We are aware many of you have wanted more regular updates regarding what is happening in the enterprise bargaining towards your new Agreement and apologise that they have not been more forthcoming.
Truth be told, little has been happening and we have been trying to give the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) every opportunity to demonstrate its intent. Now it has have shown its hand, we hold grave concerns about where the bargaining is headed.
It is the view of your bargaining representatives that an inordinate amount of time has been wasted in bargaining by management representatives talking about their response and how to bargain rather than responding and bargaining itself. The only documents regularly produced by your employer were flow charts authored by their external consultant about when documents would be produced.
At first we took this as an indication that the NHVR representatives were overwhelmed and not sure what they were doing. But our last meeting indicated that they were working earnestly behind the scenes – at attempting to strip back your conditions.
It is normal practice in bargaining to concentrate at first on the conditions the Act states you must include – consultation, dispute resolution and flexibility arrangements.
They are the low-hanging fruit as they are usually the simplest conditions to resolve, giving the parties an opportunity to pack away some matters before moving onto potentially more contentious ones. But the positions taken on them can show everyone’s intent.
Now whilst the NHVR had signalled on multiple occasions in bargaining (and the CEO had stated the same in communiques to staff) that this was merely a “harmonisation process” of bringing agreements together, at the first hurdle your employer changed tact.
Whilst these are relatively simple conditions, and they were spelt out in detail in the Copied State Instrument from NSW and the expired Enterprise Agreement, NHVR sought to rewrite them completely, and strip out practically everything beneficial to employees. Instead it proposed the absolute minimum legislative standards – far below what any employee experiences now.
This wasn’t an attempt at a harmonisation process, it was a wholesale termination and renegotiation.
Of course the NHVR bargaining representatives claimed this was the instructions of the Board, notwithstanding it was minutia it is difficult to imagine was discussed at that level. If harmonisation is your CEO’s intent, then that message is not being heard by the bargaining team.
We believe this augurs badly for the remainder of the agreement. If NHVR doesn’t want to honour long-held practices such as consulting with their staff, and seeks to change these simple, low-cost measures at the first opportunity, how does it intend to negotiate wages and hours of work?
We have pushed back and indicated that reduced conditions will be unacceptable to our membership and we will be coordinating them to reject any offer that does so.
NHVR has asked for an extended period to produce a draft agreement in full at our next meeting on 11 September 2024.
Given its work rate to date and their attempt to tear your conditions apart we hold little to no confidence that this will be done either on time or to our satisfaction.
To that end we will be circulating a survey next week to test your appetite for industrial action and in what form should it prove necessary to make the decision-makers in NHVR recognise the need to do the right thing.
The sounding out period of bargaining has ended. Now more than ever we will need to stand together, reject any attempt to reduce your working conditions and instead fight for something better.
Keep your eye out for this survey and discuss it with your colleagues. If they are not CPSU NSW members then now is the time for them to join, because we are stronger united.
