Show your support for Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) employees
September 9, 2008
Eligible Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) employees will vote on September 15 and 16 on the proposed job contract from Telstra.
What happens in that ballot will affect all Telstra employees.
So you can imagine the pressure these small groups of 360 workers must feel being on the frontline of management’s assault on pay and conditions as it seeks to drive down its labour costs.
They never asked to be put in this position, but leaked human resources documents have revealed this is part of a long-planned strategy to target vulnerable groups of employees through its Work Choices-style approach.
Send a message of support now by leaving a comment below
To recap, the proposed deal would split the workforce into two groups: Part A for current employees and Part B for new employees and those on expired Australian Workplace Agreements.
There are legitimate questions about whether the pay rise offered under Part A would add up when inflation is forecast this year by the Reserve Bank to be 5%.
Part B would effectively create second class employees by reducing conditions in some significant areas, such as hours of work, redundancy entitlements for new employees, and no guaranteed wage increases.
And let’s not forget that the document first circulated to employees was in breach of the carer’s leave provisions in the new Australian Fair Pay and Condition Standards.
If the vote gets up, it is almost certain that management will then make the same offer to another small group of employees in its slice-and-dice strategy.
Send a message to Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) workers that they are not alone in the fight for the best possible pay and conditions at Telstra.
Together, let’s keep the moral pressure on management to return to the negotiating table and bargain in good faith, and to allow Telstra employees to exercise their right to be represented by unions.
Leave a comment below, sending a message of support to Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) workers.
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129 Responses to “Show your support for Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) employees”
Got something to say?
This first offer may be good, but in 3 years time Telstra will have no obligation to provide anything and you will not have anyone to negotiate on your behalf.
Vote No!
Be strong wholesale & Service Advantage areas. Hold out & hope for the union negotiations to recommence soon. If we all stick together with this, we can make a difference. Once Telstra gets away with this once, there’ll be no stopping them.
Hi guys,
Divide & conquer is what the company wants.
I wouldnt want to come into the company after this & be a B employee.
Cheers
Hey team,
Telstra have put the agreement across in a way to make us think that we don’t have a choice but we do!
If you have any concerns vote no! If we all vote ‘no’ they will have to go back to the drawing board…….
Hang in there.
Hi wholesale and service advantage employees, I know it must be hard for you guys to be put under this pressure! But we are thinking of you as you try and decide what’s best. Good luck, and make sure you ask the unions for help if you need information about how to vote.
Colleagues, If you vote for Telstra’s EA you will lose control of your working conditions and be at the mercy of your manger - too bad if he/she doesn’t like you, or is put under pressure to stretch or change your employment conditions. If you go with the Union EA you will have the backing of experienced negotiators who have your interests at heart. If you perceive an injustice in your workplace, who’re you gong to call… ?
Negotiate from a position of power, not a take-it-or-leave-it Telstra deal.
Stand firm. Don’t let Telstra pick you off piece by piece. You this week, someone else next week.
Sol got a huge rise, Greg Winn got an enormous rise, no one is game to ask Andrea Grant what rise she got, and they say you can be represented by your Union to get a fair go!
United we stand. We WILL win.
Ask yourselves this question. Telstra has asked for more output and decreased time for orders etc. and you have deliverd. So why then do they offer a pay rise below CPI. Sol himself gets a 13% pay rise so how do they justify that.
It’s hard being the first, but say NO and protect the future for our kids and future employees.
Please vote & vote NO, as I will be when they make thier feable offer to me. We should get the same % increase as Sol & his team get, lock our wage increases to his, what could be fairer than that!
Please, Please vote no. Telstra may threaten to not negotiate wages for another year. But if we all stick together, and possibly take other actions we can win through this for a fair pay rise and conditions for all.
Managers are getting 13% pay rises off the back of our work, how can we accept 4.5%?
Please Wholesale and Service Advantage,
VOTE NO!!!
We too have received management talks regarding ECA. Almost all people in our section are against the ECA. Nobody wants performance payments. Nobody wants Part A/B. If we all stand together and VOTE NO, they will be forced to go back to the Union to negotiate a fair deal for ALL EMPLOYEES.
Please Vote NO
I work for Network and Construction Design and I don’t even want to see an ECA from management. I want to telstra back at the table with the Unions
How come there are still so many questions being raised?
To my Wholesale colleagues - vote ‘no’ for a 57 page document that raises 57+ questions (1-up Managers cannot answer) in one meeting alone.
Is it really such a bad thing to have the union involved, it would certainly save many man hours the Retail people have been spending on their review!
You are not alone in the fight for the best possible pay and conditions at Telstra.
Don’t be pressured into accepting what Telstra management is offering.
You have a moral right to be represented in EA talks by skilled negotiators that have your best interest at heart.
Together, let’s keep the moral pressure on management to return to the negotiating table and bargain in good faith, and to allow Telstra employees to exercise their right to be represented by unions.
I converted to an AWA in 1999. The first one or two pay rises were the same as the EBA, Telstra wanted more employees to convert and they dangled some carrots. Since about 50% or more staff were put on AWA’s, all my performance based pay rises have been well below CPI even when my performance has been meeting and exceeding expectations. The only reason I continued on the AWA has been the ability to Salary Sacrifice Super and Lease a car through Telstra.
In this current Telstra ECA offer, every clause describing the various conditions, which appear the same as those hard fought and negotiated in the EBA 05-08 by the Unions, is underpinned by the statement “Telstra Policy” which according to Telstra’s explanation of terms states, “..can change from time to time” without negotiation and only with “consultation”. “Consultation” means Telstra will tell you when the Policy changes (how good of them).
In my opinion, the Telstra ECA will be an agreement much the same as the previous AWA’s which are also underpinned by Telstra Policy and Telstra only kept their end of the bargain because there was in place another agreement covering Telstra employees (EBA). If there is no other agreement in place, Telstra will vary the conditions by changing Telstra Policy and there will be no come back and there will be no protected industrial action to take. Telstra will sue every-one individually. Can you afford to go to court against Telstra?? I don’t think so.
The “generous” 4.5% pay rise in the first year is the only pay rise, in my opinion, that is guaranteed. The other two 4% payrises will not materialise because Telstra Policy will change and these will disappear in a puff of smoke!!
My message to the Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) employees and fellow workers - Please don’t sell yourselves short. Vote No! Insist on you Democratic Rights to be represented by your elected representatives - your Unions.
Colleagues, no rocket science involved interpreting Andrea Grant’s tactics. A YES vote means a win for Telstra, giving them YOUR approval to dictate the terms of the “agreement” in total. A NO vote signals your disapproval of their tactics and dictated terms, the grossly uneven bias between senior management and staff. WE are with you all the way. Please vote NO.
Guys,
We are all behind you to vote NO. This is Telstra’s last chance to lock out the Unions. Vote No and we can fight again for a fairer agreement.
How can you trust someone who proudly announces to the WHOLE of Telstra they are proposing an ECA to Wholesale? Then when it is found to not include BASIC fair pay and conditions, a version 2 mysteriously appears with not one internal news article letting the rest of Telstra know they F*&#@d up.
MAKE YOU OWN MIND UP
VOTE NO! VOTE NO! VOTE NO! VOTE NO! VOTE NO! VOTE NO!
AND FORCE THEM BACK TO THE TABLE WITH THE UNIONS.
The juicy carrot is being dangled now to get you to accept the ECA but in 3 years time when it is due again will you get the same lure or will it just be ‘Take it or leave it’. United we stand…divided we fall. VOTE NO!
I have just been at a “discussion” regarding an ECA for Telstra Business. We all asked why the Union wasn’t part of the process if the agreement was SO GOOD for employees. As usual we did not get a real response, just the same Telstra response. They keep saying they will take our feedback and our ECA will be based on that. I have absolutely no doubt that what we were presented today (and that has been rolled to Wholesale & Service Advantage) is what will be rolled out to us soon as well. If Telstra wants these pathetic excuses for agreements to be accepted, then I say let’s give them a fight they will not soon forget !
Wholesale and Service Advantage - stand strong ! You are not alone. There are many of us who will vote NO with you, and we will make Telstra understand just how much it will cost them to get these agreements through. We are the ones who are doing all the work and putting up with so much stress day by day. If Telstra really respected their employees they would offer us a 10% payrise just in the first year.
Vote No and know that there are a lot of other people supporting you.
Dont let telstra’s blackmail scare you..if you vote no it isnt the end..we will all fight together to secure union agreements with fair pay rises and conditions..it is what we deserve and its our right..vote no..
Dont give in guys. all Telstra is doing is lying the whole way just like they did with us when we got our jobs. dont let them intimidate you. stay strong and if not in the union join as there is strength in numbers. If julia Gillard had any balls she would pull Telstrta in line and make them negotiate with the unions and she would also have the AWAs abolished and those on them transferred to the EA that the union negotiates with. DONT LOSE YOUR NERVE.
wow ..im doing it a bit rough at the moment but all you people have lifted my spirits. This “agreement” is a complete sham. Stand by your Unions. Stand together. This must go down. Stand strong people. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hi there, by voting no to telstra’s offer you have nothing to lose. The only outcome will be a superior offer from telstra or a recommencement of EBA negotiations with the unions with YOUR interests at heart.
It is not unusual for a no to be voted for by the small initial group (perhaps Target). This happened when Telstra Tried to convert us to the lesser KAZ AWA contracts. In the end they only “got” the new starters. The whole Idea of “forcing” us to the KAZ contracts was abandoned.
If you say no they may not even have the opportunity to push new starters onto the new contract. If new starters can go on a lower conditions contract / agreement than you, will your boss treat you all as equals ?.
Don’t be fooled by their scare tactics! What they are trying to do is wrong and down-right un-Australian! Let’s stand together, and kick this American Management model back where it came from!!!
AWAs guys just got an average of 2.5% pay rise again…
If i dont like the conditions down the track i will leave.
Why stay somewhere where you are not happy?
At our regular team brief this afternoon we had the Telstra ECA offer to Wholesale & Service Advantage rolled out to us. My team leader did not know how many employees were eligibile to vote but he did know that only 50% need to vote for the voting process to be legal and of those only 50% are required to vote yes for the ECA to be carried. Please every-one vote and Vote NO! Show Telstra that last time we looked Austalia was and still is a FREE and DEMOCRATIC country. We have elected our representatives (Unions) and we want them to negotiate for us for a better deal for all of us!
Telstra Workplace Relations have emailed me stating “Any employee whose employment will be covered by an employee collective agreement may request another person, called a bargaining agent, to ‘represent them in meeting and conferring’ with Telstra about the making of the Agreement. The bargaining agent can be a union official.”
Perhaps we should all nominate CPSU as our bargaining official - I certainly intend doing so.
Don’t be pushed around by Telstra and their take it or leave it attitude. There is no bargaining with management, it is all one sided. Stick together, VOTE No, be strong, that is how we have achieved our past improvements in conditions. We are behind you to support you.
VOTE NO!!
Don’t let Telstra have everything their way, by using bully tactics.
Show them we will not accept Telstra ignoring staff rights, to have a union represent us.
Educate Sol, that this is not the USA. The land of un-liveable minimum wages.
Say NO!!!!!!
We will all say NO to Telstra together…
vote no to telstra’s high handed take it or leave it attitude. As usual there is no negotiation with us, their terms were worked out ages ago. Its whats best for telstra, the employees at the coal face get the crumbs. Only the union can be trusted to look after our welfare. Don’t let them bully us any more, it’s time to stand up to them.
Hi Telstra companions
Vote NO for this disguised AWA type of underhanded agreement. This is our last chance for a fair and descent pay rise and for us to have any input into it, or we will continue to slide down hill. Telstra’s history in the past has been sneaky and underhanded. Speak to anybody on AWA agreements, they’ve just screwed them to the wall. Guaranteed that the team leaders will get a heafty bonus once they defeat us. They have nothing but broken promises and they dreams they wish to persue at our expense.
____SO VOTE NO!____ To get them talking back to the unions!
There is so much to say on this topic and not the space to do so. To ask pertinent questions of HR only to have half truths and spin in return insults my intelligence. Lets look at the MOU etc. this draft doc was given to HR who ran crying foul to everyone that dirty deeds were being done by “The Unions” consultation was sought and the document changed to comply with whatever laws it had to. Telstra spin doctors continued to bleat about the original document and not the updated version (More spin to divert attention from the real agenda). meanwhile using every means (NowWeAreTalking/Telstra Homepage/EMails from GMD’s)to bludgeon the staff with propaganda that only proved that senior management has no respect for the people who have delivered the goals set by Sol. (By the way, it is one thing to have a vision and business plan for the company, which, by the way, i am right behind, but it is not worth squat if the staff do not deliver all day every day) I believe that Sol should be rewarded and rewarded well (but the rewards should be to all who have delivered) HR continually state that they have not broken any laws with the direction they have taken. this is true. Have they found loopholes to weave through to TRY to get their desired result? Absolutely!
I believe telstra have 2 goals. firstly to reduce the pay and conditions across the board and have been vocal in their assertions that wages are 15% above industry. they wish to destroy the unions in line with the goals of the Howard Govenment. to do the reduce the pay they must first get rid of the unions. they think that if they make the offer good enough and staff will vote yes. remember that they are asking the minority of staff (approx 11k) to vote on a part B which will eventually cover the majority (approx 23k). if you vote to shaft your colleagues now, in three years time part B will be dished up cold to you as the maximum you will get and you will have no representation. this vote is an individual choice but morally i could not vote to have the person working next to me come in to the company on lesser conditions. if this attitude was taken by those who came before me then i would not be enjoying the wages and conditions i am now and i believe i owe it to those who come after me to do the right thing. so much more to say but i have probably said too much already
RC
To Wholesale and Service Advantage (Call Centric) workers, dont get sucked into voting yes for this and dont beleive that we wont get a pay rise for 12 months. This is a scare tactic. Telstra will come back to the table to bargain with the unions as it is bad for business to not have an agreement in place.
Here is your chance to deliver a strong message to the organisation that we want the union to represent us in these negotiations.
It is not what is being offered now that is important, it is what wont be offered in 3 years time if this gets up.
Please vote no and be assured that employees throughout Telstra are behind you.
Hey Guys,
All I can do is remind you that this is the first EA ever presented to staff without the endorsement of the Union. They are the ones with experience in this type of negotiations and you can’t possibly be expected to understand or foresee the future ramifications agreeing to this deal.
We CAN do better - This is not a company that is doing it hard. Look at Sol’s remuneration for a start.
VOTE NO!
To my Telstra Cohort,
This package, with its Part A, Part B etc is too smart by half. What this means is that we are quarantining Part A people to that grouping that exist now, never to expand.
We are being asked to set the IR parameters for people coming off AWAs who want to escape them, and there are heaps, or those who are yet to join Telstra.
What natural justice is there with this? They might be your children.
We must keep our right to choose our advocate, to gain professional advice, and be represented, just as we gain advice on financial matters, or to be represented in a court by a lawyer.
If we accept this package this avenue, or right, will be lost forever.
Checks & balance are hugely important in these matters, and eliminating this is HR’s major goal.
Telstra’s credence on these matters is zero. Those of you who remember NDC might remember that NDC was going to be sold.. absolutely absolutely… and it wasn’t.
OK, Telstra is not a bad place to work, I personally enjoy it, still after 41 yrs, but you might ask yourself why. What might an AWA look like when no comparison exists with an EBA in the future?
Let’s keep what we have. This arrangement is all about transition, not current conditions, they can be changed.
Reject this arrangement on principle, and request Telstra HR to treat us with some common decency, in Telstra’s interest.
Regards
RC (41 years in Telstra)
G’day Team,
Don’t be lured into acting in a greedy manner by acknowledging the dangling carrot that Telstra is offering. Signing this document will set your conditions for the term of the agreement but you are giving away any future ability to NEGOTIATE further agreements. Inflation is predicted to be 5% by December so, already you have a cut in real wages. At the conclusion of this agreement when the next one is offered you can bank on the conditions being reduced and maybe even pay rates. Why? - because there is nothing to stop Telstra doing this once you sign away your rights to negotiate.
The “offer” of the ECA or nothing, is like asking if you’d rather be stabbed or shot!
Vote NO and demand a third choice, a deal negotiated with Union representation.
Vote No!! Vote No!!! This a typical divide & conquer that Telstra excells at. We need the union or we’ll be screwed otherwise.Hang in there..We are all in this together, we can & will get through it.
I was on an AWA for 6yrs, for the first couple of years telstra management kept me in line (not above) that of the AWARD staff base rates, for the past 4yrs I have received only minor pay increases and my base wages ended up $8000 under that of an equivalent AWARD staff member performing the same job, despite always achieving excellent reviews each year. (including winning telstra an internationally recognized award which Sol was proud to gloat about).
A few months ago I made the best decision of my life, I converted back to the AWARD and received an instant $8000 increase in base pay so I am now being paid equally to my colleagues performing the same work.
(I too had a lease car only 1yr old before converting back, getting rid of it was easy, and even with a $30,000+ car loan which I now have I am still financially better off.. those of you holding out solely due to cars sit down and do your sums)
now AWA’s have been defeated by the Rudd government telstra are again trying to find ways to divide and conquer its staff by way of an ECA which is nothing more than another means of downgrading conditions & pay to suit telstra, A worm has been dangled to get you in but once your hooked your at the mercy of telstra.
The biggest question you need ask yourself is who in this company will benefit the most if you vote YES ??
Staff get pay increases over 3yrs which don’t even meet CPI and the current performance process used in telstra is designed to benefit the company not the staff.
Secretly a few senior managers are likely to get huge bonuses should they achieve a yes vote for the company.
Telstra is already using bullying tactics in its ECA campaign by threatening to not negotiate again for 12 months if you vote no. this is very poor on telstra’s behalf.
Please dont play into telstra’s hands VOTE “NO” and force telstra back to the negotiation table with the unions.
VOTE NO VOTE NO VOTE NO
“TOGETHER WE WILL SUCCEED, DIVIDED WE WILL FALL.”
So many good points already mentioned. The main thought in my mind is: Who is going to look after my interests? Telstra management? I don’t think so! THAT is what unions are for! Please protect what is left of our future and vote NO, we must stay united!
Fellow Colleagues,
I too would encourage a “NO” vote to these Collective Agreements which will only divide us / staff. Staff as a whole need to negotiate a new EA which will include entitlements for across the board. We need to be able to have the UNION represent us a majority and go into BAT for us and our future in Telstra.
All the best staff at Wholesale & Service Advantage.
Yours Sincerely
Gwen Finnigan
GNO Clayton.
Hold firm guys and vote NO.
Reading the newspapers today it’s looks like the AIRC will step in anyway if this non-union agreement is voted down. Telstra have shown their true colours in the last few weeks, so who knows what they will do in 3 years time if they succeed in pushing the union out of the picture now.
I’ve worked for this company for 14 years now and this is the fist EBA that I don’t believe Telstra has it’s ethics right. Let face it the 2nd Telstra Values is “Respect for the Individual” what respect??? It’s arogance with not even turning up at an IRC negotiation meeting just shows cause really how it treat’s it staff!!All we all want is for a Union Negotiated agreement with Telstra Managemnet that’s fair to all involved. It’s not to much to ask??? Though it seems Teltsra has contemept for anyone that beleives that unions should be involved and that we’re asking for the world***** We need now more than ever all to remain strong and focussed on what we need to be seen as a FAIR GO!!!! I ask anyone that is in the union or not to spread the word and show our support to our Wholesale collegues to VOTE NO ! VOTE NO! VOTE NO! Our future depneds on it!!!!!
To all in Wholesale, please VOTE NO!!!
I have worked for Telstra for over 25 years & I have never seen so much spin, Telsta telling us how fantastic this ECA is then at the same time threatening us that if we vote no, there will be no pay rise for 12 months. We need to stand up and let Telstra know we will not be taken for idiots and show us some respect. VOTE NO!!
Hi Guys,
Vote no. Don’t be lured into voting for the ECA based on Part A conditions; it is clear that Part B will become the defacto standard. Why else, would Part A not be offered to new/AWA employees?
Telstra has bullied spun stories and generally is doing everything in its power to prevent us from having a say in our new EA agreement. We need to stay strong together and vote no. A union backed collective agreement will give us a far greater chance to retain our conditions. I am so sick of the americanisation of Telstra. Its going downhill fast so we at least can tell them we wont accept their truly crapulant non union ECA. In unity.
After reading all the comments posted here I think it is very telling that no-one is supporting Telstra’s approach with rolling out non Union ECA’s, and their content.
Telstra management are targeting Wholesale & Service Advantage because they think that Wholesale & Service Advantage are weak and will give in to the pressure.
You have the power to prove them wrong and rest assured that if you vote NO then your colleagues in other parts of Telstra will follow your lead!
Show us the way!!
a no vote means … we have to keep negotiations open and keep on talking…. vote no .. we havent solved it yet
Showing my support for Wholesale & Call Centric staff. You’re free to make up your own minds, of course, without pressure applied to vote either way. But (you knew there’d be a but) I urge you to Vote No! There’s a rotten smell to this “agreement” (a name that will only apply to the document if the Yes vote gets up, as there certainly has been minimal input from us). HR & its public face Ms Grant have been shifty from the get-go. The attempt to dodge questions at their media conference announcing the cessation of talks with the Unions made me suspicious of their motives long before the slides were leaked. Their agenda is clear–screw us out of wages, while they throw money at the execs. Mark my words, the next one will eliminate the conditions that are so “important to our staff”. Trust your fellow staff-members and the Union movement to back you up! Now is the time to announce to Telstra that WE are the ones that get the work done, and want to be treated with the respect we deserve.
Stay strong Show Telstra that we want a fair negotiation process with the unions, not an “offer take it or get nothing”
Don’t’ let our conditions be eroded. What we have now has been fought for by your fellow workers and unions over the last 60 or so years, Don’t give them away, VOTE NO!
We need to stand united on this one. Do not let corporations take away our civil right to be represented in negotiations of any kind. What next, we’ll go to trial without a solicitor?!?!!? They are trying to split us up, remember………”DIVIDE & CONQUER”
Don’t be conned into thinking if you don’t accept the offer, then you won’t get a pay rise until next year, and even then it might be less. The fact that you aren’t being offered as much as the rate of inflation now, says it all. We are all being treated with contempt.
The game plan is to reduce the number of employees reliant on the union to an insignificant number so that we can never recover because we will all be on agreements that end on different dates. Be strong and hold out for a union negotiated agreement. That is what Telstra doesn’t want. Why? Because it is likely to be better than what Telstra will continue to offer. There is strength in numbers.
To Wholesale and Service Advantage,
Stay strong and vote for your rights and conditions. Think about who will sign the agreement on your behalf, what will happen if that person leaves? Telstra already made mistakes with regard to Carer’s Leave, what else will they do? How can they only offer 4.5% in the first year when senior management are getting larger increases (Greg Winn at 99%) and yet productivity gains were around 7%. Don’t fall for the Telstra management dictatorship of take it of leave it - fight for what is right and think of the future.
VOTE NO - we are all behind you
Job classifications and the pay involved used to be really clear. Now it’s all very secretive, especially for those on AWA’s. Pay and conditions have been eroded for many years now and Telstra’s way of putting so much into policy, instead of into the EBA’s or AWA’s, means that they can and do change our conditions as and when they wish.
Vote NO and push for Telstra to negotiate with the unions. They know how to deal with offers that may initially look OK to you and me but which, when analysed or looked at more closely, leave the door open to take more away.
I’ve been on an AWA for a number of years and the pay rises have reduced significantly over time (less than half of forecast inflation after meeting expectations for 07/08). It’s become impossible to get anything better than a “meets expectations” rating.
As individuals we have no power, no clout. We don’t have the know-how and Telstra won’t negotiate.
As part of a union we have power, can get outside assistance if things start going wrong at work and the union can negotiate on behalf of many people.
Hang in there!
vote NO!! I was lured onto an AWA some months ago - my manager said on an AWA my pay increase each year would be based on effort - I put the effort in and all I received is a lousy 2% increase and no bonus system. EBA is the way to go. United we conquer!! Stand firm and hold out for a union negotiated agreement
We support you guys and fell sorry for you guys that management have labelled you the easy beats, the push overs. That’s because management are bullies and think they can push you guys around. Be strong and punch them right on the nose and we will be standing beside you if management should retaliate.
No matter what management offer in these ECAs, say no, we have a union that you need to negotiate with.
Don’t be fooled by management rhetoric about listening to our employees and providing what they asked for. Management are only concerned about lining their own pockets with our hard earned cash to justify their absurd pay rises upto 96% in one case. management say they are committed to the share holders but snub their noses at them when the share holders voted no to their pay rises. management have run out of options in saving cash for themselves ie redundancies etc. management cannot afford to lose anymore staff to get their transformation completed, so the only way they can line their pockets is with our money.
Stay the course and Vote NO! We are all relying on you! This is what solidarity is all about and what you do on the 15th and 16th effects the futures of us all.
Do not be manipulated by Telstra’s Divide & Conquer attitude, stay true to yourselves and your fellow co-workers and think “collectively” since Telstra will not.
Our rights as workers has been hard fought and won over many years - don’t allow Telstra to start eroding our conditions now.
I for one cannot afford to employ a team of lawyers to pore over future agreements - this is what the union does for us all.
If Telstra has it’s way who will stand up for us in the future to protect our conditions?!!!
VOTE NO!!!!!!! We are with you!
Hi Guys,
Please, please, please vote ‘NO’ we need an umpire to negotiate on our behalf otherwise Telstra Management will walk all over us. United we stand, divided we fall!!!
It’s supposed to be a collective agreement, yet it’s being offered in a piecemeal way to parts of Telstra. Divide and Conquer.
Vote NO!
Dear Wholesale and Telstra Advantage, don’t be conned by managemant. They get well above inflation for their wage rises. Also watch out for the great 7.5% incentive bonus. It appears to consist of a maximum of 2.5% for achieving a top rating each year, not 7.5% each year.
Be strong guys. Don’t be fooled by the spin doctoring that has been dished up to us all by our Employer. The conditions that we have today have been WON by our respective unions fighting on OUR behalf and not GIVEN to us by an altrustic Employer. These “KEY” conditions that we are being offered as being protected are conditions that have been fought for and won, not “given” to us. Anything not locked into a Union endorsed EA, but relying on a Employer offered, non Union ECA WILL be at risk 3 years down the track. What else will we lose then? Telstras polocies and procedures can be changed at any time, so any employee benefits not locked away in a EA, but relying on todays polocies and procedures to keep them, could be even further eroded away. Stand firm and be bouyed by the fact that so many of your “brothers and sisters” are behind you and will also be voting NO when it comes to there turn
They came for Wolesale and SA first , then they came for Telstra Business and finally then they will come for us in TE&G: an approach used by the Nazis to great effect to reduce opposition.
Hi Guys,
Vote NO.
Our rights as workers has been hard fought and won over many years - don’t allow Telstra to start eroding our conditions. Telstra are only thinking of the money they can save by pushing this deal through.
Telstra’s offer stinks because it creates an underclass of employees. The same workers doing the same job only one person get paid less, has no work hours flexibility and their conditions are slashed because they begin after a certain date.
Come on, get real and offer all employees a fair deal under one award. Short term gain for class A employees ensure we will all be royally screwed when we lose our union involvement as an independent arbitrator.
Hang tough guys, vote when you get a chance and VOTE NO. The rest of Telstra is watching this very carefully!
Please Vote No…Don’t let Telstra bypass the union.
Wholesale and Service Advantage people just say NO!!
Maybe that’s what the parents of these people who are pushing this so called collective agreement onto you people should have said and done.
MANAGEMENT WANT US TO ACCEPT BELOW INFLATION.
THERE IS NO BARGAINING IN THIS OFFER - IT IS TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT AND THE NEXT ONE WILL BE A SHOCKER.
THE ONLY WAY EMPLOYEES CAN HAVE A FAIR DEAL IS THROUGH NEGOTIATION.
Vote No !!!!!!!!!!!
I am an Athiest,
But I would rather accept “The 2nd Coming story” Over
“We are the Telstra and Love You” propaganda Telstra are dishing up
c’mon guys, everything about this offer is WRONG………remember united we stand divided we fall and thats exactly what telstra want to see happen!!
Stick with it guys. Vote NO. If you don’t we will never have our rights at work. There offers will only get worse & worse Telstra has proved that many times in the past with their ever changing & impossible to reach measure. Here’s hoping you all stay strong for yourselves & the rest of us who will have to follow.
Don`t be fooled into this offer. Hang in there.
We WILL be HERE after they have GONE.
Some time ago, I decided to do the opposite of what management thought was go for me. I still have my commonwealth super plus a lot more that I would have given away, not unlike what they are wanting to do now. It is tuff with the cost of living etc and with a nice a carrot even tougher. Lets face it if you did not sign the new AWA then you are’t about to sign up to this…
We had our “maybe we will, maybe we won’t offer you an” ECA session today. Wow, what an eye opener.
Guaranteed pay rise for Part A people, no such guarantee for Part B (expired AWA) staff - the fantastic people I sit next to every day.
The criteria used to select people for redundancy is based on an ‘objective’ criteria. I’d love to see Telstra’s definition of ‘objective’ wouldn’t you?
New employees redundancy pay capped at 50 weeks, 30 weeks less than the current entitlement. That’s treating staff equally don’t you think?
You can appeal your selection for redundancy internally, but if you want to involve an independent mediator/umpire such as the Industrial Relations Commission, Telstra have to agree with you or it may not happen. Gosh, given their track record in the last 2 weeks I can see them agreeing to mediation in the IRC, can’t you?
Your manager retains total control over the targets you have to meet to attain an EE (Exceeds Expectation) rating. If lots of people are close to getting extra pay, will they up the targets? Way to make the budget!
Staff who are on an expired AWA can cast a vote, but, unless they terminate their AWA, they will be voting on an agreement that they are not covered by. How does that work?
I’m told that if 1000 people were eligible to vote on a proposal that 6 out of that 1000 people could decide whether an ECA (employee collective agreement) is accepted.
Apparently if 1000 people are eligible to vote and only 10 do, if 6 of those 10 vote yes and only 4 vote no, then the vote is a legitimate yes vote. What the?
Colleagues, Telstra have made it very clear on more than one occasion that they answer to their shareholders. Our unions exists for us, the employees. I have kids, a mortgage and a car that needs petrol, I also have the right to have a union represent me. We, the employees, make this company profitable, we the employees talk to the customers, let Telstra know that we matter. Vote when you get the opportunity, Vote NO, and insist that Telstra return to negotiations with our representatives, the unions.
Vote No. It affects future generation
Friends, We need the unions to push Telstra for fair pay and coditions, not only for this ‘agreement’, but also for all those that follow into the future. Telstra HR is trying to de-unionise Telstra, trying make us a disorganised rabble. Don’t let them. We all need to make a stand. For our colleagues in Wholesale and Service Advantage that time is upon them. Be strong.
PLEASE for the good of all your fellow workers, stay Strong and United not divided and conquered. Vote NO to this smoke and mirrors deception to eventually make you a captive slave. Demand the same pay rise as your Kate Mackenzie received. That would be fair.
We are all behind you to vote NO. This is Telstra’s last chance to lock out the Unions. Vote No and we can fight again for a fairer agreement.LAR
Hang in there guys, it’s always hard being the pioneers but we need you to vote and to vote NO. The rest of the business is behind you, we need to stop telstra trying to divide and conquer. We have to stop them taking away our negotiation power and representation.
One stick can break easily, a bundle of sticks is harder. We cannot individually have any power but as a ‘union’ we can. Individually we cannot afford lawyers & using Telsra paid lawyers is not on a fair par. Stick Together….ONE FOR ALL & ALL FOR ONE goes a long way Again stick together for your colleagues & humanity. It will come to pass !
People, don’t be bullied into voting yes.
Our Section just go the speal on the new ECA which is based on the wholesale ECA. We also got our results from our performance development review and were were told that this could be used for our ratings if the ECA got voted in. Funny how this time employes with Exceeds Expectations only got Meets Expectations and they achieved more than last year. It seems that the goal posts can always be moved to try and make us work harder for no reward. Don’t be sucked into this.
We all work hard for the management and we just deserve to have fair pay that meets the CPI without including performance based wages.
Vote NO, and let the Unions negotiate for us.
To Wholesale Staff
They told you it’s this or nothing. An offer that doesn’t even keep up with inflation. What about being rewarded for effort? What about keeping up with inflation and getting a decent payrise on top in line with the companies performance? 2.5% isn’t good enough and we all know they’ll find a way to wriggle out of even giving us that.
Interesting to note that Managers in many cases are getting double digit % payrises while we are the victims of wage restraint and being made poorer with this insulting offer. Telstra’s idea of a fair reward for performance for their workers is akin to Japanese whaling for scientific purposes. Vote NO !
Guys,
Hang in there. I was always taught that to beat a bully you have to stand up to them.
Construction.
Hello There,
Sadly, Federal Labour has been very slow to move on the IR laws changes that got them ‘over the line’, and have given Telstra this opportunity to side line our unions.
Without our unions ‘we’ have no real bargaining power.
It is really difficult for you now, but will be more so in the future for all of us, if the yes vote wins.
Please vote NO and give our slack Federal Labour party time to change the IR laws
Yours in Unity
Tony Thorpe
You have my support to hold out!
Big T is not interested in your welfare.
Be strong wholesale & Service Advantage areas. Hold out & hope for the union negotiations to recommence soon. If we all stick together with this, we can make a difference. Once Telstra gets away with this once, there’ll be no stopping them.
VOTE NO !
To my fellow workmates, last year together we sent a very loud and clear message to Telstra that we deserve better and we are entitled to be represented by our unions. WE WERE IGNORED - OUR VOTE WAS DISMISSED. I want each and every one of you to know that when you VOTE NO on Monday that I will stand and support my workmates and will also be VOTING NO when my turn comes around and I will keep VOTING NO until Telstras Fat Cats get the message and start treating us the employees with respect and acknowledge our very basic right to be represented by our unions.
Telstra’s Values include “Respect for the Individual”.
Telstra is not respecting an individuals right to union representation in this instance.
Union member or not, don’t let Telstra take away your right to access union representation if you so choose. Vote NO.
Dont trust management..vote NO..your rights are worth fighting for or you will loose them…
To all you Wholesale and Centric guys and girls. Vote NO, but make sure you do Vote and it is a NO.
Ive been involved in the ECA forum groups in Net Const and the resounding feedback we have been giving HR is 1) The Union isnt involved, we are not interested 2) Part B is NOT to be included and 3) The offer really is a kick in the guts, NOT good enough. Bottom line for Net Const, we will be voting NO.
Be strong, we are behind you
Don’t do it. VOTE NO! Conditions will only get worse. Stick with a union agreement.
The ECA Agreement Sounds like another Liberal Party Antic…. VOTE NO.. the Unions should be on board, Unions should be back in the buildings, they have been in the past supporting working families for so many years with Bargaining Agreements, EA\EBA’s why should this change because Telstra dont want them to be. Enough is Enough. Service Advantage and Wholesale VOTE NO and dont be FOOLED by Telstra! They couldnt get this ECA agreement right…
Hello everyone,
Vote No! Your rights as an employee will have greater strength with unions’ assistance in negotiations with Telstra. At the end of the day as Billy Connolly says in the ING adverts on T.V. : - “Its your money!!”.
Don’t let Telstra have absolute control of YOUR PRESENT MONEY and YOUR FUTURE MONEY!
My 2 cents of advice & may you make the right choice in voting,
Dan
Don’t give up - VOTE NO!
Please vote NO.It is very simple talk to our union staff members are the union.
Hi all,
Vote No!
Don’t let Telstra do this to us. This is big.
Vote NO.
Just remember what your last 3 year pay rises have been ~2.5% and Telstra want you to accept 3 more years of Below CPI raises.I don’t think so.
As for performance bonuses ,you will be very lucky to see those.
Don’t give in for a measley amount that doesnt even cover the CPI. Your rights and the rights of those who come after are far too important to give up. Please don’t let them divide and conquer the employees. This is the way they can reduce labour costs, thereby increasing the shareholders profit. Its only by sticking together that these bullying tactics can be defeated.
Hi guys,
There has been a lot of finger pointing and name calling over this issue, but I urge you to look beyond this and ask yourself, is this the agreement I want for myself and for future employees to come i.e. our children? If you have any doubts the answer is simple VOTE NO!!
Take note of the unions warnings. Telstra have a history of deception.
If Telstra are successful in implimenting this ECA, it will just be another step in the erosion of conditions across the board, not only for us - the employees, but for Australia and the general public.
It’s past time that we held together as a workforce and let Telstra know that enough is enough.
We must all stick together on this and vote NO when the time comes.
Everyone should vote NO and force Telstra back to the negotiating table! If they get this one through what will the next ECA be like?
Say NO!! Where was the negoitation??? Telstra have just presented what they want and said take it or leave it. In 3 yrs time they don’t have to offer anything and they won’t. All employees should be equal no part A’s or part B’s. Its just more American bullshit from our CEO who spends more time in airports than he does here in Australia running the company, he’s ok with his 16% increase, and DR Phil good riddence I hope the door slams you in the backside on your way out! oh and don’t come back with your bullshit book either. I’m sick and tired of the Americans running our company and screwing us while they just get richer and richer, SAY NO, SAY NO.
Be strong and stand up for what has been hard faught for. Show these bullies we are united and vote NO.
Vote NO ….Don’t be fooled into voting yes & Don’t beleive that Telstra will look after you once the ECA 3 years is up, because once they get there way and the union is no longer a powerful force acting on your behalf with thousands of union members for support. It will just boil down to 1 loney voice against a team of HR personal & management with their lawers against just one person and that’s you,there will be no union fighting on your behalf for your rights and what ever they wish to dish up in the future you will just have to except. So I ask you to stay strong and Vote NO….. because Without our unions ‘we’ have no real bargaining power.
I am, you are, we are Australian.
Unless of course you’re a Telstra staff member, and then we’re going to screw you as much as we can get away with. Not very Australian!!!!
Vote no.
Don’t only vote no, you should take offence to this behaviour. Vote with your feet, turn your back on the measly staff discount you get for over-priced, substandard products, and take your services elsewhere. I could almost guarantee you’ll get a cheaper price anyway.
Telstra has once again shown it’s true colours by preventing geniune negations by using the dying days of workchoices to stop you from getting a fair cut of the profits this company generates.
So vote no and fight for better conditions, and we are 100% behind you because we will be next.
Were all behind you with our support.
Part B ECA is AWA by a different name.
Reject the offer and lets force TELSTRA to rethink their approach.
Telstra is going to do whatever it takes to get this agreement through as it’s intentions are to break the Unions and have total control of it’s employees by the next EA. The follow on effect is that other companies will take the same course of action and within 10 years the Unions may be non existent. This will greatly affect younger existing employees and future employees. For example, Part B is only for new employees and AWA employees wishing to revert to an EA. The next EA is scheduled to have no Part A, so everyone will be on Part B. By then Part B and the AWAs will be indistinguishable. For us field staff, we hardly ever get to see each other to discuss issues, so the old “divide and conquer” is working well. We need the Unions for us today, and for our kids tomorrow.
Vote NO and force the issue!!!!
Telstra aims to get ride of the union-get ride of the Redundance Agreement-contract your work to English spesking Asians and then get ride of you. Unions are essential to balance up Telstra’s power over you!
It is encouraging to see that people are still willing to stand up for a fairer and non-rushed outcome.
To my Wholesale & Call Centric colleagues - Well done. It is now up to the rest of us to show the same resolve when the ECA is rolled out to the next group.
Well Done Guys.
Thank you all for Voting ‘NO’, this is a great outcome!!!
I would just like to say how proud I am of the members of Wholesale and Service Advantage for showing the courage to turn down the offer made buy Telstra management. It will give all the rest of us awaiting our offers(If we get one), the backbone to stand up and vote NO as well.Hopefully in unity we can get Telstra back to the table, negotiating OUR EA so we can get on with job at hand.
Thank you for voting ‘NO’. The huge amount of money & time Teltra HR wasted on this useless ECA excercise, could have been better spent providing staff with a decent above 5% pay rise per annum. Also, the ECA attempt has alienated staff, caused staff morale to plummet to an all-time low, angered the AIRC and Government and given the general public a poor perception of Telstra’, industrial practises.
Great work all. !!!!!! Im so glad you stood up to them. How can there be negotiations with only one party at the table ?? You cant.
Its interesting to note that on the intranet home page, HR where all over this issue everyday. One the tribunal stepped in and gave HR the news they didnt want,, the intranet home page has gone silent on the whole thing.
Telstra is all high and mighty when they think they have the upper hand, but they sulk when beaten.. and the got beaten you !!! WELL DONE !!!
Well done guys. You have my full support in regards to ECA’s, and I will be voting the same, as will most of my colleauges. This has sent a real serious message to Telstra HR. Existing EA and expired AWA staff will not be walked on any longer. Get back to negotiations with the unions Andrea. The “real” workers have spoken.
Let’s stick together & make sure Telstra do the right thing
looks like the hr managers won’t be getting a bonus, well done for supporting the no vote we’ve put up with enough lies from this company,I will be voting the same as you.
I am proud of my colleagues for the strength & wisdom! It is us the ‘REAL WORKERS; & not the ones sitting in ivory towers stating all is good. Rubbish ! We know what is happenning. One Stick is harder to break, a bundle is hader. Good for you. I say “One For All & All For One” !
Well Done, It was great to see the vote go against Telstra and the HR managment team they must think we are all fools it like the last offer they tried to sell us with the offer of all this extra money if you worked harder no one in our group signed up for the offer and if they would of they would be worse off now as the points system is a joke. It’s about time management stopped wasting shareholders money and got on with running the company and let the unions be part of our support team.
It always amazes me, Telstra employs us because of our intelligence, analytical skills and our ability to make correct commercial judgements on behalf of the company and we are paid accordingly. Yet senior management are hoping that we drop the ball when it comes to looking after our own financial viability and long term employment arrangements. Well done - We didn’t expect any other result.
Well done people.Congratulations on having the commensense to stand up and reject Telstra’s initial proposal, which they are trying to bully all into taking.I was a proud Telstra employee once, now after 20 years I’m becoming very disillusioned.Workers conditions are being erroded, don’t let it happen, for yourselves or for your childrens sakes.
United we stand, Divided we fall…. IT’S YOUR FUTURE AT STAKE HERE. PLEASE DON’T LET TELSTRA TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU.
Telstra pride themseleves on telling Staff what a great job they are doing and what a great company Telstra is, but, the truth is it’s the Workers that have put the Company there and now Telstra wish to screw us even further by not negotiating our next EBA thus holding back any pay rises in order to force us onto the ECA. How can such a Company think so little of their Staff?
VOTE NO to the proposed ECA and force Telstra to re-think their position
In my experience, HR and management prefer to either delay or sweep issues under the carpet. I’ve been on unpaid leave for the better part of this year, following EEO issues that saw me return to a nastier group of people, and to cut a long story short, Telstra hasn’t been interested in resolving my issues, despite my status as a permanent employee, but no employee (permanent, contractor or casual full time) should endure underhanded managerial practices. They have been waiting for me to pull the plug, to resign so they don’t admit fault, but I have to pop pills and stand my ground but sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth it.