Telecommunications
EA Update
(2 December, 2009) As you would know by now, talks between Telstra and the union have failed to reach agreement.
During November we were certainly engaged in very productive discussions with Telstra.
Earlier that month we went back in discussions, backed with our Auspoll research of members which showed that members overwhelmingly wanted to see:
- an improvement in pay
- arbitration introduced in the agreement
- and they were prepared to resume industrial action
As we said earlier, the talks with Telstra were fruitful and there was a recognition between the parties that it was better to keep talking than being in dispute.
As a result we were able to move this agreement forward, with Telstra agreeing to:
- An increase in the YR2 pay offer from 3% to 4%
- Allow arbitration to feature in any future dispute resolution process
These were great developments.
And what Telstra has said lately is true: in an attempt to move the negotiations forward, the CEPU's Divisional Executive was prepared to finalise the deal by accepting the revised pay offer as long as arbitration was available to protect conditions.
But as we spoke with members about this new offer, members let their feelings be known.
The move on arbitration was good, but they took issue with the structure of the first year pay increase (2% salary increase, 2.5% sign on bonus).
Members started calculating the difference in pay between what they would get under the latest EA deal and what people on the ECA would earn at the same time.
The numbers for EA members came up short. Significantly short.
It's estimated that EA members might be at least $10,000 short by the time the respective agreements expire.
What stuck out for our members:
- EBA employees “tightened their belts between 2005 and 2008 by accepting 7.5% over 3 years
- EBA employees had been denied a pay increase since September 2007
- But Telstra's net profit growth 2008/2009 was 10.3% and it's latest profit of $4.1 billion is around the highest on record
- Telstra's labour costs dropped by $27 million in 2008/2009
- Productivity grew by 16%
- Bureau Stats figures show for the period 2006 to 2009 the increase in costs of a “basket of goods” has been
- 2006 4%
- 2007 4.2%
- 2008 4.1%
- 2009 7.9%
- To at least March 2009 , Telstra was paying 4.5%, 4% and 4% to its ECA employees with back pay until October 2008. What has changed ?
There's some concern within management that future business conditions will not be as strong as the past, which is a hard argument for us to accept when even the Telstra Super Board (which has as a member Telstra’s Chief Finance Officer) is giving such a big tick to the predicted strength of the economy:
- “Australia’s defiance of global economic trends is proof of the success of the Government’s stimulus plans, with our economy currently the strongest in the world.”
After getting member feedback, we went back to Telstra indicating that the CEPU would prefer a deal that saw a 4.5% salary increase in year 1, with the 2.5% sign on bonus on top - reflecting the fact that members had waited so long for the deal.
Telstra couldn't accept this. Which brings us back into dispute and the industrial action campaign.
We remain committed to talking with Telstra but as we have said for some time: pay is the key outstanding issue.
For more information contact the CEPU via feedback@cepu.asn.au