Great news! Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working with Cbus management to finalise the drafting of our Cbus Enterprise Agreement (EBA), and just before the Easter break, we reached agreement.
We worked hard to ensure that everything discussed at the negotiating table was properly reflected in the wording of our new EBA.
What happens now?
Now that we’ve agreed on a draft, Cbus management has circulated the proposed new EBA to all Cbus staff for a 7-day “access period”. This access period is from Friday 29 April until Friday 6 May 2022.
Cbus management has announced that it will then put our new EBA to an all-staff ballot from 12am Monday 9 May to 11:59am Wednesday 11 May. The ballot will be administered by an independent third party, VoteCorp. Your vote is anonymous, neither the FSU nor Cbus management will know how you vote.
This vote is largely a formality because we have reached agreement with management – we strongly encourage you all to vote in favour of our union negotiated EBA and the improved pay and conditions we have secured for us and our colleagues.
Provided that the EBA is accepted in the all-staff ballot, it will be sent to the Fair Work Commission for ratification. The EBA will officially come into effect once it is ratified.
Pay Increases coming ASAP!
We know that everyone is eager to get their backpay. Cbus won’t be mandated to pay the increases and backpay until the process above is complete. However, now that we’ve reached agreement on the draft EBA, we’ve asked the fund to consider paying the increases sooner rather than later – and they’ve agreed! We don’t have an exact date, but when we do we’ll let you know.
We’ve received plenty of questions about how the pay increases and backpay work, so we’ve answered some of them here.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of us if you have more questions.
Vale Tom McDonald
Finally, this is our first email update since the passing of Tom McDonald. We would like to acknowledge Tom’s important and lasting contributions to the union movement and to the creation of a universal superannuation system, starting with his work to establish Cbus’ predecessor, BUSS.
Many of us knew Tom or were inspired by his vision for a dignified retirement for all Australians, and we extend our condolences to Tom’s wife, Audrey, and his loved ones.
Vale Comrade.
Your FSU team,
Bill Rue, Caroline Troup, Fiona Peck, Ian Wilson, Jennifer Glass
