STA Salaried and Admin Award Negotiations

As 2020 came to an end, we received confirmation that STA had been given permission from the NSW Government to commence negotiations for the STA Salaried and Administration Award. These negotiations are taking place in a hostile and ever-changing environment, with the NSW Government freezing public sector workers’ wages and ploughing ahead with their privatisation agenda. We invited members to fill in an online survey telling us what they want from negotiations. On Tuesday, January 12, an online meeting was held, providing members with the opportunity to ask any questions and endorse the log of claims. We promoted the meeting via a bulletin sent to members personal email addresses and SMS reminders. At the meeting, RTBU members endorsed the log of claims below, which we will put forward in the upcoming negotiations.

Log of Claims

• To keep all our current entitlements and conditions in the Award. • To seek a pay increase of 2.5% per annum or CPI, whichever is greatest. • A two-year Award to protect members through the transition period to a private provider. • Working from home guidelines to be applied consistently across all business units. Union Representatives commenced discussions with STA Management. Following the resolution by the combined Union meeting of Salaried and Admin members, the EA negotiation committee met with STA management on Thursday 25th February. At this meeting, and in the discussions leading up to it, STA made it clear that their offer is final and is as far as the Government will allow them to go. Further to this, the Government’s instructions are that we must agree, ‘in principle,’ by March 1 to secure the backpay of 0.3% until January 1, 2021. To protect what was on the table, we wrote to STA indicating that we believe we have achieved as much as we can and that we are taking the Award to members’ meetings for approval. As agreed, we met with Union members via Teams on Monday, March 1. There were also additional meetings for voting on paid time the following week. Below is a summary of what has been achieved:

Duration:

1. The Award will be for a period of up to two years with a nominal expiry date of 31 December 2022.

Wages:

2. The following increases to wages and wage related allowances: 2.1 0.3 per cent from the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2021; 2.2 An increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2022 in accordance with the outcome of the Transport for NSW and Sydney

Metro Salaries and Conditions of

Employment Award 2021.

Superannuation:

3. An increase of 0.5 per cent in

Superannuation Guarantee Charge from July 2021, in addition to the 0.3 per cent wage increase, if the scheduled superannuation increases proceeds.

Amendments to a number of existing award provisions to reflect current employment entitlements and practices.

Station Staff at NSWTrains AGAIN asked to Perform Right of Way on the NIF

NSW Trains management again directed Station Staff at NSW Trains on the Newcastle - Central Coast Line to perform flagging duties and assist with the testing of the New InterCity Fleet (NIF) when it stopped at stations during a testing run on Friday, 15 January 2021. The operating model proposed by NSW Trains for the NIF (which includes right of way duties) is still in dispute. We are yet to see any evidence that the NIF, in its current form, is safe. In fact, an independent safety expert has confirmed that the operating model for the NIF is unsafe. The current NTOSP 6 - Right of Way procedure still does not reflect giving a right of way to the NIF operating under the proposed operating model. The NIF is designed to operate in a way vastly different to existing rollingstock, which has not been properly explained to Station Staff. Station Staff providing right of way in these circumstances is unacceptable. By providing a right of way you may be putting yourself, your workmates, and the community at risk. This NSW Trains directive is putting Station Staff in a precarious position where if something goes wrong, they may be held liable The RTBU reminds all Station Staff at NSW Trains that if you are issued an unsafe directive, you are within your rights to refuse it on safety grounds. If you feel the situation is unsafe, you should ask management for other available work at the time the NIF arrives at your station. You should not lose any pay for this time. If you have any questions about the above, please contact your delegates, sub-divisional representatives, or your organiser.