Some weeks ago there was an incident where allegedly a supervisor in Cowpasture Road assaulted a production employee (or member) by punching shut a key box that the employee was looking though. This alleged assault occurred in the presence of at least one eye witness.

An update for Hunter Water union members from the Single Bargaining Unit - Thursday 12 February 2009.

Single Bargaining Unit Established.

The Single Bargaining Unit, consisting of representatives of  all the unions who are signatories to the awards and agreements at Hunter Water Corporation, met on Tuesday with the HWC negotiating team to begin discussions in regards to the next EBA negotiations.

HWC presented an overview of  their position and their desired outcomes for the negotiations.

We requested that they provide a more detailed version of  this, in writing, within fourteen days.

Once we have received this document the Single Bargaining Unit will meet again to formalise our position on their statement, and will then respond back to HWC.

There has been a new uniform policy implemented – it’s may not yet be available on ConnectNet but you can see it below. The policy means that only staff that are ‘authorised’ (mostly those that work daily face to face with the public) will be allowed to wear clothes with a Sydney Water logo. It also means that staff will not be able to gain the tax benefits of wearing a corporate uniform and will not be able to purchase any new uniforms.

Your Award, the Sydney Water Award 2006, expires on 30 June 2009 and will then be replaced by an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). The ASU has formed an EBA Campaign Committee and we are preparing to get a fair outcome for members in any new agreement. This committee has held two meetings so far and will be meeting right through the campaign. Their job is to make sure that you get information about the campaign for a fair agreement and to listen to what you want changed in your new Agreement. If you have any comments or questions about the EBA campaign, speak to someone on the committee.

Following the recent members meetings to endorse our Award claims, the ASU, along with APESMA, have had several meetings with the SCA to negotiate your new Award. This includes a pay increase and other changes which are outlined below.

After a round of membership meetings and several meetings with management Sydney Water’s O&M proposal has largely begun being implemented.

Your current agreement that sets your wages and conditions will expire on 30 June 2009 and it is time for us to start thinking about what we want to see in the next agreement including a reasonable wage increase.

The Water Division Committee of Management of the Australian Services Union (ASU) has been discussing the upcoming agreement and the importance of negotiating the best possible outcome for members.

We are calling on members who are interested in being on a Campaign Committee to assist with communication with members, conducting a survey and other tasks that will assist your negotiators.

It is important that the Campaign Committee is representative of all the areas and classifications of Sydney Water Corporation (SWC) so the requirements and expectations of all members are taken into account.

The Campaign Committee will play an important role in getting information out to ASU members and also getting information from members back to the negotiators.

The Campaign Committee will meet about monthly to begin with and this may change as the negotiations heat up.

This important role cannot just be left to the delegates to carry out.  The more messengers involved the lesser the workload for every one involved.

Are you interested in being part of the Campaign Committee?

The Campaign Committee will be meeting on 28 October 2008 from 9.00am to 1.00pm at the ASU Office, Renwick Street, Redfern.

There are a number of your fellow members who have already nominated to attend the meeting.

If you wish to participate on the Campaign Committee please send your details, by 21 October 2008, to:

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