Qantas EBA9

More Qantas ASU EBA claims tabled

Details

Published on Wednesday, 09 June, 2010

The ASU national negotiations team met again with Qantas management in Sydney on 4 June 2010 for Day 3 of our EBA 9 negotiations.

At this meeting we tabled almost all of our remaining detailed claims. Qantas Holidays EBA representatives also met the Qantas Holidays / Jetset Travelworld Group management on 2 June 2010 in Sydney.

Summary of discussion

The following gives members an overview of the issues discussed at our meetings.

Our Claims

We tabled most of our remaining detailed claims at the 4 June meeting which were as follows:

Claim number 5: Ensure that any ambiguity in any EBA clauses is removed

Claim number 11: Improve higher duties clause and consider the insertion of yearly increments

Claim number 12: Provide a better, more accurate payroll system and pay slips that are understandable, and establish enforceable, quick protocol to deal with overpayments and underpayments

Claim number 17:Improve clauses to allow for more notice of roster changes and change of shifts

We also tabled the additional claims arising from the proposed merger affecting Qantas Holidays as detailed above.

You can see the full detail claims that we presented to Qantas on our webpage at

www.asu.asn.au/airlines/qantaseba9.html.

Bargaining reps

Qantas Holidays management still refuse to release the names of the bargaining representatives who have been nominated from Qantas Holidays. We have important issues to discuss with them and need in particular to ascertain their views on including Qantas Holidays in EBA 9.  Hopefully we can sort this problem out this week!

Qantas Holidays

The meeting on 2 June 2010 with Qantas Holidays management was only very preliminary.  We got an overview of how the company and group is travelling.  Qantas Holidays representatives from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney attended.  We also gave a rundown of our EBA 9 claims and included four additional claims for Qantas Holidays covering Staff Travel, Superannuation, access to Qantas Group Jobs and work in QBT.  These claims were also tabled at the EBA 9 meeting on 4 June 2010 with Qantas management.

Qantas Holidays / Qantas management refuse to join these negotiations together.  We have asked verbally for their detailed reasons in writing and will reaffirm this in writing.

It is fast looking like we will need to issue proceedings, but are delayed by the bargaining representative issues above.  We have organised another meeting with Qantas Holidays management on 17 June 2010 on a “without prejudice” basis to our scope issue – so we can keep discussions going.

Qantas Defence Services

We will no longer pursue joining Qantas Defence Services into the EBA.  Employees working for QDS who are employed by Qantas Airways Ltd, though will be covered by EBA 9 but not direct QDS employees.

Rostering

Your delegates argued passionately about the claim to change rostering and shift notifications citing many examples of how many roster changes daily there are in shift locations that have iRoster.  The SIT representative said on average there are 50 roster changes daily while our Perth Airport representative tabled charts detailing the total roster changes in 2010 in Perth, i.e., 2628! - 20, 30, 40 changes per day to rosters are not uncommon.  This, as we argued, plays havoc with the lives of staff and cannot be justified.

Management wanted to argue the toss on this evidence – saying it is for the efficiency of the airline – we don’t agree!

Payroll

We also assembled significant evidence of continuing payroll errors which continue across the company.  The payroll boss is on the management negotiating team and tried to say it was not all the fault of payroll and that the quality of information from some parts of Qantas is the cause.

Your NNT think it is a combination of both but in the end it is a lack of resources devoted to the critical area of paying people properly and accurately that is the REAL problem.

Our detailed claim proposes a protocol for underpayments and overpayments - including a maximum repayment scheme for overpayments and interest on outstanding amounts if underpayments are not acted on promptly.

What else do we need to do?

Your NNT have agreed to discuss the issue of clause ambiguities in a separate meeting and also to talk about the SP and QFIT market rate issues in meetings with relevant representatives and management.  Dates for these meetings are to be finalised.

 

Your NNT is also finalising our classification claims and our exact claims for job security for airport staff following Next Generation.

 

We have also raised a range of process issues about staff travel, a small group will meet about this before our next EBA 9 meeting.

What did Qantas management say?

The management says they will be able to talk with us about their claims at our next meeting.

Next meetings

Meetings are scheduled for:

• 16 June - EBA 9
• 17 June - Qantas Holidays only
• 18 June - Staff Travel meeting (process)
• 1 July - EBA 9
• 13 July - EBA 9

If you have questions contact your local ASU organisers Lauren Hutchins ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) and Fergie Eiffe ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )