NBN MEETING REJECTS OFFER

An offer by NBN to settle the start of day (SOD) and end of day overtime claim has been rejected. Almose 90% of members voting rejected the offer. We began a Court case against NBN seeking overtime for the 30 minutes of work at the start and end of day. The hearing is currented listed for mid April.

NATIONAL WAGE CASE 5% CLAIM

Every year, the Fair Work Commission reviews the national minimum wage and award wages via the Annual Wage Review. And every year, the union movement calls a fair and decent increase. Australia's lowest paid workers need an above-inflation pay rise, having borne the brunt of cost-of-living increases. Landlords are putting up rent and banks, supermarkets and energy companies continue to pump up prices to inflate their mega-profits.
A 5% boost will only add about 0.6% to the national wage bill. We are talking about a pay rise for hospo and retail workers; disability and healthcare workers, who are renters and mortgage owners not for high earners with large numbers of investment properties.
An increase of 5% would bring the minimum wage to $26.19 per hour for perspective, the entire 5% wage claim will cost less than the recent $8 billion half-yearly profits of BHP.
Every worker has the right to live a decent life with fair pay for their work, which is why the minimum wage exists.

ROYAL MAIL MEETS EXPECTATIONS? BBC

Royal Mail staff say they were told to hide post to look like delivery targets met. Colletta Smith, BBC Your Voice correspondent and Elaine Doran, BBC Your Voice producer
Postal workers from across the UK have told the BBC they are being asked to move or hide mail from senior bosses so it looks like delivery targets are being met. They told BBC Your Voice they are often told by managers "take the mail for a ride" when they raise that they have too many parcels to have time to deliver letters as well.
Royal Mail bosses are due to answer questions from MPs about the ongoing postal delays impacting millions of people across the UK. The company said it took claims that posties were hiding letters "very seriously" and that 92% of letters were delivered on time.
Royal Mail has a legal obligation to deliver first class post six days a week. Since we first published allegations from postal workers saying they were consistently asked to prioritise parcels, signs have popped up in many delivery offices reminding staff first class mail must be delivered. But with no extra employees, overtime slashed, and continued pressure to deliver parcels, they say it is often not possible to take the post as well.
The delays are causing big problems for the public, who say they are missing hospital appointments and other important letters.
Ofcom, the communications regulator, has fined Royal Mail œ37m in recent years for poor performance delivering letters, and warned that fines were "likely to continue" if there is no improvement.
In the 2024-25 financial year, the company delivered 77% of first class mail and 92.5% of second class mail on time, falling short of its 93% and 98.5% respective targets.

TELSTRA PUSHES AHEAD WITH INFOSYS OUTSOURCING DEAL

Telstra has now confirmed it will proceed with its five year plan to outsource major parts of Service & Delivery to Infosys, subject only to regulatory approval. This marks yet another phase in Telstra's aggressive offshoring agenda, which will see hundreds of skilled Australian jobs wiped out and critical technical capability shifted to a foreign owned corporation.
Despite weeks of consultation, the fundamental concerns raised throughout this process by members and the Union remain unresolved.
According to Telstra:
- 345 roles in Australia will be made redundant.
- 254 Australian employees will be offered roles with Infosys.
- 275 roles in India will also be created or transferred to Infosys.
- Transfers are expected to commence 1 July 2026.
- Redundancy notifications are expected to begin around mid May 2026.
Telstra also claims it has made minor adjustments in response to consultation process feedback:
- 18 roles removed from the proposal
- 2 additional roles added to the retained structure
- Further "assurances" negotiated from Infosys on future terms and conditions including EA alignment and long service leave
But the scale and intent of the proposal is unchanged. This remains a large scale transfer of core Telstra, Australian work to a foreign outsourcing company, accompanied by one of the most significant job cuts we have seen in recent years.
What has NOT been fixed"?
- No binding long term protection of conditions - Infosys' commitments around EA terms, hours, personal leave and LSL are not enforceable beyond what is written into a future EA, and Infosys is under no obligation to initiate bargaining.
- "Assurances" are vague and easily reversible - Statements in an offer letter are not industrial instruments and cannot be enforced at the Fair Work Commission.
- Job security remains uncertain - Infosys can restructure at any time. There is no protection against future offshoring, contract changes or workforce reshaping.
- Risk of a slow erosion of wages and conditions - Even if terms are maintained initially, there is no guarantee they will be preserved long term.
- Data security and national workforce capability remain at risk - As we have previously warned, this is a confirmed major shift of technical and systems critical work to a foreign contractor.
Telstra is offloading critical service and delivery functions, dismantling in-house technical capability, cutting hundreds of Australian jobs, shifting work offshore under the cover of "partnerships" and is handing system-critical work to a foreign outsourcing firm.
This is still a fundamental hollowing out of Telstra's ability to build, maintain and control its own systems. It is also a direct threat to long-term employment security of affected members and a complete disregard for our nation's skills development and data sovereignty.
There are several steps still to come:
- Regulatory approval processes
- Telstra to re engage in mid May on redundancy consultations
- Infosys to prepare formal offers
- Transition planning leading up to 1 July 2026
Your Union will continue its advocacy to:
- Challenge the basis of the redundancies
- Scrutinise the transfer arrangements
- Press for enforceable protections not marketing slogans
- Support every member through redeployment or redundancy processes
Your Union will assist members through the next steps. Individual advice is available to members and it should be sought prior to signing anything.