United Voice News
Serco agreement talks make progress
On an application by United Voice and the Union of Christmas Island Workers, Fair Work Australia this week chaired a two-day conference in Sydney to try to narrow bargaining differences between the Union, the Union of Christmas Island Workers and Serco Australia Pty Ltd.
The unions and the company have been negotiating for a new collective agreement since 7 July 2011.
While the bargaining sessions had produced important areas of agreement, the unions and the company had reached an impasse on other key areas.
The Fair Work Act allows FWA to conciliate on a bargaining dispute if all bargaining representatives agree. United Voice identified seven areas remaining in dispute, including the application of allowances, automatic progression through the classification structure, training and related issues, and the retention of an open and transparent bidding system for long-haul domestic and international escort duties.
Senior Deputy President Anne Harrison chaired the FWA conference. She made a series of informal recommendations to the parties and indicated she would make a formal recommendation if needed.
Serco negotiators successfully sought an adjournment of the FWA conference on Thursday, 17 November 2011 to discuss the proposed recommendation with operations’ executives.
The talks between the unions and the company are expected to resume early next week, with recourse to FWA later in the week if needed.
The United Voice team comprised two national office officials and six elected delegates, from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Darwin. The UCIW’s acting General Secretary, Gordon Thompson, took part in the conference by telephone from Christmas Island.
