greg norman
10th May 2010, 14:45
Dear OABL Crew,
As you may be aware, a number of Australian based pilots want to exercise their collective bargaining rights and negotiate with Cathay for an enterprise agreement once the company onshores in July this year. The process for making an enterprise agreement is completely different to, and separate from, the process of signing a new contract and negotiations for the enterprise agreement are not likely to commence until after the company onshores.
In the event that Cathay doesn't want to bargain for an enterprise agreement to cover Australian based aircrew, Australian law provides a mechanism to force Cathay to bargain provided a majority of employees who would be covered by the proposed agreement want to bargain.
In anticipation of the likelihood that Cathay will not want to bargain for an enterprise agreement, we are in the process of gathering the views of all aircrew Officers in relation to whether or not they want to bargain for an enterprise agreement. If a majority of Officers want to bargain for an agreement, we will then lodge an application with Fair Work Australia for a majority support determination. If this application is successful, Cathay would then be required to negotiate for an enterprise agreement (and in doing so meet a number of good faith bargaining requirements).
We are conducting an online poll to ascertain whether or not a majority of aircrew Officers do in fact want to bargain for an enterprise agreement. The question that we need answered is :
DO YOU WANT TO BARGAIN FOR AN ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT TO COVER ALL CATHAY PACIFIC AIRCREW OFFICERS WHO ARE BASED IN AUSTRALIA?
The best way to advise us of your answer to this question, is to simply REPLY to this email with a YES or NO answer and include your Name and ERN number.
Alternatively you can:
1. Print out this email, fill in below and fax it to +852 2736 0903; or
2. Print out this email, fill in below and drop in to the HKAOA mailbox in the crew room; or
3. Email us the above question and answer to [email protected] ([email protected]) including your Name and ERN
Please circle YES or NO
Name
ERN
Please note that this question is purely aimed at finding out whether you want to bargain for an enterprise agreement and does not impact on your ability to appoint a representative other than the HKAOA to represent you as part of the agreement making process. In the event that we can obtain a majority support application, all Officers will be free to appoint a bargaining representative of their choice to participate in the negotiations.
In addition, if you are concerned about privacy, please be aware that the HKAOA will not release the names of the Officers that vote in the poll to Cathay.
Background information regarding enterprise agreements can be found on Fair Work Australia's website (http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=agreementsmakeabout (http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=agreementsmakeabout))
We would like to be in a position to file the Majority Support Application by the end of this week, so would you please cast your vote by Thursday 13 May 2010.
John Findlay
General Secretary HKAOA
For and on behalf of AOA Australia
10 May 2010
As you may be aware, a number of Australian based pilots want to exercise their collective bargaining rights and negotiate with Cathay for an enterprise agreement once the company onshores in July this year. The process for making an enterprise agreement is completely different to, and separate from, the process of signing a new contract and negotiations for the enterprise agreement are not likely to commence until after the company onshores.
In the event that Cathay doesn't want to bargain for an enterprise agreement to cover Australian based aircrew, Australian law provides a mechanism to force Cathay to bargain provided a majority of employees who would be covered by the proposed agreement want to bargain.
In anticipation of the likelihood that Cathay will not want to bargain for an enterprise agreement, we are in the process of gathering the views of all aircrew Officers in relation to whether or not they want to bargain for an enterprise agreement. If a majority of Officers want to bargain for an agreement, we will then lodge an application with Fair Work Australia for a majority support determination. If this application is successful, Cathay would then be required to negotiate for an enterprise agreement (and in doing so meet a number of good faith bargaining requirements).
We are conducting an online poll to ascertain whether or not a majority of aircrew Officers do in fact want to bargain for an enterprise agreement. The question that we need answered is :
DO YOU WANT TO BARGAIN FOR AN ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT TO COVER ALL CATHAY PACIFIC AIRCREW OFFICERS WHO ARE BASED IN AUSTRALIA?
The best way to advise us of your answer to this question, is to simply REPLY to this email with a YES or NO answer and include your Name and ERN number.
Alternatively you can:
1. Print out this email, fill in below and fax it to +852 2736 0903; or
2. Print out this email, fill in below and drop in to the HKAOA mailbox in the crew room; or
3. Email us the above question and answer to [email protected] ([email protected]) including your Name and ERN
Please circle YES or NO
Name
ERN
Please note that this question is purely aimed at finding out whether you want to bargain for an enterprise agreement and does not impact on your ability to appoint a representative other than the HKAOA to represent you as part of the agreement making process. In the event that we can obtain a majority support application, all Officers will be free to appoint a bargaining representative of their choice to participate in the negotiations.
In addition, if you are concerned about privacy, please be aware that the HKAOA will not release the names of the Officers that vote in the poll to Cathay.
Background information regarding enterprise agreements can be found on Fair Work Australia's website (http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=agreementsmakeabout (http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=agreementsmakeabout))
We would like to be in a position to file the Majority Support Application by the end of this week, so would you please cast your vote by Thursday 13 May 2010.
John Findlay
General Secretary HKAOA
For and on behalf of AOA Australia
10 May 2010