Union Success! Agreement on Bargaining process at Apple
Union Success! Agreement on Bargaining process
This afternoon the SDA and ASU were able to reach agreement with Apple on an acceptable process for moving forwards with negotiating the new Apple Agreement.
The Unions raised concerns with the Fair Work Commission last Friday about the speed of the process and the uncertainty surrounding the timeframe unions were provided to consult with their members and submit a log of claims.
The agreed position will see the SDA and ASU submit their log of claims to the company on Wednesday 31 August.
There will be a meeting on Friday 2 September with bargaining representatives to discuss these claims and set further meetings for discussions at times that are agreed by the bargaining representatives.
SDA Bargaining Surveys:
We wish to thank all members who have provided a response to the bargaining survey over the last two weeks and provide a reminder to click the link below to submit your response if you haven’t done so already.
Whilst we are still collating the responses and formulating a final draft of our log of claims, we want to highlight some of the key themes that workers at Apple have shared with us.
Workers need a better work life balance! Whether it is breaks in-between shifts, lack of consecutive days off or constantly working weekends, workers have made it clear that they want better rostering protections to ensure they can enjoy their time away from work.
Wages! The proposed wage offer in the first draft of the Agreement was too low. The current increase in the cost of living means that the wage offer of 2.5% would see a cut in real wages of Apple workers.Also, there is no current guaranteed pay increase for workers on an above agreement pay rate.
More flexible leave provisions! Tied into the concerns around work life balance is the concept of leave and how it operates at Apple. Application for leave, the requirements for documentation, providing care for family members and a recognition of study commitments have featured prominently and will be a focus of the SDA’s log of claims.
Next Steps:
We will continue to keep our members up to date with developments in the bargaining process for the new Apple agreement and welcome any questions about this process.
SDA organisers will continue to visit sites and are always happy for a chat.
Alternatively, you can contact the SDA on 07 3833 9500 or check out www.national.sda.com.au/apple.
The SDA is bargaining on behalf of SDA members, to help achieve the best outcome, join today at https://join.sda.com.au/