Strike to go ahead as firm claims union always wanted strike
Last minute talks between Toll and the TWU have failed to avert planned industrial action today, with the company saying the union had refused to continue discussions.
Toll pointed out that that he union’s “Winter of discontent followed by a Spring offensive”, promised in May, was coming to fruition, saying it was clear the union was always planning this industrial action, no matter how the negotiations were going.
“Negotiations are supposed to be two sides coming together to work out their differences,” Toll Global Express president Alan Beacham said.
“To present what each side wants and then negotiate – actually compromise – until an agreement is reached.
“Unfortunately, only Toll is making any effort to compromise in these negotiations.
“The union has shown little compromise. They continue to present a list of demands that hurt the company and make jobs less secure.
“The union has said this industrial action is a last resort, but that is not true.”
The company struck a note of defiance, saying it would not be bullied and “will not allow the Australian public to be held to ransom at the behest of the TWU leadership”.
“Toll has faced significant disruption in the recent past – bushfires, cyber attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic,” Beacham said.
“We’ve managed all of them.
“We’ll manage this as well and we’ve already put in place contingency plans to ensure our customers receive their goods.”
Read how the TWU revealed its EBA alignment strategy two years ago, here
Toll said its employees are among the highest paid in the industry, with a 14.75% superannuation guarantee and gave the following run-down of its offer:
- 2% increase to wages and allowances effective from July 1, 2021 and a further 2% increase to wages and allowances payable from July 1, 2022
- A one-off lump sum of $1,000 (inclusive of superannuation)
- A deed that guarantees the current entitlements and conditions of all workers covered by the sale of the Global Express business will transfer when the sale completes
- Guarantees around job security levels to maintain a consistent percentage of workforce, in addition to the substantial provisions around job security currently in the agreement
- Implementation of new mental health plans to continue our efforts around mental health support for our employees
- Any periods of stand down will be paid on average earnings for the three-month period of stand down
- Fixed-term employees – improved conditions relating to fixed-term contracts, so they can only be used for a genuine purpose, for a minimum period of three months and a maximum period of two years. Under the proposal, a fixed term contract may only be renewed once.
“We have also made available to employees and owner drivers ‘Covid leave’, as well as vaccination leave, to support our people throughout the pandemic,” a spokesperson said.
Issue was taken with the union’s claim that 7,000 employees would take industrial action, stating that it only had 4,000 TWU members on its books.
TWU NSW/Qld secretary and chief Toll negotiator, Richard Olsen, said workers want to return to the negotiation table but job threats must first be removed from the offering.
“There is no grey area when it comes to job security. Either the jobs are secure Toll jobs, or they aren’t,” Olsen added.
“Toll’s proposal makes clear that if workers signed onto it, good, permanent jobs would become a thing of the past, to be replaced by a second-grade, insecure workforce.
“After months of negotiations, Toll knows it must provide job security guarantees to reach an agreement with workers.
“The transport giant must stop playing games with people’s lives.”