Michael Rizzo, ASU National Industrial Officer, met with Canon management on Friday 14 September in Sydney for a preliminary discussion on commencing negotiations for a new EBA. The current EBA “expires” for re-negotiation purposes in February 2019. The ASU believes it is best to commence negotiations some time before the current agreement “expires”.
At the meeting on the 14th September the following was decided:
Firstly, on the 17 September, Canon has posted the Notice of Employee Representational Rights to employees (See attached). This is a legal requirement in order to commence negotiations. This notice informs employees that negotiations will soon commence and that employees can nominate a non-union bargaining rep. ASU members do not need to worry about doing this as the ASU is automatically your bargaining representative.
Secondly, the first EBA meeting will occur on the 16th October at Macquarie Park in Sydney. This will be a face to face meeting, but most meetings after this will be by teleconference/video conference.
Thirdly, it was agreed that both the company and the ASU would table their respective Logs of Claims at the 16th October meeting. Thus if members have items they want included on the union log, they need to email Michael Rizzo by Monday 8th October. (See email address below) This will then allow the union time to prepare and table the log.
The ASU National Office has had a preliminary look at the current EBA and suggests to members the following amendments, deletions, additions etc.:
Clause 9 - New Technologies-delete altogether or amend.
Clause 14 - Superannuation-current clause does not mention a Default fund. This should be included and it should be an Industry fund not a Retail fund (e.g. run by the banks)
Clause 31 - Casual Employment-current clause has a 20% casual loading. This should be 25%.
Clause 36 - Maximum Redundancy Payment-the current maximum needs to be increased. E.g. 3 weeks per year of service after 11 years instead of the current 2 weeks per year of service. This would mean an employee with 20 years’ service would receive 51 weeks redundancy pay and not the current 42 weeks.
Clause 39 - Disputes and Grievances-in 39 (a) we need to add the words, “or any other employment matter”. This would reduce jurisdictional objections by the company.
Clause 41 - Personal/Carer’s Leave-the current agreement only allows for 10 days which is the legal minimum. It should be at least 12 days leave.
Clause 45 - Parental Leave-the entitlement is not specified in the agreement. It needs to be.
Domestic Violence Leave - This is not included in the current agreement. The ASU would want at least 10 days PAID leave.
GPS Tracking of mobile phones policy -This needs to be negotiated and placed in the agreement, so members know where they stand.
Wage Increase - we need a 4% wage increase per year over a 3 year agreement.
If you agree with the above list please email Michael Rizzo. If you have additional items please email them to Michael by the 8th October.
If you have any questions, please contact your relevant ASU official.(Download the full bulletin here) 
Canon Bulletin - 18 September 2018