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Telstra
Industrial Action Update |
Members will recall that just prior to Christmas,
Telstra tried to stop the various industrial actions
notified by the CEPU – despite claiming at the same
time that the EA employees’ Union campaign was
having little or no impact on its business! Those
attempts failed and stoppages and overtime/recall
bans have been ongoing despite the Xmas lull.
We
are aware of a widespread take up of the stoppage
action around the 3 days between Christmas and New
Year, where members decided to have a longer
break. We are also aware of the widespread use of
the log-on half hour action before starting time
across Telstra where members are refusing that half
hour unpaid overtime.
There have been other examples of effective action
such as in Palm Cove, North Queensland where the
press is reporting customer complaints regarding
faults with their phones, internet and Eftpos
connections for days at a time.
In
NSW the Argent network had a major outage with
around 25% of national leased line Eftpos services
down.
In
WA the CEPU suspended some action because of our
life and limb policy relating to the bushfires. We
are concerned with reports of local management abuse
of our goodwill in this regard. There have been
other actions across all States and Territories of
Australia.
In
terms of the EA, members received the 2% from
October and a 2.5% sign on bonus (even though we
never signed up) .
Members have advised the bonus timing was helpful in
the lead up to Christmas. All your existing EA
conditions remain, i.e. redundancy, penalty rates,
long service leave, etc arising from and including
agreements reached with the Federal Government.
Membership consultation
- Auspoll
Following requests from State Branches, the Union
has decided to take a new poll of members’ views
about Telstra’s latest offer. The poll will again be
conducted by the independent agency, Auspoll.
Members are being asked what they think of the
current Telstra offer and to consider action to
further the campaign.
All
members are urged to participate. You should
expect to be contacted by email early in the week
commencing 1st February 2010.
Members should be clear, however, that this is not a
formal vote on the proposed agreement. Rather it is
a “straw vote” which will provide the CEPU with
quick feedback to assist with the next steps in the
campaign.
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Telstra
sick leave: know your rights |
CEPU members are reporting an increased
number of requests from Telstra management
to provide proof that they have been sick
when they have taken leave. In some cases,
the requests have been made weeks after the
leave was actually taken.
Members should be clear about their rights
in this area. These are governed by the
Telstra General Conditions of Employment
Award (Clause 25.4).
The Award allows you a total of up to five
days paid sick leave without your having to
provide a medical certificate.
However, you must provide evidence of
illness/injury if:
·
you take more than three days sick leave in
a row or
·
you are asked
to produce evidence that you were
sick/injured
within one day
of your return to work.
So you cannot be required to produce
evidence for short periods of sick leave
(i.e. fewer than four days) unless
the request is made the day you come back.
If you are asked to produce evidence in
these circumstances, it can be in the form
of a statutory declaration.
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M2
Commander Communications |
The CEPU has been involved in
negotiations with M2 Commander
regarding the relocation to Adelaide
of Technical Support and
Provisioning Team functions
currently performed out of North
Sydney.
A number of members have contacted
the CEPU regarding their rights and
entitlements in this situation.
Some employees will be moving into
other roles for M2 Commander at the
Sydney centre but others will be
made redundant. It is anticipated
that the relocation arrangements
will be finalised by late February.
Members should seek advice from the
Union in the first instance.
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Exchange
"Makeover Day" |
Members would be aware of Telstra’s Exchange
“Makeover Day” project which commenced on 5
December last year.
On that clean up day employees were invited
to bring along their own paint brushes, lawn
mowers and hedge trimmers to clean up more
than 200 sites in the largest cities.
Originally, Telstra sought to have employees
take up this activity in their own time but
subsequently agreed to pay overtime in some
circumstances. For senior staff, however,
it was a “love” job.
Subsequently information came out that
showed that the Telstra Network Facilities
budget had been slashed, with a 20% cut to
Network Integrity Works and a 50% cut to
Operational Integrity.
In turn Exchange Maintenance including some
of the activities undertaken on “Maintenance
Day” were obliterated.
Initially a You Tube video appeared on the
internet explaining the maintenance cuts but
it then suddenly disappeared.
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BSA
KPI Fines |
As you would be aware the CEPU commenced
legal action on behalf of subcontractor
members against BSA last year over wages
being withheld by BSA associated with KPI
fines. As previously reported the matter was
settled by Lawyers acting for BSA prior to
the court hearing the matter. During the
period of this litigation, BSA quite
appropriately suspended all KPI fines
against their subcontractors.
Since this settlement some subcontractors
have been brought into meetings with BSA
management and given a document drafted by
lawyers for BSA .
The document states in part that the
subcontractor is liable to BSA for KPI fines
and by signing the BSA document the
subcontractor agrees with BSA that this
liability is recoverable by BSA. The BSA
document further states upon signing the
agreement that the subcontractor agrees that
he/she can take NO further legal action on
such a matter against BSA.
Subcontractors members are encouraged by the
Union NOT to sign any document from BSA
until obtaining advice from your Union
first.
After one
subcontractor member just prior to Xmas
refused to sign the BSA agreement on KPI
fines, alleged typical intimidation tactics
were played out by BSA management that
resulted in the sacking of the subcontractor
member shortly thereafter.
Legal action
has now commenced on behalf of this
subcontractor in the Fair Work Australia
Tribunal and further litigation is pending
against BSA.
The
CEPU has also assisted with an employment
opportunity for this subcontractor member
within the Telecommunications Industry by an
employer who not only values their employees
but treats their employees with dignity and
respect.
The Union has
received further claims from other
subcontractor members seeking to recover
wages unlawfully deducted by BSA. These
further claims are currently in the hands of
the CEPU legal team.
If any
BSA subcontractor has had wages deducted by
BSA due to KPI fines should forward the
precise particulars to their claim to the
CEPU Branch Assistant Secretary Shane Murphy
ASAP for assessment of the claim and options
to recover wages that have been unlawfully
withheld.
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Foxtel
Digipath preference takes toll on income |
Foxtel
recently removed the installation of the return
path in favour of
the new Digipath.
This has resulted in a net reduction of income
per subcontractor of around $500 a week.
CEPU Downer Foxtel Subcontractor
Members held a meeting last week and are
outraged at the net loss of income.
At this meeting our subcontractor claims were
developed and submitted to Downer management for
rectification by close of business this Thursday
11th February 2010.
Further meetings
are planned with ALL Downer
Foxtel Subcontractors this Friday to
consider the next step in the campaign.
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Telstra Service Blitz update |
Members advise that Communications Technicians (CTs)
can still receive Blitz points even though they
have been taken “off the box” to undertake other
duties.
For a period, CTs were disadvantaged while
performing other duties. Techs can now receive
3.9 points.
Get into the Blitz site, go to “Create”, insert
the date then “Other”, add the 3.9 “Off the Box”
and the particular task you have been
performing.
Hopefully this will alleviate problems
experienced by CTs when they were not receiving
points whilst undertaking alternative duties.
The CEPU has not been a fan of Service Blitz but
if you can earn additional income by performing
your normal duties why would you not make use of
all the opportunities available?
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NBN Co consults on network design |
NBN Co has begun a
national consultation with the
telecommunications industry about the design of
its proposed network.
In late December the company issued a
Consultation Paper outlining the key features of
the network. According to the blueprint, NBN Co
will operate only at a very basic level (Layer
2) of the Next Generation Network “stack”. It
will provide physical access and connectivity
for broadband services but all other functions-
at both wholesale and retail levels - will have
to be provided by the other companies which use
the network.
Concerns are being raised in the industry as to
how many companies in Australia will have the
resources to build national networks on top of
this minimal base and consequently the extent to
which this model will actually stimulate
competition in the wireline space.
The other major design issue canvassed by NBN Co
is the number of points at which its telco
customers will be able to access the network.
No number has been fixed yet, but statements by
NBN Co Mike Quigley suggest it might be between
100 and 200.
This implies a sweeping rationalisation of the
current national wireline network. Its extent
can be gauged by the fact that there are
currently over 5,000 Telstra Exchange Service
Areas (ESAs), 602 of which are located in the
denser urban and suburban areas.
The industry is still digesting the full
implications of this model. One thing is clear,
however: with only some 200 points at which
other carriers can interconnect, NBN Co will
have to offer not only “last mile” access
services but considerable backhaul as well,
particularly in rural and regional areas.
This in turn raises the prospect of NBN Co
acquiring, in some form, Telstra backhaul assets
i.e. a significant portion of the existing
Interexchange Network (IEN).
The extent that NBN Co will have to acquire such
capacity from Telstra is just one of many NBN
issues which remain outstanding, including the
overarching question of pricing. Indeed with the
fundamentals of network design yet to be
finalised, it will clearly be some time before
the mainland roll-out gets fully underway.
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New workplace rights become law |
On 1 January, new workplace rights came into
force. Together with modern awards, these rights
will underpin the conditions of the great
majority of working Australians.
The National Employment Standards (NES)
establish minimum standards for working hours,
for paid and unpaid leave and for redundancy
entitlements. They are a key part of the Federal
Labor Government’s workplace reform programme
which has also involved the reintroduction of
unfair dismissal protections and the abolition
of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).
The NES also guarantee employees the right to
ask for flexible working arrangements so they
can care for young children, a request that can
only be refused on reasonable business grounds.
Most CEPU telecoms members of course enjoy
conditions that are above the minimum set by the
NES, especially in relation to working hours and
redundancy entitlements. However, the
introduction of the NES puts a floor under the
conditions of the whole workforce and so helps
prevent the race to the bottom that was
encouraged by the Howard Government through the
introduction of AWAs.
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Comcare national seminars 2010 |
The national health and safety regulator,
Comcare, will be holding a series of National
Seminars during March.
Comcare and
industry experts will explore workplace safety
culture and showcase strategies and tools to
assist organisations to analyse attitudes,
explore opinions and most importantly, get
positive action.
The seminars will also feature a workshop
designed to improve overall workplace health
through developing a workplace safety culture.
The workshop will explore how such a culture is
influenced, implemented and measured.
The seminars are
designed to challenge traditional thinking about
OHS and are open to all OHS practitioners.
They are
free for employers and employees covered by the
Comcare scheme such as Telstra and Optus
employees.
The National Seminars will be held in the
following locations:
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Adelaide |
Monday 1 March |
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Hobart |
Wednesday 3 March |
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Melbourne |
Friday 5 March |
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Brisbane |
Wednesday 10 March |
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Townsville |
Friday 12 March |
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Darwin |
Tuesday 16 March |
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Perth |
Thursday 18 March |
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Sydney |
Tuesday 23 March |
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Newcastle |
Wednesday 24 March |
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Canberra |
Friday 26 March |
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CEPU
Member Plus! |
Members are
making serious savings!
CEPU member plus is helping members save
everyday. Below are just some of the savings you
can make today using your CEPU membership
card:
- Discount petrol and groceries with the Coles
and Woolworths gift cards
- Discount movie tickets & video rentals
- Discount theme park and leisure provider
entries
- Discount restaurant dining
- Discount financial & insurance services
including private health insurance.
- Free journey cover benefit
new this year
- And much much more.
Members should visit the CEPU's new member
benefits webpage to see how it pays to belong to
the CEPU by logging on to:
www.cepu.org/benefits.htm
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Dob
in a boss |
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If you have a
story to tell and you would like it shared with your
fellow members in the e-Bulletin or the CEPU's official
magazine "The Communicator", please email it through to:
e-Bulletin:
feedback@cepu.org
Magazine:
communicator@cepu.org |
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Share
this e-Bulletin |
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Please forward
this bulletin to fellow CEPU members who may not have
their e-mail address on file with the Union. Please
encourage your fellow members to subscribe to the
e-Bulletin service by emailing
subscribe@cepu.org
, visiting the Union's website at
www.cepu.org or
calling the Union's admin team on (02) 9893 7822.
If you have access to a printer, please ensure that you
print this bulletin and share it with your workmates who
may not have internet access. Always make sure that a
copy of the e-Bulletin is displayed on your workplace
Union noticeboard.
If you have any questions on any of the above articles,
please contact an official at the Union office on (02)
9893 7822.
Yours faithfully,
JIM METCHER
BRANCH SECRETARY |
