The ASU has taken steps to withdraw objections made on behalf of members to approval of the Emirates Enterprise Agreement 2017.
The Fair Work Commission proposed 2 May 2018, to Hear the Unions’ dispute. This date is more than 6 months after Emirates’ October 2017 application. Giving consideration to the extraordinary length of the process in the Commission, as well as feedback from members, the ASU has taken the decision to withdraw opposition to approval following the undertakings already sought by the Commission.
Undertakings Requested by the Fair Work Commission
Members will be aware that the Commission had found Emirates Agreement did not meet minimum standards for the following:
- Conditions for Shiftworkers
- Dispute procedures
- Notice of termination.
The reason for their concerns is that since approval of your last Agreement, a number of decisions have looked closely at the approval of Agreements. The Commission has changed their attitude and now closely scrutinise Agreements. This is a matter for them and so what has passed before may not pass now.
The ASU is aware of the Emirates document circulated to all staff on 19 March 2018. Whilst members have queried the explanatory material in this document continues to confuse members, we wish to assure members that the central undertakings are adequate.
The Commission Approval processes
The ASU also opposed the certification of your Agreement on the grounds that Emirates’ ran an unsatisfactory Voting Process. Now that the undertakings Emirates have provided to the Commission are acceptable to us, we have withdrawn our objections about the pre-approval steps.
All pre-approval steps remain mandatory and the Commission could still decide that the Agreement cannot be approved.
Next Steps
Staff at Emirates need to have a strong union to address member’s issues. A strong union is where the majority of staff are members of their union and are prepared to take action! Other Airlines have achieved far better wage entitlements and more. They have achieved this by workers sticking together in numbers and being prepared to do to show their employer why they are worth more.
You have any questions about any of the above, contact your local organiser (download the full bulletin below for details)
Emirates Bulletin, 6 April 2018