Region 6 EA Bargaining Update
This week the RTBU finally received a written response to our Log of Claims, many weeks after it was provided. This is after they provided a draft EA (which doesn’t say ‘Draft’ anywhere), before they had received ANY Log of Claims. I’m unsure how you can say you’ve bargained if you put out a draft before hearing what the other side wants.
Now that TSA are trying to get a vote across the line, they want you to forget the way they have treated workers over the last 3 years. They are now trying to sound like the neighbour that helps your mum with her groceries instead of the bloke that’s been throwing bricks through your window every night for 3 years.
TSA have scheduled a vote from November 1st to 3rd and are trying to convince workers that this is the best they can do. Without listening to what you wanted or considering what you had to say; this is the best they can do. Sealink made $37.8 million in profit last year but the best they can do is take MORE money out of your pocket and demand MORE of your time without reasonable compensation.
All your hard work is going to be rewarded with more of exactly what we’ve been fighting- an unfair workplace where workers are just a cost that needs to be reduced.
It’s NOT the best they can do, it’s the best they WANT to do. The FAQ and Blink posts they put out have been full of half truths and spin. The negotiation process doesn’t stop because a proposal is rejected, that’s when it properly starts! The only thing that this company is going to understand is the pain caused by negative publicity and service disruption.
There’s no more industry allowance to lose. This is sustained co-ordinated legal industrial action.
And it’s not going to stop. We’ll drag this company kicking and screaming to the table just as we did before. This is the fight for the future and they can’t beat us, the only way we lose is if we surrender. It’s time to stand strong and united.
The TSA EA vote will take place over 1-3 November.
The RTBU/TWU Protected Action ballot will cover 28 October- 8 November (weekdays only).