C2002/2056, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 1937 (31 May 2002)

AUSCRIPT PTY LTD
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Level 4, 179 Queen St MELBOURNE Vic 3000
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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N VT04044
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER BLAIR

C2002/2056

COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL,
ELECTRONIC, ENERGY, INFORMATION,
POSTAL, PLUMBING AND ALLIED
SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

and

AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION

Notification pursuant to section 99 of the Act
of a dispute re staffing levels of technicians
at the Dandenong Letters Centre

MELBOURNE

10.32 AM, THURSDAY, 16 MAY 2002

PN1

MR J. ELLERY: I appear on behalf of the CEPU. With me today, MR J. BARMBY, MR K. RYAN and MR B. STABB.

PN2

MR R. FURLAN: I appear on behalf of the Australian Postal Corporation in this matter together with MR T. BUTLER and MR M. EDDY.

PN3

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Mr Furlan. Yes, Mr Ellery.

PN4

MR ELLERY: If the Commission pleases, we are attempting to deal with a dispute that, I guess, evolved over a period of time at the Dandenong Letters Centre known as DLC and if I may it probably would be easier to circulate some correspondence regarding that dispute. I will firstly provide you with a letter that I sent to the manager at Dandenong, Mr Matthew Eddy on 24 April. I would understand that Australia Post would have a copy of that letter.

PN5

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you.

PN6

MR ELLERY: And if I can I would perhaps like to go through that letter now which may assist in at least gaining some understanding of what is occurring. The Dandenong Letter Centre members have been, for some time now, concerned about the actual numbers of current staff there for the current equipment that is at Dandenong, that equipment being of course the mail processing equipment and I guess reading through my points there on my letter, we have had a little bit of discussion with them at numbers of forums but clearly we argue that staffing for a number of the current machines at Dandenong has not been included in their resourcing requirements.

PN7

Staffing has not been allowed for prior to the installation of some new equipment that is to go out at Dandenong which I think we will focus on perhaps a bit later. There has not been allowance for staffing resulting from the move of Melbourne Mail Centre equipment to Dandenong because that is also part of a projected arrangement. It doesn't deal with the current, however we do understand that there are some linkages to the future and also we have notified or advised them about the infamous TMS proposal that just seems to be going nowhere.

PN8

There is also some concern expressed in our letter about maintenance for parcel equipment at Ardeer and there is also concern about training, relief for training that will be required when the new FMOCRs, that is the Flat Mail Optical Character Recognition equipment that is being put into Dandenong, something, Commissioner, that is probably about a month away, the beginnings of that and we have also highlighted concerns about future development of staff, in other words training.

PN9

There is also touching on the fixed term employment people that currently are on shift roster at Dandenong and we will also deal with that a bit later and, look, there is a bunch of other issues that have come out of that but even with that initial flagging of that - of all those issues, that really summarised where the technicians at Dandenong had been for some time in disputing the current staffing required for the current equipment that is at Dandenong and that has been, as I say, been subject of a number of meetings.

PN10

In response to that - and perhaps I can deal in my submission a little bit later with the true nature of what is going on out there - in response to that I received a letter which I will submit to you which is an Australia Post letter from Mr Eddy which attempted to deal with some of those issues that I had highlighted.

EXHIBIT #CEPU1 LETTER TO MR M. EDDY

EXHIBIT #CEPU2 RESPONSE FROM MR M. EDDY

PN11

MR ELLERY: In CEPU2 Mr Eddy attempt to go through all of the points but on our first initial dispute, if you like to put it that way, and what we have notified about today, Commissioner, is that I guess it is the age old argument that has been historically present with the technicians and management and that is that management are satisfied that the staffing that they have at Dandenong currently is sufficient and therefore we don't need any more staff. That basic response is contained in item 1 of the response, CEPU2. It is also contained in item 2 of the Australia Post response where it clearly identifies that:

PN12

Currently we do require additional resources.

PN13

And it also attempts to deal with some of the future problems that are going to be there. Commissioner, we are dealing here with a huge change in Australia Post that I guess the CEPU has been constantly dealing with for some time, however our view is that at the present time, we would, you know, in line with I guess the strategy that Australia Post has taken, we would like to deal with the current staffing issue in the first instance because I believe that that is really the point at which we possibly could go forward with a number of the other items that are staring us in the face.

PN14

And in doing that we have been attempting to help and basically be co-operative with Australia Post over a number of years now in relation to how they best deal with their implementation of the new technology but our difficulty has been that perhaps our foresight in what is required doesn't necessarily match the foresight of the management of Australia Post and I am also aware that you advised us last time when we spoke to you about the tech post issue that we, you know, we can't really stop bad management but at the end of the day, Commissioner, we are trying here to at least provide some sort of stable future for our members at Dandenong when all the equipment does turn up over the next few years.

PN15

There also is, you know, some linkage to Australia Post proposals with the proposed new parcel centre at Ardeer so, Commissioner, I am in a - we have been cognisant of the future but we can't really ignore what is going there and that, as I say to you, that is the basis of where we are at with the notification. We believe, as of today, as of - has been over the last number of months and even years at Dandenong, a difficulty with the staffing at Dandenong even before any changes are made so I guess from our point of view, this is really - it is coming to crunch time.

PN16

Now, there have been some meetings. The meetings that have been held and I couldn't tell you exactly the date but Mr Stabb was present as was a representative from Dandenong, Jeff Duncan, we had a meeting out at Dandenong which I thought would be a rather short meeting which ended up being something like five hours of to-ing and fro-ing. No resolution to the position that was being put.

PN17

We in fact this morning have spent some two hours at the union office with Australia Post, basically the people that are here with us today, trying to work through some of those issues and maybe what could be suggested would be that, you know, a continuation of that sort of meeting under your auspices might be suggested later after we finish our submissions but look suffice to say the parties still are a fair way away from working out and working what is the appropriate number of staff currently for the Dandenong site.

PN18

There then comes an issue of how that staffing is resolved because there is an issue that is facing us right here and now which is the impending non-continuation of some fixed term employees as of 31 May so from my point of view we would like to see some further discussion with Australia Post with a view to reaching some figure of agreed staffing currently at Dandenong and the method by which that is achieved obviously will be subject again to some further discussion so really essentially our argument today is about what is the current levels of staffing at Dandenong, however I am, as I said before, cognisant of what is going to stare us in the face over the next 6, 12 months.

PN19

At this stage I think it might be best to sort of let Australia Post have some words. I would also like Bernard to be involved in, you know, those sort of matters because he is intimately involved in the numbers. He has been involved in the forums that have been held. There is also and I think it is worthwhile making reference, there is also currently a working party, if you like, of sorts which is known as the Planning Review Group that is on out at Dandenong which Bernard has been part of albeit reluctantly at some stage but we are co-operating to that extent, Commissioner.

PN20

And also I will say that in notifying of this dispute today, there is no industrial action. We simply are doing as we have said we would do and that is in effect to notify you of our difficulties and see if we can move along those lines. I will also say that at this stage, given the difficulties with the Planning Review Committee, that we do actually - we actually have withdrawn from that but I mean I am sure that that is a minor issue at the moment given that we have sort of already notified and we have attempted to sort of resolve the matters. If the Commission pleases.

PN21

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you very much. Yes, Mr Furlan.

PN22

MR FURLAN: Mr Commissioner, as Mr Ellery has indicated, there are a number of layers related to the technical staffing issues affecting not only Dandenong Letters Centre but also Australia Post's other mail processing operations in metropolitan Melbourne as a result of network changes which will affect the continued existence of Melbourne City Mail Centre and State Mail Centre in particular. Australia Post acknowledges that the union has been endeavouring to work with management to achieve a resolution of the staffing issues both in the context of the staffing requirements at Dandenong Letters Centre and more broadly in terms of the impact on technical staffing emanating from the network changes.

PN23

What I would indicate, Commissioner, is that as recently as yesterday a proposal was being explored by the parties, endeavours were made in discussions today to progress that proposal which provided for, from Australia Post's perspective at any rate, a resolution to the staffing, the immediate staffing issues at both Dandenong and also affecting the broader network changes to which Mr Ellery referred. Unfortunately those discussions have not resulted in a resolution at this stage but Australia Post supports and endorses the suggestion of Mr Ellery that perhaps this matter can best be progressed in further conference proceedings.

PN24

I would indicate though, Commissioner, that from Australia Post's perspective, we are seeking a resolution that comprehends both the immediate issues of staffing at Dandenong and the broader issues affecting the network and that is one of the complexities that has, I suppose so far, meant that a solution has eluded the parties. If the Commission pleases.

PN25

THE COMMISSIONER: All right. The Commission will go into conference.

NO FURTHER PROCEEDINGS RECORDED

INDEX

LIST OF WITNESSES, EXHIBITS AND MFIs

EXHIBIT #CEPU1 LETTER TO MR M. EDDY PN11
EXHIBIT #CEPU2 RESPONSE FROM MR M. EDDY PN11