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RTBU-PacNat Member's EBA 2006 Update Newsflash! 63

15 August 2006

Negotiation Progress: Since the last edition of your Newsflash update, the RTBU and Pacific National have been meeting to work through the clauses which will be common across all Business Division Agreements.

We are pleased to be able to report that substantial progress has been made over the past two weeks. The parties have come to an agreement about which clauses will be common to all Business Divisions and which clauses should be determined at the Business Division level. The clauses which have been agreed to be common clauses are detailed below for your information. There is currently an 'in principle' agreement to all of the common clauses, with only some word-smithing yet to be completed. The provisions of the common clauses are, wherever possible, taken from the agreed clauses in the document the parties had previously all but agreed to in December last year. The agreement between the parties to utilise those clauses as the basis for the common clauses has been sensible in terms of eliminating the requirement to re-invent the wheel.

Common Clauses:

Key Objectives
Duration
Transmission of Business
No Extra Claims
Stand Down
Uniforms and Protective Equipment
Superannuation
Disciplinary Procedures
Termination of Employment
Abandonment of Employment
Consultation
Resolution of Disputes
Redundancy
Recruitment, Selection and Induction
Workplace Representatives
Hours of Work (Refers to the general principle of 1976 hours per annum only. Further detail to be negotiated at the business level.)
General Rostering Principles (Refers to the principles of rostering which will apply across all Business Divisions only. Does not detail the construction of rosters, which will be determined at the Business Division level.)
Contract of Employment
Permanent Transfer of Existing Employees
Remuneration (Refers to core wage increase applying to all Business Divisions and method / frequency of payment. The quantum of future increases has not been discussed.)
Salary Maintenance
Leave (Some forms of Leave (Annual, Sick and Public Holidays) will refer to the general entitlements and principles but not the actual application. Application to be negotiated at the Business Division level. Other forms of Leave (Trauma, Parental, Leave Without Pay, Jury Service, Military and Special) will be common in entitlement and application.)

Business Division Negotiations to Commence Next Week:

The RTBU has held discussions with the company regarding the process for the Business Division negotiations. The RTBU has sought information from the company such as when the negotiations will commence. The dates of and locations of meetings are also being discussed. At this stage it appears as though some of the Business Division negotiation meetings will commence next week. Each Business Division, and the relative RTBU negotiating team, will have carriage of the responsibility for organising their respective meetings. The RTBU remains committed to working toward completing the negotiations by the 30th September, 2006. Members will remain informed about the outcomes of the Business Division negotiations relative to them as well as all of the other Business Division negotiations.

4% Wage Increase and Back Pay:

The RTBU has received a number of enquiries from members regarding the payment of the 4% wage increase and back pay to 30 October, 2005. The RTBU has been seeking to obtain advice from the company about the likely timeframe of the wage increase and back pay. To date the company has not been able to provide the information requested, other than to confirm the wage increase and back pay has been given the green light by senior management. The RTBU will continue to seek information on when members can expect to receive their back pay and you will be advised as soon as we are in receipt of that information.

The RTBU has also received some enquiries from members about whether or not they will be able to salary sacrifice the back pay. Information received by the RTBU indicates it is not possible to do so according to the Australian Taxation Office. The ATO only allows for future earnings to be salary sacrificed, not past earnings. The back pay will come under the category of past earnings and therefore cannot be salary sacrificed.

Further Information:

Members will continue to be kept informed of any significant developments through future editions of your Newsflashes. For further information on issues regarding the Enterprise Agreement negotiations please contact your local RTBU delegate, your respective RTBU State Branch or the National Office.

Newsflash!@Home

If you would like to receive future EBA Newsflashes to your personal home email please email Greg Harvey at gharvey@rtbu-nat.asn.au with your name, your location, your classification and your email address and you will be added to the email list.