Water & Ports
Sydney Water’s first cut – a legal loophole before the ink’s dry!
- Details
- Published on Monday, 08 March, 2010
Throughout 2009 ASU members led a highly organised Enterprise Bargaining campaign and negotiated some historic wins – we fought off performance pay, we secured redundancy rights and reached a deal for a fair pay rise.
Now, after agreeing to the document and signing on the dotted line – Sydney Water is using a legal loophole to introduce a new clause that you did not agree to or vote on.
The case is currently being heard by Fair Work Australia – the new federal industrial court.
Below is an outline of what Sydney Water initially agreed to and what they are now trying to sneak by you. It is the difference between a clause to promote work/life balance and a clause to undercut your conditions.
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ASU Negotiated – Sydney Water Agreed clauses – Section 44 of EBA.
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Model flexibility clause NOT agreed to by ASU or voted on by staff. |
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Only an employee may approach management about creating a flexible arrangement – not the other way around (44.1).
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Sydney Water management can approach staff to sign up to a flexibility arrangement – opening the ugly door to coercion and duress (1).
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Allows employees to suggest mutually satisfactory arrangements to preserve their work/life balance e.g. – changes to working hours, patterns of work or working from home (44.2).
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Opens the door to cutting important entitlements such as your overtime, penalty rates, allowances and leave loading – things union members have fought for over years! (1 a) ii, iii, iv, v). This would create two classes of employees with different entitlements which can be abused by Management! |
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Members voted to accept a clause which contains rules that bind Sydney Water to fair use of the clause – Sydney Water must respond to any request by any employee within 21 days, in writing and if refused, provide details of the refusal (44.6). |
Sydney Water supports this clause where they never have to even acknowledge or respond to your request or provide any details on why they deny your request (3).
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Remember Sydney Water agreed to everything in the left hand column in negotiations and are now trying to use a legal loophole to scrap it all.
ASU members need to sign the petition your delegates are circulating in your workplace. Members did not vote for this new clause, we need to demonstrate this to Fair Work and Sydney Water, so we can win the case and keep our conditions safe!
