Major Pay Campaign Now Cranking Up

• General News
• 4th April 2013

It will be a national campaign but we will demand the right to do site specific agreements says STATE SECRETARY RIC BURTON

With our Toll and CEVA agreements set to expire at the end of June the TWU is gearing up for a tough campaign.

Members have been surveyed for feedback on what they want us to strive for when negotiations begin.

On the wages front it’s a mixed bag with members indicating we should be aiming for annual pay rises of between 3% and 10%.

Most appear to have ticked the 4% per annum box. In early March we also held a meeting of our Toll and CEVA delegates to canvass their views.

Our national secretary Tony Sheldon fronted the meeting and our delegates grabbed the opportunity to tell him what WA members are saying.

Several explained to Tony that in booming WA the cost of living has gone through the roof and members are struggling to keep up with it.

There were even suggestions that the WA Branch should run its own campaign and go for more than the other states.

While I accept the arguments being put I think it would be unwise to go it alone.

We are a national union and that is where our strength lies.

I think we should be a strong and vocal participant in the national negotiations with both firms.

However, I also believe we must demand the right to negotiate ‘site specific agreements for our WA employees.

For example how can you accept a national agreement that has no Housing Allowance when our members in Karratha are paying up to $1500 a week in rent.

Or a Toll Coca Cola agreement with national pay rates when drivers with that company are being paid under a bastardised formula with a mix of hourly rates and piece rates.

After the 2010 agreement was finalised Toll refused to talk about any site specific issues because the national agreement has a “No Variations” clause.

That can’t be allowed to happen this time. If necessary we will fight for the right to negotiate site specific issues.

As for the size of our pay claims we need to keep our expectations in keeping with economic reality.

As Tony Sheldon told delegates, companies such as Toll, Linfox and Ceva already pay far more than most of their competitors.

It’s a cruel world out there and whether we like it or not bidding wars for freight contracts are a reality that transport firms regularly have to participate in.

And while pay rises are important so is JOB SECURITY.

But rest assured the TWU – and the WA Branch in particular – will be fighting for the best possible outcomes.