CLA BARGAINING: UNION SEEKING FEEDBACK AND ENDORSEMENT ON COUNTER-OFFER

As you know, Serco tabled a last-minute offer on Tuesday prior to the stoppage and requested that the union put this offer out to members. This occurred, and the majority of members rejected the offer and chose instead to proceed with the 48-hour stoppage.

Most of the feedback that we received via the survey, emails and in member meetings held yesterday was that the base rate increase was in line with what we’re fighting for, but that it shouldn’t affect the OT and PH rates. As such, the union is suggesting that the following counteroffer is tabled to Serco:

This is an increase to the base rate for CCO1s and CCO2s. Additionally, we suggest the following:

• That the EA have a 2-year term.
• That no penalties are affected or reduced (including overtime, weekend penalties and shift penalties).
• That all CCO2s with 24 months service as a CCO2 automatically progress to CCO3 upon certification of the EA, and that those CCO2s with less than 24 months service automatically progress when they hit the 2-year mark. As there are currently no CCO1s employed by Serco (that we know of), this will cover all employees. Upon certification of the EA, new/future employees will be required to progress through the classification structure in the EA (CCO1 for one year, and CCO2 for two years), but their rate will be higher under the new EA and therefore they won’t be disadvantaged. One of the requirements for progressing to CCO3 under the last two offers was the completion of three Cert IV modules – this will remain in place, but we will suggest that CCO2s have 12 months to complete these modules after they progress to CCO3, and not before they can progress to CCO3.

We are seeking feedback on and endorsement of this proposal. If the majority of members believe that this is an appropriate offer, then we will formally advise Serco of this in writing.

This is not to say that Serco will automatically agree, or that it means that no further protected industrial action will be required. It may be the case that we need to keep fighting in order to get what we want. However, endorsement from the membership will mean that we can set the parameters with Serco and let them know that this is the bottom line, and that anything short of this will not be acceptable for union members.

Can you please take the time to fill out the following survey and let us know whether you support the above counteroffer or not HERE.

As always, if you have any questions, you can get in touch with the union by sending an email to , , , or . You can also call Jess on 0401 521 561 or Kim on 0408 249 277.