Hello,
Today another bargaining meeting was held; here’s a brief recap and some updates.
The purpose of this morning’s meeting was to allow further claims to be logged. A number of representatives were present from all areas of the business covered by the draft EA. The SDA had three representatives present; notably, neither the ASU nor RAFFWU were present in this meeting because of an ongoing dispute relating to the pace of the bargaining process.
Several claims were logged, many of which had already been raised. We were also able to raise some further questions and feedback:
Seeking clarification around the term ‘Shift Worker’ as defined in §15 under Definitions — According to the NEA a shift worker is '“a Full Time or Part Time employee who is regularly rostered to work and regularly works on Sundays and Public Holidays in a business in which shifts are continuously rostered 24 hours a day for seven days a week.”; it is unclear as to whether this applies to any or all workers defined in Part A of the agreement. Shift Workers under the draft agreement are entitled to an additional week of leave.
Further clarification was sought around how Apple had come to the preparation of the Level Classifications Reference. A point was made in reference to the roles classified as Apple Retail Team Member Level 1 and how they correspond with Schedule A - Classifications and Minimum Rates of Pay. Certain roles (People Operations Planner, Genius Admin, Planning Expert were examples given) could be viewed as falling under the Apple Retail Team Member Level 2 classification; specifically because they “may be required to work at a level higher than an Apple Team Member Level 1 and/or supervise a designated area of the store”.
A piece of feedback was raised also in relation to the distribution of employee-created supplementary materials in common areas of the store. It was noted that Apple’s solicitation policy does prohibit the distribution of third-party materials in stores, but that employee-created materials as they pertain to the NEA and its discussion are not in violation. Apple’s ELR team again said that employees could distribute materials and that feedback will be passed onto store leadership.
Other points raised in the meeting pertained to the 2.5% minimum wage increase, the inclusion of other types of non-statutory leave (parental, bereavement, family & domestic violence, menstrual), and consecutive rostered days off.
Apple has compiled all of the claims logged thus far into a log which they intend to respond to at the next bargaining meeting. Apple has also updated it’s internal People website and FAQs. Apple is continuing to publish its own summaries of meetings which are available on the People website.
SDA representatives present on the call again expressed their concerns with the pace at which the bargaining process was progressing and they had not received enough time to collate claims to raise. Apple again rejected any claims that the process was being rushed or moving too quickly. Several appointed bargaining representatives echoed the SDA’s concerns.
Apple has scheduled the next bargaining meeting for Monday, August 22nd.
We will continue to keep you updated on the latest bargaining meetings and any other meetings with the unions.
In solidarity,
Apple Together Australia