TZV SUPPORT EBA

Progress has been unsatisfactory. And a state election looms. The election will cause a shut down of negotiations when the "caretaker" mode is declared. TZV driven by Govt directions. So much for genuine negotiations. Industrial bans are being discussed.
This week we met with CEO David Clayton to seek clarification of the TZV position. Some problems are set out below. He has assured us that a date will be set for the next meting shortly, and that TZV will have a firm proposal.

TZV SUPPORT EBA PAY INCREASES

At this stage we do not have a firm offer. There are several elements to the pay issue. These are:
- TZV suggest a 4 year agreement (only 3.5y left now?)
- Basic Pay Increase: 3% pa - this is the Government hard policy. Our position depends on following issues.
- Sign-on Bonus (our description): a lump sum of about $6,000 (to cover cost of living?)
- Date of effect: TZV suggest 1 July 2026 - We demand 1 Jan 2026. Govt says no back-pay but see below.
- Year 2 pay rise: we claim 1 Jan 27. TZV appear to want 1 Jul 27.
- Patience in Bargaining: (code for backpay?): TZV proposing a lump sum but amount variable
- Patience in Bargaining date: expect it to be 6 months.- thus new 3% pay rise is delayed 6 months.
- Continuous Improvement: this is a lump sum also, paid annually
Many questions arise. No agreement or even firm proposals exist.

TZV SUPPORT EBA - STRUCTURE

At this stage we do not have a firm offer from TZV. The better outcome would be to stay with the existing structure and (once again) develop the new structure. This would allow the EBA to move ahead and deal with other less complex matters.
We have seen two possible versions of a new structure. But our questions revealed that there are missing elements. There are borrowings from other structures in the Vic Public Service. One is the introduction of "stretch goals" to move up to the next increment (not a promotion but an annual increment). But to achieve this you need to "exceed expectations" achieving your stretch, and then only 40% of those will be rewarded. Many questions arise. No agreement or even firm proposals exist.

NBN STRUCTURES

The CWU meet this week with NBN management to further discus the classification review and concerns raised by FE members that have had their roles mandatorily changed to HFC work. The CWU raised the issue that these role changes where not those traditionally performed by certain individuals and as such, they had been forced into a new job.
Some members have also raised health concerns associated with them performing the HFC roles. Management argued that they had simply expanded their role within their skill set. However, they said that they were willing to take on board any concerns that any individuals may have.
We again raised members reluctance to do this given fear of management reprisal. At this stage, the CWU will follow-up individual cases as requested by members. Regarding the classification review, NBN indicated that they had done further work internally on this and that they would provide an update hopefully within the next couple of weeks. (Ken Hardisty)

OPTUS REDUNDANCIES

Optus has advised of a redundancy situation as briefly outlined below. We will meet shortly with Optus to get more details. If you have any concerns, please contact us.
To ensure Optus remains a sustainable and competitive business, we need to make decisions about where we invest, how we work and how our teams are structured. With that context, Optus is today sharing some proposed changes across several divisions.
The roles that have been identified as affected by the proposed changes are from the following business units: Finance (35), IT (31), Networks (30), Consumer (23), Enterprise and Business (22), Chief Operating Office (22), Corporate Affairs and Marketing (4).
Overall, there are approximately 167 roles affected by the proposal across New South Wales (120), Victoria (35), Queensland (5), South Australia (4), Australian Capital Territory (2) and Western Australia (1).