of such

Read more

The CEPU has today lodged an official application for a secret ballot of members to approve taking protected industrial action against Australia Post. This will be  the largest ballot for protected industrial action since the start of the Fair Work Act.  It will ask nearly 18,000 CEPU members at Australia Post to take a wide range of actions in an

Read more

Service Stream subbies have recently raised the lack of work available at Service Stream I&M across NSW with the Union. Subcontractors have reported that they are lucky to receive 2 work tickets per day. Others are receiving none. Although unfortunate, the lack of work at Service Stream is due to the unavoidable current situation of low work volumes across Telstra.

Read more

The status of at least some of Telstra’s non-Union Employee Collective Agreements (ECAs) could be in doubt as a result of a successful case brought by the CEPU. The Federal Court has ruled that employees at electrical company Blue Star Pacific were not given a reasonable opportunity to decide whether they wanted to accept a proposed ECA because they were

Read more

The CEPU is seeking the views of its Optus members and other employees as to the content of the next Optus Employee Partnership Agreement (EPA). Although the current Optus EPA does not reach its expiry date until October, the company has begun what it describes as “discussions” with employees about the content of the new agreement.  In correspondence with the

Read more

CEPU members in Silcar are currently voting on an Enterprise Agreement proposal for the second time. In June, the CEPU Divisional Executive agreed to recommend two new agreements to its Silcar members, one for  Silcar Communications which provides a range of telecommunications access services and another for  Silcar Telecommunications which covers telepower functions. Both agreements provided minimum 4% annual pay

Read more

The CEPU and other Telstra Unions are continuing their negotiations with the company for a new Enterprise Agreement. As indicated in previous e-Bulletins, headline issues include: 1.      regulation of performance management systems to ensure fairness and transparency; 2.      updating, where necessary, of banding and classification systems; 3.      redundancy provisions; 4.      dispute settlement and consultation processes. As members would be aware, legislative changes introduced by

Read more

The CEPU has received a number of complaints from delivery members across the state following the recent implementation of the Hughes bundle straps as an alternative to using elastic bands for bundling mail for delivery. Members are advised that the straps are an alternative to using the elastic bands and they are not obligated to use them if not comfortable with

Read more

As you know we have battled Australia Post for over a year about the threats to transport member safety presented by the move to introduce the new Mercedes Sprinter vans without side windows. We have consistently argued the vans are not fit for purpose and that the lack of side windows severely limits driver vision – and, therefore, safety. Now

Read more