Pay rise for Australian postal workers
About 35,000 postal workers will get a four per cent pay rise from Monday, in an Australia Post bid to sideline the militant communications union.
The automatic rise has been granted despite the failure of six months of talks between the parties to reach a formal enterprise agreement.
Australia Post spokesman Matt Pollard said it was hoped the payment would break the resolve of union members to take further industrial action.
“We’d like to think that by paying our people, that will cause them to say, `well, it’s actually the union that is holding this process up’,” he said.
The payment follows full-day postal strikes in all mainland states, and rolling half-day stoppages in Tasmania.
But Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union Victorian postal branch secretary Joan Doyle said postal workers would fight on.
“People will be happy to take the pay rise,” she said.
“It takes the pressure off us and we’ve still got the ability to take protected industrial action.”
She said Australia Post’s offer was a bad deal as it allowed job-splitting and further contracting out of work.
The four per cent rise is the first installment of a 10 per cent offer over 28 months, which also includes a $400 performance bonus.
The conditions in the previous enterprise agreement will remain in force in the event that no new deal is struck.
But Mr Pollard said it was hoped the union would return to negotiations to reach a settlement.
