You will recall that your ASU representatives filed a dispute in the Fair Work Commission over the firm's refusal to provide relevant salary and wages information to the ASU. We attended a conference in the Fair Work Commission on Thursday 26 November. After two and a half months of refusing to provide us with information, after filing the dispute in the Fair Work Commission, the firm has now agreed to provide the ASU with some salary information.
We are still in negotiations with the firm as to the form that the data will take. For example, we want to know the salary averages for each different state, but the firm wants to bundle NSW and QLD data together. We think it's important to be able to identify any geographic trends or differences, so we will push on for the data to be separated by state. We hope this will be resolved in the coming days. Once we have this information, we will be able to share it with ASU members, so stay tuned for an update.
But the firm still refuses to share any bonus information
ASU delegates have also sought general information into the bonuses that are paid to employees. The ASU believes it is entitled to general information (that won't allow any individuals to be identified) pursuant to the Fair Work Act. Maurice Blackburn has said that it will not provide any information whatsoever.
One of the claims that ASU members have made is for transparent bonus criteria – so that employees can understand what factors the firm takes into account in awarding bonuses. Our view is that before we can work to develop transparent bonus criteria, we need to understand the way in which bonuses work at the moment, so we will continue to press for this information, including by going to a hearing in the Fair Work Commission if necessary.
We have also asked the firm for a breakdown by position, classification and gender of the staff who got 0%, 2.5% and 4% pay rises back in July 2015. There seems to be some difficulty in assembling this material in a timely fashion but we continue to pursue this information.
Next bargaining meeting
Our next bargaining meeting is scheduled for 7 and 8 December. Maurice Blackburn have promised to give us their claims by 3rd December, so we can discuss these at our EBA meeting on 7 December. We will also be consulting with members about the firm's claims so watch out for details of local meetings.
If you have any questions, contact your ASU delegate or local organiser (download the full bulletin below for details).
Maurice Blackburn Bulletin - 1 December 2015