Member Update: August 12, 2022

Dear Members,

A few new things have rolled our way. Namely, the rollout of Urbos 3 light rail vehicles on Line 1 that started at the beginning of the week. These are the same LRVs that were taken off the Inner West line due to cracks found, which has caused us to put forward safety issues facing workers affected by this change.

Enterprise Agreement negotiations are also ongoing, with the union pending updates from the companies for both Newcastle and Region 7 negotiations. Once we've received the information we need, bargaining looks set to continue as normal.

Newcastle members are waiting for Keolis Downer Hunter to respond with an updated offer after legislative changes highlighted by Industrial Officer Lizanne required some clauses in the proposal to be reworded before the offer is put to a vote. During this process, we also successfully incorporated shift work definitions into the proposed agreement.

In Region 7, we've finished going over their lengthy proposal and are waiting on their position regarding the general issues we raised. Once their position is clarified, we'll start working together to find a middle ground.

Members in Region 8 are advised that a company-funded audit of payments made to employees since transition will be proceeding over the next few weeks, as requested by members. A HASTUS employee has flown in from overseas to help Keolis Downer Northern Beaches to find out what exactly has gone wrong and work towards a solution, however this may take up to 3 months. More information is in the article below.

And a reminder that expressions of interested for a Randwick Tram Delegate will open in the coming days. If you've ever considered being a union Delegate now is a good time to give it a shot. Everyone at Randwick Tram Depot is welcome to apply.

We hope that you continue to stay safe and well.

Pyrmont Trams - Urbos 3 Shuttles

The rollout of the crack-plagued Urbos 3 to Line 1 operations to act as a shuttle service between Central and Lilyfield started on Monday.

This was despite zero consultation with affected workers whom Transdev wanted to operate these trams, and an inadequate Risk Assessment.

A meeting was arranged for the HSR to put forward the union's safety issues and address streamlining the delivery of work instructions to ensure workers are properly informed about their responsibilities on the alignment day to day.

More to come as things progress.

Newcastle Buses EA update

Thank you for your patience over the last couple of months as we work towards taking your Enterprise Agreement to a vote. 

Following legislative changes that Industrial Officer Lizanne highlighted while reviewing KDH's offer, we've drafted revisions to clauses affected and this is almost complete. 

We have also been successful in getting a shift worker definition policy into the proposed agreement to ensure that all members who attract a shift penalty or work a 6-day roster will continue to get 5 weeks of annual leave. Remember, company policies can be changed at any time by KDH, so getting it in the Enterprise Agreement means it can only be changed if the workers agree to it.

KDH envisages getting a proposed offer to members by mid-next week. Once this comes through, members have 7 days to review it before taking it to a vote.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to speak to your delegate. 

It's been a lengthy process, but we always want to make sure an Enterprise Agreement is in the best interests of our members.

Region 7 negotiations

We're awaiting Busways' position on the general issues we outlined in their proposed Enterprise Agreement.

Once we hear from them, we can dig further into each issue and work through it with the company. Currently, it seems like there is not much we won't be able to find a middle ground on. As long as it stays this way, we're confident we can negotiate a decent outcome.

Please remember that Busways already has a two-tiered workplace in effect but are not using separate rosters at this point. They have held off on implementing a two-roster system in anticipation of a single Agreement being negotiated. It's crucial we come to a negotiated outcome to avoid the same experience as that in Region 6.

Region 8 payroll issues

A company-funded audit of payments made to employees since transition will be proceeding over the next few weeks, as requested by members. We reiterate our expectation that this will reveal more overpayments, but we’ll have to wait for the results for a clear picture. An audit does not fix the ongoing issues however it just itemises those that have already happened.

This week, KDNB had a HASTUS expert from the company that owns it come from overseas to work with their payroll dept and to figure out what is occurring. They have estimated that from then until problems are identified, fixed, tested and the solution finally rolled out would likely take 3 months.

The union has made it clear that this process has to deliver results for workers and if it doesn’t, then we’ll have to re-evaluate how we go about conducting business with the company.

Randwick trams - EOI for Workplace Delegate

An expression of interest will go out in the coming days for tram members in Randwick to nominate for workplace delegate. If more than one person nominates for the role, a ballot will be held.

If you've ever considered being a union delegate, here's your chance to get involved!

In solidarity, 

David Babineau and Daniel Jaggers