Telecommunications
Telstra EA: CEPU questions Telstra’s “good faith”
(6 July 2010) Recent events in Western Australia have cast doubt on Telstra’s “good faith” in EA bargaining, the CEPU believes.
In recent weeks it has come to the CEPU’s attention that a number of Telstra managers who are not union members have been monitoring members-only hook-ups, despite the CEPU issuing clear warnings against such actions. This has allowed Telstra to have access to internal CEPU discussions about directions and tactics in the current EA campaign.
The CEPU believes that this activity not only constitutes a breach of members’ privacy but is contrary to the good faith bargaining requirements of the Fair Work Act.
These oblige those bargaining to “refrain from capricious or unfair conduct that undermines freedom of association or collective bargaining”.
It would appear that the managers involved have been disseminating the information from the CEPU hook-ups within Telstra and that this is being used to position Telstra in negotiations.
This is clearly prejudicial to the bargaining process and, in the union’s view, contrary to both the letter and the spirit of good faith negotiations. The CEPU has now written to Telstra formally giving notice of these concerns under the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act.
For its part, Telstra has denied that its position in negotiations has in any way been determined by information about CEPU meetings passed on by its managers although, significantly, it has not denied that such a flow of information may have occurred.
The union is now considering options for pursuing this matter further.
For more information, contact the CEPU via feedback@cepu.asn.au