The has CPSU met with the ABC about a potential underpayment issue regarding On-Call arrangements.

The nature of the concerns

The CPSU is concerned that the ABC’s on-call arrangements in the IT area may not be compliant with the ABC Enterprise Agreement. Specific matters which have been noted in our correspondence to the ABC include overtime payment rates appear to have been arbitrarily set and do not comply with the Enterprise Agreement, insufficient break periods between shifts, and employees being required to be on-call 7 days a week and not getting their Roster Free Days. Although the matters we are raising pertain to IT, other ABC areas working with local on-call arrangements such as Technical Services and ABC Legal, may also be affected.

Next steps

The ABC is looking into the matter and will report back to the CPSU at the end of this week. The threshold issue will be whether the current arrangements are compliant with the ABC Enterprise Agreement or not. If ABC management agree with the CPSU that these arrangements are not compliant, then CPSU will work with the ABC to ensure these arrangements are compliant with the Agreement and how to remedy any underpaid employees. If not, the CPSU has advised the ABC that we will take the matter to the Fair Work Commission for their assistance in resolving the dispute.

The CPSU will update members in a week once we have heard back from ABC management. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.