UNION ELECTIONS – IMPORTANT DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
Union elections take place every 4 years. The CWU elections will take place during June 2015.
There will be elections in almost all states (except for the Victorian Branch T&S which is elected unopposed), and for all Divisional (National) positions.
The ballot papers will be sent to all financial members on or about the 1st June 2015 and the ballot will close at the end of June.
Results should be announced by the Australian Electoral Commission in early July 2015.
The membership vote is an important part of the democratic process in the CWU and members should inform themselves about the candidates and make sure they vote.
No doubt the various candidates will circulate their ‘how to vote’ info for members’ consideration during June or before.
Please make sure you vote as it is important for the future of the union.
PLEBISCITE BALLOT
Members will receive information to their home address shortly, which will include a plebiscite voting paper, and a case ‘FOR’ and ‘AGAINST a proposal to change some rules of the union.
The proposed rule changes relate to the transfer of Communications Division branches and their memberships across to the Electrical Division of the union sometime in the future via a decision of the state branches Committee of Managements.
The Plebiscite vote will open on the 5th May 2015 and close COB 1st June 2015.
SHIFT LOADINGS OR OVERTIME? OPTUS WANTS TWO BOB EACH WAY
The CWU is investigating what appear to be attempts by Optus to reclassify employees as shift workers to avoid paying them overtime.
Members in the company’s satellite section reported that they were approached by management to sign forms consenting to the change after concerns were raised by employees that they were not being paid overtime for work outside their ordinary hours.
Employees employed to work on an ordinary (”core”) hours basis were being routinely required to work beyond the 7am-7pm span without compensation i.e. to work unpaid overtime.
Employees were also told that irrespective of when they worked, they were not eligible for overtime payments unless they had worked more than their standard 38 hour week.
Optus now seems to want to try to “solve” the problem by turning the employees into shift workers on the basis that they would then be eligible for shift loadings. But it may not suit them to become shift workers – and anyway that doesn’t deal with the backlog of unpaid overtime.
The CWU met with members and other affected Optus staff at the Belrose satellite facility on 21 April. Following the meeting, the CWU wrote to Optus seeking that:
- That Optus conduct a full audit and investigation into the alleged breach of the EPA at the Belrose facility.
- That any outstanding moneys owed to employees for non-payment of overtime be paid in full.
- That Optus stop its attempts to alter the working conditions of staff employed at Belrose.
The CWU will meet with Optus on this matter. Members will be kept up to date with developments.
NBN CO PREPARING TO BYPASS UNIONS ON EA
NBN Co has confirmed that it is preparing to put a number of proposed Enterprise Agreements (EAs) out to employees for a vote despite the fact that no agreement has been reached with their representatives, the unions.
NBN Co has a number of separate EAs, each negotiated with a different union and covering a different operational area.
What the proposed new EAs all have in common, however, is the fact they reflect the federal government’s “no pain, no gain” policy for Commonwealth employees i.e. no wage rise without cuts to conditions, and even then not much of a rise anyway.
It is this policy, not employee’s or unions’ unreasonable demands that has sabotaged EA negotiations.
The CWU has not yet sighted the proposed EA for technical employees but expects to do so next week. It will then be consulting with members about our response to the “offer”.
TWO YEARS SINCE THE RANA PLAZA TRAGEDY: VICTIMS STILL WAITING FOR COMPENSATION
On 24 April it was two years since the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 garment workers and injuring thousands more.
But despite a strong campaign by the international labour movement and its NGO partners, victims have still not been fully compensated and workers continue to be exposed to unacceptable risks. Unions say that not a single factory in the country can be called 100% safe.
The compensation fund established after the disaster is still missing US$6 million out of the targeted US$30 million needed to compensate the victims.
Those still to pay up in full include international brands such as Mango, Walmart and Benneton.
As for safety, unions say that while important progress has been made, the fact is that all remediation is currently behind schedule, some by over six months.
The unions say they will use every tool within the legal binding Bangladesh Accord to ensure that the brands and factory owners fix the factories.
UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings says:
“It’s outrageous that families who lost their mothers and breadwinners have still not been fully compensated because a group of multinationals cannot find it in their hearts or deep pockets to pay the US$6 million missing from the compensation fund. All brands need to join forces to end the funding crisis by closing the funding gap and stepping up the remedial work on factories.”
MEMBERS PROPERTY
Don’t do anything to buy, sell, or invest in property without contacting us, otherwise it could cost you thousands of $$$’s.
As a member you are entitled to:
- Free consultation – no obligations – Members Property will sort out if, and how they can help.
- Flat Rate, pre-agreed fees. Competitive rates – a new, transparent approach to property advice that takes the guess work out of fees.
- Savings on quality investment properties. Members Property does all the hard work, saving you time and money with our group-purchase deals. You also get access to first option pre-release properties – so you get the choice of the best (not what’s left).
Contact the Union Office for referral to this service – Phone 9663 6815 or email: cdtsvic@cwu.asn.au
If you enter into an arrangement with Members Property, the union receives a small marketing fee which will be paid into the union members’ welfare fund to help members in distress and with other services.
FINANCIAL SERVICES TO HELP MEMBERS
You will note that we have been advertising a service established by agreement between the CWU (T&S) Vic Branch and Credit Union Australia (CUA). The service works like this:
If you have an interest in finding out whether or not you could be saving a lot of money by reorganising around mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, car loans or even earning money by getting the right information about investments, the Credit Union is happy to make a home appointment with CWU members, completely free of any charge or obligation.
To get this free service as a member just send us an email cdtsvic@cwu.asn.au with your expression of interest and we will have a mobile bank representative organise an appointment with you in the privacy of your own home or at another suitable location. The decision is yours alone.
If you enter into an arrangement with the CUA, the union receives a small marketing fee which will be paid into the union members’ welfare fund to help members in distress and with other services. We would ask that you keep this in mind and help spread the word in support of member/potential members who may need assistance in a period of financial difficulty.