The most recent ESTA Consultative Committee was held on 27 July 2021. The purpose of the Consultative Committee is to provide a process that supports positive and constructive consultation between the AEAV and ESTA. It’s also where AEAV members can raise concerns and get answers from ESTA representatives.
Notes from the most recent meeting are below:
| Agenda Items | |
| 1. | ARO for Ertcomm
– The AEAV have requested for Operations EMECs to formulate an ARO roster to support Ertcomm dispatchers, with the overall aim to reduce pressure on TL’s during periods of high workload and to improve service delivery to AV and the Victorian Community. – An ARO may also help to overcome ESTA’s ongoing non-compliance in Ertcomm Priority 1 dispatch. – EMECs agreed that workload in Metro warranted an ARO, however expressed some concern that they would be unable to staff an ARO position, primarily due to recent high attrition, understaffing and the decrease in uptake on overtime. – An ARO roster had already been trialled and successfully implemented for Police dispatch. It was suggested that a similar process could be applied to Ertcomm. Amy Stubberfield identified that Julie Edgerton had achieved great results with the ARO roster in Police. – EMECs Paddy Goodall and Paul Hodgen have agreed to look into a trial for an ARO position in Ertcomm. Paddy outlined that there are different considerations between Rural and Metro Ertcomm dispatch.
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| 2. | 2 x POL TL Model
– The CWU again raised the issue of the Police TL being overwhelmed and advocated for ESTA to consider a 2 x TL model for Police.
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| 3. | Info statements for common scenarios -such as leave allocation, conversion hours, maternity leave etc
– Discussion around the difficulty for staff to easily and quickly access information about a range of processes and topics, including conversion hours, maternity leave, lsl, jury service etc – It was identified that fact sheets could provide a timely solution for staff and relieve pressure on TL’s and ACM’s by reducing the number of queries. – Several information statements are to be developed, starting with a fact sheet on Leave Allowances and Allocation.
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| 4. | Courses and 8 weeks’ notice for learners
– It was noted that staff who had been selected for internal courses had not been given the required 8-week notice period for change of roster, as required in the Enterprise Agreement. – EMECs acknowledged that this was an unfortunate oversight of the EA and have committed to improve this outcome for staff. The requirements of the agreement will be given due consideration for future internal courses and EMECs will re-communicate this to WFM.
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| 5. | Training department restructure
– The training department has undergone some restructure. Unions requested an overview. – ESTA will provide further communication on this matter soon, including an outline of on-shift and off-shift trainers per service.
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| 6. | Benestar visits
– The AEAV raised that the number of monthly face-to-face Benestar visits requires review. Currently, Benestar attend for 4 hours per crew, per month. – ESTA provided information that they understood that these sessions were to be pre-booked by staff. – Discussion that staff more readily use these as ‘drop-in’ sessions rather than booking the sessions. – ESTA records show that significantly fewer sessions were booked than were available and that therefore that the sessions were underutilised. – It was identified that information should be provided to staff outlining how to book in for the sessions. – Clarity was also sought as to the number of sessions ESTA believe to be available. For example, for Tally Ho, ESTA records show 52 available sessions for the previous quarter, whereas the Benestar booking service indicate 36 sessions (or 9 sessions per crew) were available for the quarter. ESTA will undertake to ascertain this and provide further information if and when it becomes available.
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| 7. | Selection process for multiskill courses
– Same process as for upskilling selection which was discussed at the previous UCC meeting – ESTA are currently drafting a document that will outline the selection requirements for talent pools – ESTA have advised that the dispatch and multi-skill selection process is currently due for review. The talent team expect for this work to commence in a month and they suspect it may take a month or two to work through.
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| 8. | Update on CAD problems
– Dave Marshall provided an update on outstanding CAD issues. There are currently 129 CAD faults still outstanding and the team is working through them. – Dave is aware that staff are suffering from ‘fault logging fatugue’. Operations staff are encouraged to continue logging faults with their TL’s on a best endeavours basis.
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| Presentations | |
| 9. | Peer Support
– Lauren Mc Donald and Stacey Robinson presented an overview of a proposed Interim Model for the Peer Support Program – The main benefits of the program will be improved accessibility and a de-identification of data.
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| 10. | HRIS / CAPs – ‘The Hive’
– This project will predominantly assist TL’s and Managers by reducing paperwork and automating a number of HR functions. – Expected implementation from October
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If you would like us to raise a concern at the next ESTA Consultative Committee or would like to discuss any of the agenda items from the recent meeting, speak to your union delegates Sharyne Doensen or Roger Parker. Alternatively, you can contact the AEAV via email [email protected]
