Yesterday the Union was
contacted by members across
the country after they began
receiving correspondence
from Australia Post titled
“Partial Work Ban Notice to
Employees – Non Payment”.
Members are furious because
they know Post is, yet
again, taking an
unnecessarily harsh legal
stance, rather than dealing
with your concerns and
resolving this dispute.
The CEPU understands that
under the Fair Work Act, if
employees seek to observe a
protected industrial action
ban employers have a choice
to:
§ Withhold
partial pay for a
period of time in which a
ban is observed; or
§ Withhold
the entire pay of an
employee for their normal
day of work, even if the
employee is only observing a
ban for as little as an
hour.
So it is absolutely clear:
§ Australia
Post has – of its own
choosing – opted to take the
harsher option; refusing to
pay our members any pay
whatsoever for a day they
present for work and observe
a ban for as little as an
hour.
This is an important point,
because in Post’s letter to
employees, they state:
“Under the Fair Work Act
Australia Post cannot pay
staff who take industrial
action.”
(Rod McDonald, letter to
employees, 9 December)
This is
misleading; in relation to
partial work bans, Australia
Post has a choice that
allows them to partially
deduct your wages – and Post
chose the tougher option.
They know what they’re
doing; they want to bully
people into not following
the ban or provoke a walkout
by staff – because, as
members have been saying,
why would you work for Post
for free, its tough enough
when you’re drawing a wage!
If Australia Post is serious
about avoiding mail
disruptions leading into
Christmas, they seriously
need to re-think their stand
on this issue.
OVERTIME – DON’T BE MISLED
AGAIN BY POST
In Australia Post’s letter
to employees they said:
"Where
the CEPU notify Australia
Post that there will be a
ban on overtime and staff
refuse to work rostered
overtime, they will lose
pay"
This is misleading. If you
perform your normal hours of
work, but elect to follow
the overtime ban - Post
cannot deduct a cent of your
normal pay because you won’t
perform overtime.
Have a view?
Let us know what you think
by emailing
feedback@cepu.org
