Page 18 - ETU Journal Autumn 2017

EBA > POWER INDUSTRY
HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR POWER MEMBERS
When Power Industry Organiser Matt Boyd negotiated a new enterprise agreement
in 2015, he negotiated new changes to incorporate high-voltage operating work
and other tickets into classification – level descriptions. Previously
in the power industry some allowances such as these
were paid only when particular work was
the Fair Work Commission, Electrix was ordered to pay the members the full back pay, including the increases to their wage rates flowing from their reclassification to higher levels. In total the amount was $167,452.69.
“Historically where I worked, back pay was always part of the final outcome at EA negotiations, so it was foreign to me to hear from members in contracting that back pay was rarely part of the deal – if it was, it was very minimal. This was something I had to educate the members on, and once
we had those conversations, they were all for it. There is a common misunderstanding from employers that back pay is a claim. Back pay isn’t
HE KNEW
HE WAS ON
A WINNER
WITH THIS
CASE AND WAS
DETERMINED
TO HAVE HIS
DAY IN COURT.
Wes Hayes
ETU Assistant Secretary
fffffPbeing performed.
ower Industry Organiser
Matt Boyd recently negotiated changes to stop unfair practices under the
old EBA, which the company used to avoid paying the all-purpose crew leading allowance by categorising crew leaders as “temporary”. This had been a practice that had been creeping in for many years and was becoming used by more and more employers as a form of exploitation.
As a result of these changes,
31 members were reclassified to higher levels that better reflected
the skills and qualifications that
many had held for years. It was also
a breakthrough for the many, many months of hard work Matt had put into the power industry since becoming an organiser in 2013.
“It was a shock to me when I started looking after the contracting part of the power industry, that members with some of the highest skills in
the industry were only recognised when they utilised such skills. High Voltage Operating and Crew Leading come with the most responsibilities out on site, and our members should be recognised for that through the classification structure. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re a linesman with
these skills at
a distribution business or one at a three-man contract. If
your employer requires you to keep these skills current, then our members should be recognised for them.”
Once the enterprise
agreement was voted
on in 2015, the company
chose to not recognise the payment back to August 2014 but rather tried
to back-pay on the worker’s previous classifications, which didn’t fully recognise their skills and experience. Assistant Branch Secretary Wes Hayes says, “Knowing Matthew,
he doesn’t let any issue get away
from him or back down on matters
of principle, particularly when he
has invested so much time into this workplace and the industry as a whole. He knew he was on a winner with this case and was determined to have his day in court.” Once Matthew got the ETU lawyers involved he had their case ready to roll.
When the issue was finally heard in
ffa claim, it is money that belongs in our members’ back pockets.
“We needed to make a stand and send a clear message to all employers that stalling negotiations was no longer a tactic they could use to
save themselves massive amounts
of money. At Electrix the members were behind this all the way. Whilst Electrix agreed to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars of back pay at guys’ existing classifications, they did not agree on the back pay for the new classifications structure. Something
I knew we had to fight for to earn the respect for these specific skills and something I knew we’d win at Fair Work, it was a great outcome,” Matt Boyd says. n
18
THE ETU > SUMMER 2016
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