USU/ASU negotiating team recommends a deal @ Virgin

Your USU/ASU national negotiating team have been working hard to get a deal on the table from management that we could recommend to members to accept. We now have a proposal for a new enterprise agreement that we are prepared to recommend that members accept.

Management advised us that they are abandoning their proposal to cut overtime for part time employees. Part time employees will continue to be eligible for overtime when they work in excess of 8 hours in a day.

The major proposed changes to the enterprise agreement that your USU/ASU representatives have been able to achieve are:

Pay increases:
- 25% backdated to 1 July 2017
- 5% from 1 July 2018
- 75% from 1 July 2019
ROS day abolished – FT employees will work 1 8hr50min shift each 6 day cycle, with no ROS days
Part time minimum hours increased – PT employees guaranteed minimum 25 hours a week (24 for solely international workers). Currently 22 hours a week (20 for solely international workers)
105 part time employees converted to full time over the life of the agreement (USU/ASU will be consulted on where these jobs are, and will communicate with members along the way)
Right to request a year career break
A new National Consultative Committee where your USU/ASU representatives will be able to continue discussions on improving workplace conditions like fair use of chronologies
Fairer job selection procedure
Fairer annual leave approval process
Access to up 10 days family violence leave a year
Some changes to Personal/Carers Leave:
- Currently, the entitlement is 13 days in first year of employment, and 18 days in each year thereafter (includes compassionate leave and emergency leave)
- New entitlement will be 13 days in first year of employment, and 16 days in each year thereafter. 2 days (or 3 if you need to travel over 400km) compassionate leave per occasion, as well as 3 days of emergency leave (used for domestic emergencies you need to attend to) will be on top.

Don’t forget the major changes USU/ASU members were able to stop management from implementing:

Cuts to penalty rates
Cuts to overtime
Cuts to higher duties allowance
Reducing any overtime payments if a worker takes sick leave during the pay period
Cutting Personal/Carers leave to 13 days a year (will be 16 days along with increase to emergency leave and compassionate leave calculated separately).

If you have any questions please contact your local USU/ASU organiser or USU/ASU representative.

Your Local USU/ASU Organisers: