On Thursday 28 April 2022 Telstra announced that the ballots have closed, and the votes have been counted.
Telstra staff voted up your new Enterprise Agreement (EA) with the following results:
- Telstra Limited EA: 67% of eligible employees voted and 82% voting yes.
- Amplitel EA: 83% of eligible employees voted with 92% voting yes.
- InfraCo EA: 79% of eligible employees voted with 79% voting yes.
- Retail/Fone Zone: 57% of eligible employees voted with 90% voting yes.
The CPSU would like to thank your CPSU bargaining representatives who used their own time to help push your union claim at the table – Warren Wingrove, Benjamin Daly and individual representatives who were involved in the bargaining process. We would also like to extend this thank you to all CPSU members as you are fundamental in protecting key entitlements and securing improvements.
Here’s some of what union members secured
- Saturday Overtime Saved! Telstra wanted to extend ordinary hours which would mean less overtime for those who work Saturdays. This was opposed by CPSU members and Telstra took it off the negotiating table.
- Superannuation contributions to be made during paid and unpaid parental leave regardless of gender. This will be offered for up to two years of unpaid parental leave. This is a significant union win that will help address the long-term gender inequity in superannuation for women who work for Telstra
- Improved support for employees affected by or at risk of experiencing domestic and/or family violence by way of access to 20 days paid leave. Unfortunately, Telstra did not agree to extend this entitlement to casuals but will allow case-by-case consideration for casual employees to access paid leave days
- Eight calendar weeks of paid Gender affirmation leave
- Rest Relief this additional clause gives Telstra discretion to provide paid rest relief in certain circumstances.
- Minor changes to Delegates rights to modernise the language for a digital age and clarify union access to tools like Yammer.
- Flexible terms will allow employees to choose to work outside the bandwidth and split shifts. But these do come with employee protections such as applications must be employee initiated, cannot be a condition of employment, employees cannot be coerced, agreements need to contain specific days and hours the arrangement is performed on, and they can be terminated by an employee with notice.
Beyond bargaining – our campaign continues and building union strength matters!
Bargaining is but one stage of our wider union campaign for workers. While we did not get all the improvements we wanted, post bargaining CPSU delegates will continue to campaign on the things you told us were important – including:
- Workload expectations, working hours and work/life balance
- Access to flexible work
- Mental health at work – as impacted by job demands and lack of role clarity
- A safe and respectful workplace
You know what it’s going to take. That’s right more members. More members = more worker power!
Ask a colleague to make the choice to join and make a difference in your workplace. If you have questions about our campaigns talk to your local CPSU delegates, organisers or reach out to me. Share this with a colleague who may not have received it and ask them to join as well.
