Thanks to the work of union members at AIA, the proposed Christmas shutdown period for this year has been reduced by a full week, meaning staff will save 5 days of annual leave.
The original shutdown period was to have commenced from 15 December and would have required staff to use a massive 60% of their annual leave entitlement.
After FSU members together raised concerns about this, AIA reduced the annual leave requirement from 12 to 7 days. The shutdown period (called ‘slowdown period’) will now start from close of business Friday 22 December, rather than the original date of 15 December.
AIA has not confirmed if this shorter slowdown period will remain in place for future years.
This fantastic win was achieved thanks to your efforts in completing and sharing the FSU annual leave survey. Both members and non-members provided strong feedback within the survey which enabled FSU members to effectively raise the issue with management and achieve this great result.
We still have options around slowdown leave
Please check with your manager if you are unsure whether you or your team must apply for leave during the slowdown period.
There is also some flexibility around leave during this period – staff can request to work through the slowdown period if you prefer to use your annual leave at another time.
If you do not have enough leave for the slowdown period or would like to use your leave at another time, let your local manager know.
This is a great example of union members working together to achieve great wins. Join your union and be part of the team that’s winning for you today.