SACS: Employment Services
Negotiations underway at Mission Australia Employment Solutions
16 October 2009
By the ASU - the employment services union
Negotiations have got underway for your first collective agreement at Mission Australia Employment Solutions (MAES).
What happens at the bargaining table?
Your ASU Delegates and officials met with MAES Bargaining Reps, we have combined all of the claims and issues you want to see in your new agreement. These issues include conditions currently found in your Award, conditions that meet Award standards from any ITEA's and AWA's and all claims put forward through meetings, surveys.
This list was compiled and presented to MAES management prior to the last bargaining meeting on the 8th and 9th October 2009.
MAES also presented their claims. Management claims are written in the form of the draft agreement they have been discussing with you.
On the 8th and 9th a large amount of information was exchanged to explain in detail the claims from both staff and management. The detailed staff claims are below.
Are we there yet?
There have been many remarks made that this agreement needs to be done quickly. We agree that there needs to be a concise, transparent and fair agreement in place for all MAES staff. To develop such an agreement is not going to happen overnight. Your representatives are working hard to ensure that your claims are heard and ultimately contained within your agreement. So to answer the 'are we there yet?' question is to say no, we will get there, we will move as quickly as we can to develop a complete agreement for you but we must ensure that the details are right.
What did get negotiated?
The last 2 days were spent clarifying the claims, explaining the detail and ensuring we understood precisely what was being asked of you by management. We also received a presentation on the performance appraisal system. Whilst some minor points have been agreed, including the process for how we will move through the negotiations and drafting of the agreement. No real exchanges have yet been had on the detail.
The next meeting is scheduled for the 29th and 30 October and it is at this meeting where we can anticipate that the negotiation will get down to the fine points.
Want to know more about the detail?
If you have questions on the detail of the negotiations to date you should contact your local ASU Delegate. If your workplace does not have an elected ASU Delegate you should contact your State Organiser listed below and they will be able to assist you to elect a local ASU Delegate.
The detailed Claim
A copy of the Claim also be downloaded below in the full bulletin.
Claims |
Details |
| 1. No Reduction of Current Conditions |
- We will negotiate improvements on current conditions.
- No conditions are to be lost, reduced or removed for any employee.
|
| 2. Fair Pay and Annual Pay Increases |
- Fair base rates of pay that are comparable to others in the sector (e.g. don't include superannuation and annual leave loading)
- Base rates of pay which do not include performance pay and which are directly comparable to the classification structure and agreed position descriptions.
c. Annual increases to base pay rates, allowances and any wage related payment.
- Pay increases must be no less than Mission Australia employees receive working within Mission Australia Community Services.
- Pay increases which occur on an agreed date and are at a minimum of 5% per annum on the base rate of pay for all employees under this enterprise agreement and then occur on the agreed annual date for the life of the agreement.
- Increases to all allowances and wage related items at a minimum of 5% per annum on an agreed date.
|
3.Incentive Scheme |
a. Detailed and achievable
- Fair and equitable
- Transparent
- Clear and binding in its payment
- Measurable
- Genuinely appealable
- Locked in for the life of the agreement
|
4.Classifications |
Development of a structure which:
- Supports attraction and retention of staff
- Supports career progression
- Accurately reflects the work and expectations of the tender
- Demonstrates work is valued appropriately
- Be detailed and appealable
- Roles classified fairly
- Position descriptions that are agreed
|
5.Flexibility |
a. Employees should be offered equal ability to negotiate one flexible working arrangement in line with Mission Australia Community Services employees |
| 6. Paid Parental Leave
|
- 12 weeks paid primary leave after 12 months of service
- 4 weeks paid secondary leave
- Upon the introduction of the federal government paid parental leave scheme, Mission Employment will continue to pay the enterprise agreement based payment and on top of the Mission Employment paid parental leave scheme, pay a top up of the federal government scheme payment of the federal minimum wage to an employee's full ordinary rate and pay superannuation for that same period.
|
7.Career Paths and Retention |
- Redundancy Provisions
- Classification Structures
|
8.Rights of Employees to representation |
- Rights of representation should be entrenched into the agreement in terms of the relationship between the Employer and the Union and the Union and the Employees.
|
9.Maintenance of Current Award conditions not improved through bargaining |
- All current conditions equal to or better than the Community Employment Training and Support Services Award will be maintained unless conditions improved through bargaining.
|
Contact your State ASU Organiser for more information.
| State |
Organiser |
Contact |
QLD |
Holly Paterson |
07 3844 5300 |
NSW |
Emily Mayo |
0423 029 585 |
SA/NT |
Peter Hall |
08 8363 1322 |
WA |
Pat Branson |
0417 969 077 |
TAS |
Patrick Smith |
0427 813 821 |
Related Documents:
Download the full bulletin (PDF)
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