You know, I will never cease to be amazed at the speed and enthusiasm with which some of our members take every opportunity to wade in and bag our organisation – even when they have their facts wrong! The current situation could well be paraphrased in the following manner:

“ Never in the field of workplace conflict, has so much been assumed by so many on the basis of so little!”

What’s the issue now, I hear you ask; and I’m here to tell you! The ink was hardly dry on the latest update outlining the respective positions of CANZ and CIE, when the phone started to run hot with calls from irate members claiming that the Union was “selling them down the river”. Now I’m not sure why or how they have jumped to such a conclusion, because we haven’t started bargaining yet! All we have done (see last update) is demonstrate the common courtesy of providing you with both your employer’s initial draft proposal and your own (which was based on membership feedback).

We could, of course, simply lift small extracts from their opening proposal and drip-feed it over the coming months, but we’re membership-driven and firmly believe in “getting it all on the table”. This ensures that no-one is left in any doubt in respect of what we’re dealing with. As always, our approach is simple and straightforward; We have provided you with all available information (their views and ours) and we will be holding stop work meetings over the next few weeks to discuss the respective positions and firm up our proposal with the benefit of your input! Once we have done that, we will return to negotiations and begin the bargaining process from an informed position.

The Main Points of Difference
As can be seen from the drafts, and as identified in my previous update, the main differences revolve around salary and leave. CIE’s position is as follows:

Salary:

• Current salary rates (including proposed increase) to be grand-parented to existing staff.
• Staff employed after date of settlement would pick up new trade-based salary scales as documented in their proposal.
• Six percent has been added to the existing salary structure for current staff on the following basis;

  1. 3% in lieu of the performance incentive scheme, and
  2. 3% in exchange for their proposed change to annual leave entitlements

Leave:

• Your employer proposes to build in four weeks for all staff (regardless of potential changes resulting from any Government policy.
• This means that those currently in receipt of three weeks would be immediately advantaged, whereas those in receipt of five weeks would be disadvantaged.
• Shift leave would continue to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis

As can be seen from the draft, CANZ’s position is somewhat different:

Salary:

• Do away with the performance incentive scheme, as we spend half our productive time in mediation pursuing disputes on behalf of disgruntled and disadvantaged members.
• Add 5% to all salaries in lieu of performance incentive payment (the salaries in our draft proposal reflect that fact).
• Retain the existing salary scale for current and future CANZ CIE members.
• Apply an increase of 3% on date of settlement in recognition of the fact that you agreed to a roll over last time around.
• Apply a further 3% increase in 12 months time if CIE wants a two year agreement.

Leave:

• CANZ is not proposing any changes in respect of leave entitlements and believes that this area should be left well alone, unless or until improved via legislation!

I trust that the above information will serve to “soothe the troubled breast” of those who choose to take their daily exercise by leaping to conclusions. It should also provide you with sufficient information to enter into constructive discussion in preparation for the workplace meetings over the next couple of weeks (commencing mid-August).

As soon as we have sign-off from CIE, the National president (Willie Cochrane) will circulate a workplace meeting timetable for your information. In closing, I would simply ask you to have regard for the following:

When we enter CEA bargaining, your employer is just as entitled to table their proposal as we are ours! The end result will, of course be the product of negotiation and agreement and that will only occur if and when ratified by you, the members!

Yours in Unity,

Brian Davies
Senior National organiser