The latest news from Finsec\’s unofficial weblog
Finsec members at PSIS have voted to accept an offer for a 16 month term. 90% of members participated in the ratification vote, 70% of whom voted to accept the offer.
The final deal includes a pay rise of 2.5% from April 2011, a further 1.5% from April 2012, and a one off payment of $200 to recognise the longer term.
Well done to all Finsec delegates and members who took part in our campaign, and who convinced PSIS to improve on their original offer.
Finsec members at Credit Union South have voted to ratify an offer for a two year agreement. Well done to delegates for their work supporting bargaining – particularly Amanda Rohtmets from Dunedin and Lynne Herron from Gore, who were on the bargaining team.
Meanwhile, Finsec members at PSIS have handed their employer a third reject vote on two offers, and are now set to enter mediation with PSIS.
Finsec members are involved in bargaining all over the show in pursuit of pay deals that keep them ahead of inflation and to ensure 90 day trial periods are not used in our industry.
At Lumley,Vero, CBS and Southern Cross Finsec members are holding meetings to develop claims in advance of bargaining to take place in June.
AMI bargaining takes place tomorrow and report backs will occur in the following weeks.
At PSIS, bargaining held this week led to no real movement in PSIS’s offer on members key issues. Finsec delegates have been holding conference calls this week to determine what the next steps should be.
Finsec members at PSIS voted overwhelmingly against either of the PSIS offers this week, and a majority voted in favour of taking further action to improve the offer.
Finsec representatives then went into bargaining with PSIS yesterday. There are now two new-ish offers on the table. Both 12 and 18 month offers includes greater provisions for relief staffing, and the 18 month offer also includes a one off payment of $150 before tax for each employee.
The bargaining team say that these offers still don’t meet members’ mandate, particularly with regards to pay. Members will get to vote on the offer next week, and on industrial action.
Finsec members will be casting an indicative vote on three options following collective bargaining last week. The first two options are offers from PSIS – one is for an 18 month term with a 2.5% increase for the first twelve months, and a further 1.5% for the duration of the term. The second option is for a 12 month term with a 2.5% increase. There was also some movement on staffing issues and domestic leave.
However, as neither offer meets the mandate of Finsec members on pay or other issues, a third option is being put to the vote, of rejecting both offers and taking further action.
Union Councillor and bargaining team member Helen Taunt from PSIS Napier, described bargaining this year as one step forward two steps back. “My experience, which is echoed around the country, is that we’ve never worked harder. We are all experiencing extra pressure and doing extra training. It’s pretty deflating to be told that somehow there’s a 0% increase in productivity!”
Helen said that PSIS’s low estimation of inflation also didn’t match up to her experience of constantly rising costs. “We thought we were moving forward in greater partnership with PSIS. There’s now a lot of anger that this isn’t reflected in the offers on the table.”
Finsec members have now swapped claims with PSIS ahead of collective agreement negotiations.
Finsec members’ claims include a pay increase of 5.25%, a relief staffing pool, reimbursement for eye exams and glasses, and an agreement not to use 90 day trial periods for new staff.
PSIS claims include a longer term, the ability for staff to cash up part of long service leave, and proposal for some training to take place outside of normal hours of work.
Pre-negotiation meetings will take place over the next two weeks.
Finsec members at PSIS have determined their priorities and are taking a clear message to bargaining – “We want real change not small change.”
All sites will be participating in delegate-run claim development meetings and collective activity to support the campaign for a fair outcome in 2011.
Finsec delegate Anna Webby from PSIS Whanganui said that a fair pay increase and staffing were the top issues for staff. “We’re doing a lot more with less,” said Anna. Anna said that if PSIS didn’t address staffing issues, there would inevitably be a negative impact on customer service.
“We just seem to be getting busier and busier, and need to be resourced properly.”
Finsec delegates at PSIS are meeting next week to plan how to run their site meeting and achieve the fair pay rise that members identified as the top priority for bargaining.
If you’re at PSIS make sure that someone from your worksite takes part in the conference calls on Tuesday night. The calls will discuss how delegates can run their own pre-negotiation meeting onsite and also actions all PSIS staff can take to make a good pay increase a reality this year.
Finsec members at PSIS are kicking off the year with the first step in negotiating a new collective agreement – developing the claims members want addressed in bargaining.
Meetings are being held across PSIS for the next three weeks. The meetings will provide the opportunity to catch up on the relationship agreement discussions that Finsec members have been having with the PSIS.
Finsec delegate Lynn Phease from Palmerston North has already attended her meeting this week, and said members discussed the level of pay increase we should claim, staffing levels, and travel time to training. “As well as discussing a variety of issues, the meeting provided an opportunity to talk to the couple of non-members in the branch about joining our union,” said Lynn.
If you’re at PSIS make sure you get along to your claims development meeting.
Finsec members at PSIS are getting together for the next couple of weeks to talk about ….relationships. Not those kind of relationships however – about developing a more positive relationship between Finsec and the PSIS.
The discussions are about the process agreed to in bargaining, where Finsec and PSIS would look at improving relations including issues such as access, union meetings, and the role of union councillors and delegates.
Finsec members at PSIS will be holding pre-work union meetings over the next two weeks to discuss current issues, and what members would like out of an improved relationship. There will be a teleconference for branches unable to hold a meeting. For more information, call 0800 FINSEC.
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