Luba Grigorovitch
Branch Secretary

I am pleased to report that after taking some time to get to the table, bargaining is finally underway with the Metro Operations EA. Both Metro and the RTBU have swapped logs of claims and no time was lost before “robust discussions” commenced.

Notably, we sought a commitment from Metro that any vote for a new EA would be via a show of hands as has historically occurred in this industry. Agreement was not made and therefore this will be the first agenda item for the next meeting. We had raised this issue with Metro in good faith, however Metro have made it obvious the way in which they hope to conduct negotiations.

The RTBU is familiar with numerous companies that have used electronic voting to control outcomes and record data on staff voting. Given the presumptive tone of Metro’s glossy bargaining pamphlet “Enterprise Bargaining 2019”, members should be wary of Metro’s posturing or spin.

Numerous members have already raised concerns about the prospect of an electronic vote. Aside from obvious concerns about the privacy of our members, we are also concerned that many of our members will not be able to participate in an electronic vote in the same way they could a show of hands due to technology barriers.

We put our claim to Metro outlining the improvements we seek on behalf of our members providing some background about the interests behind each claim. In return, Metro provided a one-page double-sided document detailing cuts and “flexibilities” which they will be seeking to achieve through the course of bargaining.

The RTBU is willing to negotiate in good faith, but Metro must be aware that “flexibilities” must not be at the expense of working conditions.

Regular bargaining meetings are now scheduled with Metro to occur across Rail Operations, Infrastructure and Rolling Stock.

The Log of Claims as developed in conjunction with Delegates has been circulated to members. If you have not received a copy and would like to see the log please contact the office on 8630 9100 or email rtbu@rtbuvic.com.au. We will ensure your details are updated so you receive the most up to date information about your EA.

Members should be aware that monthly delegate meetings are happening to ensure members are kept in the loop.

V/Line, Yarra Trams, Probe and Bombardier EAs also expire on 30 June this year and we will continue to keep members up to date with developments as they occur.

If you have any queries don’t hesitate to ask your organiser. With more active members across the network everyone is doing their bit to keep the bosses honest, this is your EA!

Darren Galea
Organiser

Since 2010 when the Protective Service Officer’s (PSOs) were first introduced to the network, there has been ongoing negotiations between the RTBU and The Police Association (TPA) regarding PSO involvement on the rail network.

Moving forward, since September last year PSOs have been introduced on the network and are permitted to travel on some trains. Prior to this, PSOs were not permitted to travel on trains or trams.  

There are now 25 roving PSOs who are permitted to travel on trains and trams. Earlier on during the consultation involving all parties, there was an agreement that AO and PSO workshops would be created with RTBU representatives and TPA representatives to engage and build relationships moving forward.

In the last two weeks, we have held two workshops involving the Delegates and officials of the AO grade and PSO grade.

The workshops have been successful so far with many attendees from both the RTBU and TPA and we look forward to progressing with a positive working relationship in the future.

The greater we as rail workers can work with the PSOs, the safer our network will be.

https://www.rtbuvic.com.au/3444-2/

Joe Dennis
Organiser

We have recently been contacted by many members at V/Line regarding the upcoming Enterprise Agreement (EA) negotiations and when it will commence.

Being a Government-owned corporation, in order to commence bargaining for the V/Line EA, V/Line need approval from the Victorian Government to commence negotiations. The RTBU is well aware that in the 2015 EA bargaining round there was an 18-month delay on sign off of this EA which we are determined to avoid this time around.

Branch Secretary Luba Grigorovitch has written to Treasurer Tim Pallas MP in early January to fast track the process to ensure that bargaining can begin as soon as possible. We have not received a response from the Treasurer as yet, however, we will update members when we have any progress on this.

In the meantime, a Delegate meeting to develop the Log of Claims (LOC) occurred in late 2018 and a further meeting with Delegates to endorse the final LOC will occur in due course once we are closer to commencing bargaining.

If members have any questions regarding the EA, please feel free to contact me on 0403 863 869 or one of the other Organisers. The RTBU will continue to fight to improve and retain the current conditions.