STATE OF THE STATE

EBA round up

Righting the wrongs, wage increases across the state sector ranging from 5%pa to 17 5%pa backdated to 2022, and the resolution of some longstanding issues… It’s fair to say we’ve had an outstanding bargaining round

Where it all started – back in the dark days of the Newman LNP government, QBuild was dismantled and work outsourced, QHealth BEMS was a basket case, and TMR was ravaged by cuts and uncertainty Then, in June 2020, at the height of the Covid crisis, the Queensland state government proposed a 12 month wage freeze which was roundly rejected

Fast forward to December 2022, not only is the sector being rebuilt, but we knocked off the wage freeze, and we also kicked massive goals in improving wages and conditions across the public sector for our members who have been overlooked and undervalued for too long

But before we get too carried away, these improvements didn’t magically appear, the government didn’t roll over Members across the sector took innovative industrial action, testing every resolve, smart and decisive actions spearheaded by delegates and leaders who educated and connected members and never lost sight of the prize They stood up and won

Some of the headline outcomes

QHealth – the majority of ETU members will be $404 better off per fortnight on base rates by September 1 2024, while apprentices will be up to a staggering $550 better off per fortnight over the same period, as we were able to increase the pay scales to reflect 55% and 65% of trades rates A massive boost for apprentice wages

QBuild – bargaining in QBuild has resulted in some massive increases of up to 17 5% in the first year being achieved following some fantastic industrial action across the state. Great increases for apprentices flowing from the wider tradie increases, and more to come as we get award parity in the near future

TMR – ETU men and women across TMR spearheaded the push for decent pay increases and arguably, without their commitment, the battles across the state sector would have been much harder to win. They used innovative and collective strategies and tactics, stood their ground, and stared down intimidation From lockouts to strikes, they stood together and won. The average pay increase across TMR for ETU members will be about $506/fortnight, with substantially bigger increases for 1st and 2nd year apprentices.

QHealth spotlight

Right in the middle of our industrial campaign, QHealth threw us a curve ball They got advice that they required a contractor licence to perform electrical work. This made it pretty hard to take industrial action when they already had reduced activities that they were legally allowed to do This did not stop our campaign, with partial bans on paperwork and using technology adding pressure on the department to reach a decent outcome for the EBA negotiations This, combined with massive rallies in Brisbane and around the state, a picket on parliament house, protests at the offices of local MPs and the health minister, all eventually combined to get an outcome that members can be proud of We continue to work toward getting our members recognised at the HBEA 5 classification in their agreement given the skills and knowledge they need to keep our hospitals running Well done comrades

Massive win for apprentices

As the EBA negotiations progressed, the ETU and other unions were working behind the scenes to ensure fairer wages for all state government apprentices We have negotiated directly with the state government to amend the BEMS award to have the percentage of the trade rate paid to government apprentices, reflecting the rate we won in federal modern awards more than 10 years ago A first-year apprentice working for the Queensland government will now be paid 55% of the trade rate, and a second-year will be paid 65% This is a huge increase for their pay, up from 42% and 55% respectively As part of the EBA negotiations, we have forced the government to agree to implement the improved percentages from the start of the agreement The exception is QBuild, but we are working on that and should have it resolved pretty quickly It means a first-year BEMS apprentice’s hourly rate will jump to a minimum of $18.48, up from as little as $11 99 at the moment This is a massive win, and will mean that these workers can enjoy a substantial improvement in their standard of living This would never have happened if all members – including apprentices –hadn’t stood shoulder to shoulder with the wider resources of the union to bring this much-needed change about Queensland government apprentices are no longer the lowest-paid workers in the country, and will instead be some of the higher-paid in the first years of their apprenticeship

Industrial action & collective strength

ETU TMR members have grabbed this campaign by the horns and have forced the government into a great result through the EBA negotiations. When endless delays stalled the negotiations and the government wages policy meant that the department could not negotiate an outcome recognising the skills of these workers, the current crippling inflation and skills shortage in the wider industry, they voted to start an industrial action campaign This involved partial bans on performing some work processes, as well as all-out stoppages Along with the state-wide days of action that members across all three departments engaged in, the TMR members engaged in an innovative industrial campaign that involved unpredictable stoppages at strategic times, that were sustainable but created havoc for their employer

They were able to pull this off by being incredibly disciplined and having faith in their workplace delegates We were able to organise snap action at a moment’s notice, and at the most strategically useful times, and get everyone back to work at just the right time to ensure our action remained legal and protected at all times

Early on in the campaign, when we kicked off the paperwork bans, one of the depots claimed that our members couldn’t do any of their work if they refused to do the paperwork The depot then locked those members out of their job Once that information circulated to other members, the rest of the ETU membership walked off the job all across the state in support of their comrades This only lasted four hours before the government relented and put the locked-out workers back to work, and paid them for the time This was a great first win in a months-long campaign but highlighted the importance of solidarity and discipline during an industrial blue

We have now come away with pay rates much more reflective of other union agreements throughout the wider industry This has been a great campaign and I could not be prouder to have been involved in this with the mighty ETU delegates and every one of our members.

Members action lead to big win

QBuild members are the biggest winners in this round of negotiations, by far This is because they were coming from a considerably lower starting point that the other departments. Most of our members will receive a huge 17 5% increase in the first year of the agreement This will bring them into line with their comrades in TMR They’ve retained their Single Fortnightly Payment on top of that increase. Our members across the state were at the front line of every battle to get this win When the responsible government Minister turned up at a regional depot to celebrate 120 years of QBuild, they would walk off the job to protest their poor wages. Usually joined by members from other departments, they left the government in no doubt about what we thought of their rubbish wages offer In far north Queensland, ETU QBuild members started refusing to work away, given the partial bans we had in place as part of the campaign This meant that QBuild had to rely on contractors to meet the demands of remote work, which cost them a lot more than just paying our members a decent wage. Again, all the members around the state stuck together and no one crossed that ‘picket line’ Along with that, we had strategic stoppages, picketed government MPs, had huge rallies, and eventually built enough pressure to force the great win we’ve seen

We have secured the Rebuild QBuild program with the government, and the future is looking very bright for these members now with a wide variety of work and a government commitment to assuring great jobs into the future. As noted above, QBuild is only one of the three departments that has not committed to the apprentice percentage lift in their agreement This means that right now, apprentices rates are increasing in line with QBuild EBA increases but not the big jumps that other apprentices have locked in We continue to negotiate with QBuild to bring those rates in and pay apprentices fairly – particularly as we continue to Rebuild QBuild – it is inevitable that we will win this campaign too, and just to lock it in, the award will force the issue in the not too distant future

A long way from Newman's cuts, and stronger than ever

While it is never easy negotiating with governments, it is exceedingly better to begin negotiations knowing jobs and assets are not in the firing line, as was the case during the dark days of Newman’s slash, burn and sell Let’s not forget Newman slashed 1500 QBuild Jobs, removed the job security for every single government worker, and ultimately sacked 14 000 workers. During these negotiations, while our members were taking to the streets in their industrial campaign, your union was in discussion with the government to highlight the important role and the specific issues tradespeople face working for government. Of course, without us there are no hospitals, roads or public housing, schools (and more) for the public to use

It’s fair to say the outcome showed the Labor government finally recognised the essential nature of the work our members do That recognition is in stark contrast to the LNP New i when it pulled the building trades group of un a meeting to tell us that ‘your work is not cons priority of the government We are going to co the lot and all your members will be finished u They then changed the laws specifically to take away the rights of workers so they could wholesale sack anyone