Uniting Care Campaign

UnitingCare EBA Negotiation Update

Details

Published on Wednesday, 13 May, 2009

Negotiations for the enterprise agreement at UnitingCare Children Young People and Families recommenced today (Thursday 16th April). Over the past two weeks ASU organisers have been holding workplace meetings to discuss UnitingCare’s wage offer of 2% in 2009, 2% in 2010 and 3% in 2011. Workers had previously had access to Management’s information about the organisation’s financial status. In workplace meetings, workers discussed the wage offer and the context of the current global environment, issues of funding and wage offers in other comparable community service organisations.

Overwhelmingly workers have voted to reject the wage offer in support of a 1-year agreement along with a higher % pay rise.

At the negotiation meeting the ASU put forward the proposal below on the basis of this feedback:

1. A one year agreement with a wage increase in line with CPI backdated to when the last wage increase was due in October 2008

OR

2. A one year agreement with a wage increase of 4.5% effective from 1 July 2009 UnitingCare management expressed that they were highly unhappy with the position put forward by workers and is arguing that any wage increase above 2% will be met with the closure of programs and the loss of jobs in the service group.

The union requested access to such full financial information in order to be certain that management had no room to move on their offer, however this request was bluntly refused by management. It is unreasonable to expect workers to accept a wage offer that will mean a reduction in the real value of wages or accept that positions will be made redundant without providing employees elected representatives access to any information that supports this claim.

Management will now be taking workers counter claim to the Board at their meeting on Tuesday 21st April.

The ASU will continue to pursue requests for access to financial documents to enable workers to have all the information that they need to make decisions regarding pay increases and other items that are up for negotiation in this enterprise agreement.

A further bulletin outlining options and any further information for employees to consider will come out early next week.