Railcorp plays hardball on ETR excess travel/travel time
Railcorp has been pushing for changes to the current ETR Excess Travel/Travelling Time practices – a move that could mean that for a significant part of the day, workers wouldn’t be covered by Workers Compensation.
Loco Division Secretary Bob Hayden said the union has met with the company on numerous occasions to try to resolve the issue in a way which would work for both parties, but to no avail.
“The matter was part of the original Fair Work Australia ‘sectoristion’ dispute, but was referred back to the union and company to try to negotiate between us – to date, we’ve not been successful in achieving an outcome that would be acceptable to the membership,” Bob Hayden said.
“The latest correspondence on the issue was in February when Railcorp wrote to the Loco Division, refusing to agree to any of the union’s suggested amendments and withdrawing their previous offer. The company is now proposing to apply the terms of the EA as they believe it applies.
“We will not let the company put workers at risk. This could have serious implications for workers because it would mean that they wouldn’t be covered by Workers Compensation while they’re travelling to different locations.”
“We will keep members updated on this issue, however given the company’s unacceptable response it looks as though the only option is to go back to Fair Work Australia for conciliation and should it be required, arbitration.