In this issue:

1. We won the best deal in the country

2. So what have we WON?

We won the best deal in the country

Key points

• 12% wage increase over the next three years (4% in July 2010, 4% in 2011, 4% in 2012)
  
  
• Table games classification withdrawn
  
  
• Respect for your union in the agreement
  
  
• Action suspended
  

Your Casino Union bargaining team has reached an in-principle agreement with Crown Management.

Industrial action planned for Friday and Saturday has been suspended.

Throughout this process union members have pressed Crown for a great bargaining outcome.

This offer today is the result of thousands of Crown workers participating in their union by: attending meetings, talking to workmates, joining their union, filling in surveys, bargaining with the company, signing petitions, signing postcards, attending delegations to management, signing opposition registers, voting for industrial action and preparing to take it.

Your hard work has paid off.

By being a part of your union you have achieved the best bargaining outcome of any hospitality or gaming employee in the country.

You should be proud of what you have achieved.

By standing together in your union you have won one of the best deals ever at Crown Casino.

The next step is for the agreement to be drafted and provided to all employees for review. You will then have a chance to approve the final agreement.

So what have we WON?

1. Maintenance of current conditions. No Crown employee has lost out in this EA.

2. Improvements to pay and allowances:

12% over the next three years (4% in 2010 back-paid from July, 4% in 2011, 4% in 2012).

Higher duties increase of $1 per year ($26 in 2010, $27 in 2011, $28 in 2012).

3. Consultation about change and respect for your union:

A new consultation process.

Respect for our union in the EA.

4. Improved work/life balance:

Maximized opportunities for weekends off.

Requested RDO scheme reduction in the levels of six-day stretches in rostering.

Reduction in the number of different start times in a single week, to no more than two.             

5. Improved job certainty for casuals:

Casual conversion to part time work after 24 months of service with the company —your right to choose.

Seven days notice of casual roster.

6. Improved classification structures and career paths:

Review of table games training and career progression to be conducted by 31st March 2011 — table games employees to vote on any changes.

A review of the food and beverage classification structure to give clear guidelines of how to progress from level two to three.

A review of the classification structure in cage and count.

A review of the gaming machines classification.

A new classification structure for security, which gives clear parameters of how to progress through the structure.

7. Improvements to how Crown deals with employee absence due to illness and injury:

Employees will not be harassed as a result of their absence.

Two days sick leave per year where a stat dec can be used.  This can be used on any day.

8. Improved annual leave system:

An employee may now request leave for any length of time, at any time, and such a request shall be granted, subject to operational requirements.

Reasons would need to be provided for any leave refusal.

9. Heat policy:

Provisions to be made for employees working in hot and cold environments.

10. A plain English EA.

Other improvements won include:

Improvements to redundancy payments.

Clear wording for shift give away/pick ups.

Staff car parking not increasing by more than CPI over the next three years.