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Telstra
Executes Full Force on AWA Workers
Monday 7 July 2008
The CEPU
has been receiving telephone calls from concerned members
indicating that Telstra are about to apply specific
conditions of their AWAs to
their full extent.
The Union is aware of AWAs
containing clauses setting out specific conditions with
respect to hours of duty and span of hours for varying
employees’ ordinary hours of duty at ordinary rates of pay.
The
Union sees this as simply
opportunistic by Telstra and only reinforces the Union’s
invitation to AWA employees to play an active role in the
EBA08 campaign.
Due to changes in the law by the new Federal
Labor Government, Telstra can no
longer enter into any new AWAs
with staff. So it is now only too clear that Telstra wants
to achieve their full benefit from the unfortunate AWA
employees who are currently exposed and available to them.
In particular, office based AWA staff who service Telstra’s
field workforce with tickets of work may be in for a torrid
time .
These sections are currently undergoing a re-organisation
involving changes to their span of hours and current days of
work.
It is alleged by the phone calls received at the Union
office that Telstra may be introducing a 6 day working week
(eg. Monday to Thursday 10.0 am to 7.0 pm shifts, then a 4
hour shift on Friday and a 4 hour shift on Sunday).
The Union is aware that the following AWA clauses
are contained in most
Telstra
AWAs, and give Telstra the
following opportunities:
AWA clause 6.1 “Your ordinary hours of work will be 36 ¾
hours per week. You may be required to work reasonable
additional time above your ordinary hours. You agree that
Telstra may calculate your average weekly hours over a 12
month period.”
AWA clause 6.2 “ Your manager will discuss with you the days
on which you must work and your starting and finishing
time.”
If AWA employees’ hours are varied to reflect the above,
using the above clauses as their avenue, they will be paid
at single rate times as AWA staff are not protected by the
provisions of the EBA and the Award which ensures penalty
rates and overtime pay for working outside their ordinary
span of hours and working on weekends.
It is pretty ironic that Telstra chose not to impose the
above AWA conditions on employees when they were attempting
to sign up as many AWAs as they
could in recent years. But it is only too clear that
because they are no longer able to utilise new
AWAs as an industrial instrument
in the corporation, they are now ready to show AWA employees
their full hand of force by activating these unfair,
opportunistic clauses in their AWAs.
If affected members are worried about a change in their span
of hours or ordinary work days they should contact Branch
Organiser Shane Murphy or Branch Assistant Secretary Steve
Dodd for advice at the CEPU state office on (02) 9893 7822. |
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