Progressive PSA Homepage at www.progressivepsa.org or http://go.to/ppsa

'Panel to help unions avoid HSU scandal':
So far top PSA officials salaries remain secret
“A New panel set up by the ACTU and led by a retired Federal Court judge will help unions avoid serious governance scandals such as those engulfing the Health Services Union.”
"I am happy to publish what I earn, and what every official of our union earns. Every other union in this country should do the same," said Mr Howes, who is on a salary of $146,000." Paul Howes is AWU National Secretary. ACTU Secretary, Dave Oliver is quoted as saying: "I do not believe there is any place in our movement for $360,000 being paid to any union official". Yet this is about the rumoured, but still secret, salary level of the PSA General Secretary. Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 17 May 2012 "Panel to help unions avoid HSU scandal"

The Progressive PSA group has been calling for greater levels of transparency and accountability for top union officials over many years.
Read the Progressive PSA report, 23 April 2012 "Democracy in the PSA"

Though accurate at the time of writing some circumstances have since changed since 2010. Read the 2010 PPSA report: here.

Wage Watch: High Court challenge
“The High Court has granted the NSW Public Service Association leave to challenge the NSW Government's industrial laws capping public sector salary rises to 2.5%.”
Read the Sydeny Morning Herald report, 11 May 2012 "High Court allows challenge to public servants' salary cap"

Read the Nine News report, 11 May 2012 "Wage laws will beat any challenge: NSW govt"

The current PSA leadership appears to be acting alone in relying on a High Court challenge to gain more than 2.5% for members. Even if the challenge is successful there is at this late stage no campaign evident which can win more than the 2.5% cap.

Jobs Watch: Cronulla Fisheries fight on
"On 8th September, 2011, the NSW government announced its decision to close the internationally renowned Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence and relocate staff to disparate regional areas as part of its ‘Decade of Decentralisation’
"In a recent meeting of Fisheries staff and union representatives it was voted unanimously to initiate a ban on all work related to the relocation of staff from Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence in response to poor treatment of staff."

Read the Save Cronulla Fisheries report, 10 May 2012 "Save Cronulla Fisheries

ICAC: "Outsourcing 'exposing NSW government to graft'
“The NSW government risks exposing itself to corruption as it becomes more reliant on the private sector to deliver services, the corruption watchdog says.”
Read the Australian newspaper report, 8 May 2012 "Outsourcing 'exposing NSW government to graft'

See also the report below: JOBS WATCH: "Public service IT jobs at risk"

Our rights at work: "O’Farrell’s hidden agenda on HSU administrator bill
“Legislation introduced into NSW Parliament today to allow the HSU to be put into administration has a hidden agenda which may have wide ramifications, according to Greens NSW Industrial Relations spokesperson David Shoebridge.
“The Government professes to be sorting out a legal technicality in the HSU case but is in fact introducing a bill that has much greater powers than are required to address this problem,” Mr Shoebridge said."

Read the NSW Greens Media Release, 8 May 2012 "O’Farrell’s hidden agenda on HSU administrator bill"

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 9 May 2012 "Labor and Greens concerned NSW govt minister will have power to put any union into administration"

Read the "Industrial Relations Amendment (Industrial Organisations) Bill 2012"

JOBS WATCH: "Public service IT jobs at risk", State Records slashed
“Thousands of technology staff working for the NSW government will know within 12 to 24 months whether their jobs are secure as new business plans are completed.”

"Department of Finance and Services Director-General Michael Coutts-Trotter said more than 5600 public servants were employed as IT staff and that they did a very good job under the current system."
“We do need those people working the way we do now,” he said. “But if we change the way we work, then, no we won’t and we’ll be buying services instead of employing people."
Read the Australian Financial Review article, 8 May 2012 "Public service IT jobs at risk"
Also read the Image and Data Manager background article, 7 May 2012 "NSW government plots ICT reform agenda"

Read the Sydney Morning Herald article, 5 May 2012 "Archives 'at risk' as state cuts back''

Judicial pay rise: "Judges threaten to wage war"
If there's a sound reason for the PSA leadership to only claim 2.5% then it is isn't apparent and it certainly isn't based on any consultation with members. Meanwhile, Police and the judiciary are exempt from the 2.5% pay cap imposed on the rest of the public sector.
"The one-off 3 per cent windfall came on top of the judiciary's normal 3 per cent annual wage rise because judges are not subject to the state's new 2.5 per cent public sector wages cap.”

Read the Daily Telegraph report, 24 April 2012 "Judges threaten to wage war"
Also read the Daily Telegraph report, 24 April 2012, here

"Member control of union affairs: Is democracy fading in the PSA"
"A number of recent changes to the way our union operates have raised serious questions about the priorities of the current PSA leadership.”

Read the Progressive PSA report, 23 April 2012 "Democracy in the PSA"

"Trimming the public sector is proving hard, says Carr."
"I don't think people want tariffs back . . . but as the Queensland election showed, they certainly didn't want privatisation of what they see as core responsibilities of government . . . I speak as an expert on this, having failed to deliver privatisation of electricity in NSW.”
"I don't think either side of politics has settled on the means of trimming the state sector. I don't think the current crop of coalition governments are going to produce magic answers, even though they are less dependent on a public sector workforce for its votes than Labor . . . Getting the public sector any lower as a share of the economy is proving hard." Labor Senator, Bob Carr, quoted in the Australian, 21 April.

Read the Australian newspaper report, 21 April 2012 "Trimming the public sector is proving hard, says Carr."

NSW Police allowed to claim a 5% annual pay rise. PSA only claims for 2.5%
“Police have won a major victory in their bid for a 15 per cent pay rise after the Industrial Relations Commission ruled officers had made major improvements in tackling crime.”
“The full size of the pay rise is yet to be determined, but the ruling opens the way for officers to receive above the 2.5 per cent cap on salary increases that Premier Barry O'Farrell has imposed on 325,000 public servants. The exact amount will be decided when the case returns to the commission on May 14, three weeks before the state budget.”

Read the Daily Telegraph article, 18 April 2012 Cops rewarded for falling crime rates.

The current PSA leadership appears to be acting alone in relying on a High Court challenge to gain more than 2.5% for members.
Read also the Nine MSN report, 18 April 2012 Police now guaranteed to get pay rise.

O'Farrell moves to conform Fair Work Australia to restrictive NSW PS policies
“The State has asked the Commonwealth Government to amend the Act to recognise the new laws applying to State Public Servants.”
“In its official position statement, NSW called for changes to be made where a State had laws such as the Industrial Relations Amendment (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Act 2011 or established policies or laws relating to the appointment, termination and redundancy of its employees.”

Read the PS News report, 18 April 2012 Fair Work pressure to back NSW PS laws.

Another attack on PSA union democracy: Women's Council blow

Women’s Council no longer consists of all PSA women. It is restricted to a faction dominated group of delegates.

PSA President Sue Walsh moved a resolution of Women’s Council Committee to extend the term of current Women's Council delegates to 4 years, and to postpone the election due this year by 2 years.

Eligibility to attend Women’s Council Annual General Meeting now excludes all PSA women except Women’s Council delegates and Central Council women delegates.

Women’s Council could meet as few as 4 times per year instead of nine at present.
More information about new restrictions on women members’ involvement and what to do about it can be found: here

Corporate shared service centres under scrutiny
"According to the Financial Review, the New South Wales Government has indicated it may follow in the footsteps of fellow states Queensland and Western Australia and drastically re-work its IT shared services strategy, in the wake of questionable benefits having flowed from the scheme."
Delimiter, 17 April 2012
Read the report: "NSW Govt may scrap IT shared services units"

Read the Financial Review report, 17 April 2012: "NSW technology ‘not revolutionary’"

Forced redundancy legislated for public sector
"Legislation to clear the way for forced redundancies in the NSW Public Service has been passed by State Parliament." PS News 11 April 2012
Barry O'Farrell complained about having about 300 out of over 300,000 staff out of permanent positions at any given time. In reality given the accelerating round of departmental and agency restructuring (even more post Schott report - see below: "O'Farrell public sector audit") the number of excess staff is small.
The vast majority of excess staff found permanent positions within a year under the old rule. None sat doing nothing in 'leggo rooms'. Due to government imposed restrictions of filling vacant positions for admin staff there are always jobs that need doing, services to the public that need to be maintained.

O'Farrell said "the Court had proposed that an excess employee could not be made redundant as long as ‘useful work’ of any kind existed anywhere across the entire public sector." The Court was correct. O'Farrell has made another attack on a fair judicial process.

Read the PS News report: "No redundancies rule redundant"

Employers are using Award review to bring back the worst of Workchoices
"A major business group has today confirmed that the goal of a new push by employers is to cut wages and conditions in Awards.
Interviewed on ABC radio in Melbourne this morning, the Executive Director of the National Retail Association, Gary Black, confirmed that employers were using the current review of the Award system to seek a “radical overhaul” of wages, hours of work, penalty rates and other conditions." ACTU media release, 10 April 2012.

Read the ACTU media release with a link to further analysis of employer claims.

"Show us the money or we'll stall reform: states."
"The states are threatening to boycott new national reform deals if the federal government fails to commit a fresh round of funding to agreements that Kevin Rudd struck with the states to improve business regulation, education and indigenous health."

Read the Australian newspaper report, 30 March 2012 "Show us the money or we'll stall reform: states."

O'Farrell: one year on, unions give an 'F'.
Barry O'Farrell has shown how removed he is from his employees with a broadcast message to the Public Sector celebrating his first anniversary as Premier:
"At every corner I have been heartened by the efforts of dedicated and professional public servants and public sector workers who have risen to meet the challenge of change" he wrote.

About the same time this email went out O'Farrell announced another round of attacks on the Public Sector and it workers. The conservative O'Farrell government revealed its real intentions with an announced attempt to cut the pay of even more public sector workers.

“Mr O'Farrell said the 2.5 per cent annual wage cap introduced last year currently applied to 270,000 public sector workers. However, a further 50,000 are exempt because they fall under the federal system."
O'Farrell wants to challenge that. With inflation at 3.1% and average wages rising by 3.7% it is up to unionists challenge the pay cap/pay cut by an activist campaign. The PSA High Court challenge by itself will not deliver a single cent to members.
Read the Nine News report, 26 March 2012, O'Farrell wants to cut more public sector wages, "Cap pay for all public servants: O'Farrell".

"An online poll of more than 1700 trade union members and supporters over the past week delivered a score of just two out of 10 for the NSW coalition."
Read the Nine News report, 26 March 2012 "Unions give NSW premier an 'F'".

Read the Daily Telegraph report, 26 March 2012 "Premier Barry O'Farrell to slash workers compensation payouts".

”Foster care outsourcing worries union”.
In a response to the Justice James Wood 2008 Inquiry into Child Protection, the State Government has secured contracts with the majority of Non Government Organisations (NGOs) to outsource responsibility for thousands of children in need of foster care.

“Outsourcing foster care to the non-government sector had not worked in Victoria and was unlikely to work in NSW, according to the union representing Community Services workers.” A 2010 Victorian Ombudsman report was cited as evidence of failure in a NGO dominated system.

While a candlelight vigil protest was organised for the day after the transfer of responsibilities was confirmed many Community Services delegates were disappointed that the active campaign was not started earlier.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 14 March 2012 "Fears over government changes to foster care rules".

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 13 March 2012 "Foster care shake-up to begin in NSW".

Read the Victorian Ombudsman 2010 report " Own motion investigation into Child Protection – out of home care ".

Next round of O'Farrell attacks: the legislation
The Public Sector Employment and Management Amendment Bill 2012: Objects of the Bill (summarised):

to revise the circumstances in which the services of excess officers may be dispensed with, and

to exclude the unfair contracts jurisdiction of the Industrial Relations, and

to implement performance management systems.
Read "The Amendment Bill" here.

The Industrial Relations Amendment (Dispute Orders) Bill 2012.
The object of this Bill (summarised):

to increase the maximum monetary penalties for a contravention of a dispute order,

to enable costs to be awarded for a contravention of a dispute order,

to enable appeals to be made to the Court of Appeal on a question of law

to provide for the making of any necessary regulations
Read the "Industrial Relations Amendment (Dispute Orders) Bill 2012".

The Industrial Relations Amendment(Industrial Representation) Bill 2012.
Object of this Bill (summarised):

to enable industrial representation of the same classes or groups of employees by one or more industrial organisations or associations.
Read the "Industrial Relations Amendment(Industrial Representation) Bill 2012".

Accounting errors cost state billions.
"The NSW public service does not have enough senior bean counters, the Auditor-General has said, after finding billions of dollars worth of errors and 1256 mistakes in the state's financial records submitted last year."

It was left to the Greens MP, Jamie Parker, to make the obvious comment:
"The fact that agencies are submitting reports riddled with errors reflects systemic problems of mismanagement and chronic under-resourcing, which won't be solved by cutting jobs and public sector wages," he said

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 13 March 2012 "Billions of dollars worth of errors as hundreds of mistakes found in state's financial records, report finds".

Local Schools Local Decisions: a recipe for more cuts?
The O'Farrell government has announced that control over 70% of a school's budget plus matters such as maintenance and staffing will be handed over to the school Principal.

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, "The department will cut hundreds of head office jobs as it shifts responsibility to schools." The impact on school based jobs is unclear. Many PSA members fear job losses and increased pressure to work outside their job description. School autonomy will test the union leadership's resolve to protect the wages and conditions of school based staff. A series of PSA meetings is being organised at schools around the state. The Progressive PSA urges union members to attend and add their voices to calls for action to protect jobs and working conditions.
Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 12 March 2012, "Principals want more power but no strings."

Read the ABC News report, 12 March 2012, "Teachers scathing of public education overhaul."

Read more reports, here.

Trade and Investment jobs to go.
"The Director-General of Trade and Investment, Mark Paterson, is overseeing the restructure in a bid to meet the target of 5000 redundancies across the public service announced by the Treasurer, Mike Baird, in last year's budget."

PSA Assistant Secretary, Steve Turner, recently indicated to a meeting of delegates that the government's 5,000 job loss target is not much more than the usual level of job turnover in the public service. Even though this message was accompanied by a warning of worse to come in the 2012 budget such a blase attitude will not be welcomed by PSA members in Trade and Industry targetted for redundancy.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 10 March 2012 "Job pain for public service workers".

O'Farrell attacks public sector workers: where is the union action?.
"Public sector unions have warned of a wave of campaigns to oppose the O'Farrell government's latest changes to industrial relations laws, likely to be introduced to Parliament this week."

The changes include massively increased fines for 'unauthorised' strikes, an increased ability to sack public sector workers and competitive unionism where members can choose which union to join. Once again the Government is to blame for not consulting with unions about the proposed changes.

As indicated in the recent PSA Red Tape there is plenty of cheap talk of making 2012 “a perfect storm for the Government”. The lack of immediate union action to oppose these anti-union changes hampers our ability to effectively challenge O'Farrell.
The only definite action proposed in Red Tape is a small target strategy which includes a High Court challenge to O’Farrell’s industrial laws, a political challenge at election time and a mass rally later in the year after the new laws are introduced.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 6 March 2012 "Unions to fight O'Farrell's 'grossly unfair' industrial relations changes".

Business lobbyists: 'More support for business demanded.'
"Business has urged governments to undertake major reforms to unlock financing for public-private partnerships for critical infrastructure, including allowing tax breaks on projects.”

The new report by Baker and McKenzie urges the NSW Coaltition government to give more bailout provisions and other financial support for business:
"These include user charges, tax breaks and "availability payments" where investors are paid periodically regardless of the patronage levels of a project."

Read the Australian newspaper report,5 March 2012 "Report calls to shake up of public-private infrastructure financing".

NSW public sector wages fall behind.
Across Australia "Total hourly wages grew by 3.6 per cent last year, faster than consumer price inflation of 3.1 per cent.”
Average wages growth in NSW was even a bit better "wages grew by a robust 3.8 per cent". So writes Jessica Irvine, Sydney Morning Herald economics writer, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. Thats good news unless you are a NSW public sector worker held back by a wages cap of 2.5 per cent.

Read the "ACTU Wages Report, February 2012".

Read the Australian Bureau of Statistics "Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Nov 2011".

Read the ACTU wage and salary analysis, February 2012, "Wages Report".

Next round of O'Farrell attacks on workers announced.
"Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the changes in State Parliament yesterday, including an 11-fold increase to the fine for unions holding illegal strikes.”

"The Government will also have more power to sack public servants who do not have permanent jobs, and workers will be given more choice over which union they join."
Read the ABC News report, 24 February 2012 "Furious response to NSW IR changes".

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 24 February 2012 "O'Farrell aims to make unions pay for wildcat strikes".

Read the Nine MSN report, 23 February 2012 "Govt to attack public services: unions".

Union action needed on audit report.
"After spending most of last year attacking the workplace rights of nurses, police, firefighters and other public sector workers, the government is now considering removing staff ratios, degrading our public services and stamping out the rights of public sector workers," Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon said in a statement on Thursday”

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 23 February 2012 "Public sector in dock after review reveals systemic problems".

Read the full Audit report, "NSW Commission of Audit Interim Report: Public Sector Management".

O'Farrell public sector audit: more jobs and public ownership at risk.
"The State Government appointed former Sydney Water chief, Dr Kerry Schott last year to conduct a Commission of Audit to examine ways of making the public sector more efficient."
“A report has recommended an overhaul of the New South Wales public sector, along with more asset sales and changes to toll road arrangements.”

The review also recommends "changes to governance structures and work practices to provide greater flexibility in the deployment of staff."

Read the ABC News report, 22 February 2012 "Audit recommends NSW public sector overhaul".

"Union push for 'fairer' Fair Work".
“Unions are pushing to make it easier for workers to claim unfair dismissal and for a more activist role for the workplace tribunal in settling industrial disputes.”

Read the Age newspaper report, 20 February 2012 "Union push for 'fairer' Fair Work".

"Union angered by potential NSW compo cut".
“Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) said a deficit in the WorkCover scheme and the surprise departure of its chairman Greg McCarthy signalled bad news for workers.”

“The Greens say the NSW government has a secret hit list of cuts to workers' compensation benefits to meet the $5 billion deficit.”

Read the Nine MSN report, 19 February 2012 "Union angered by potential NSW compo cut".

Shock: "Report confirms O'Farrell's 'worst fears' on public sector culture".
Former education supremo, Dr Ken Boston's investigation into the school transport fiasco continues to make waves after two senior officials were suspended.

"NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said yesterday Dr Boston's report confirmed his "worst fears" about the public service culture."

Some commentators have observed that the public servant's worst fear is B'OF himself. The Coalition's continuation of the previous ALP government's endless 'productivity' cuts to the Public Sector are partly responsible when agencies put budget savings before customers.

Another factor to consider is the impact on the giving of frank and fearless advice when senior executive contracts are terminated at the whim of the government.

Read the Australian newspaper report, 17 February 2012 "Report confirms O'Farrell's 'worst fears' on public sector culture".

O'Farrell law reform: One step forward, two steps back?
"Under the ‘one on, two off’ policy, each calendar year the Government will aim to ensure that:

the number of principal legislative instruments (i.e. principal Acts and principal Regulations) repealed is at least twice the number of new principal legislative instruments introduced (a ‘numeric test’); and

the regulatory burden imposed by new principal legislative instruments within each portfolio is less than the regulatory burden removed by the repeal of principal legislative instruments from the same portfolio (a ‘regulatory burden constraint’)."

Read the Dept of Premier and Cabinet Memo, 2012/02 ‘One on, two off’ policy.

Jobs Watch: Save Cronulla Fisheries update
Save Cronulla Fisheries lists its campaign achievements with media coverage.
Read the SCF report at the ProgressivePSA Blog, 17 February 2012 Save Cronulla Fisheries, 10/2/12 update.

Watch Save Cronulla Fisheries YouTube video Save Cronulla Fisheries

Jobs Watch: PPPs quizzed, DOCs workers cut; WorkCover shakeup, Rail jobs at risk
"The viability of public-private partnerships is again under scrutiny after the NSW Government announced the bailout of a troubled rail project. The Government said it had no choice but to invest in the Waratah train project and says the PPP model must be reworked."
Listen to the ABC Radio report, 7 February 2012 NSW Government bails out troubled train project.

"About 100 temporary caseworker positions will be cut and a staffing freeze will be implemented at the Department of Community Services." Sydney Morning Herald 4 February 2012 p5.

"WorkCover's leadership team resigned yesterday to make way for fresh blood and an overhaul of the organisation, which has a deficit of more than $2.3 billion."
Read the SMH report, 4 February 2012 WorkCover leaders step down.

"The overhaul of RailCorp mustn't be used as a smokescreen for cuts to services and jobs, the transport union says."
Read the Herald Sun report, 1 February 2012 Don't cut jobs in RailCorp reform - union.

Casual work replaces freeze on recruiting permanents
"State departments are spending close to half a billion dollars a year on contractors to get around a hiring freeze and permanent job cuts.
Data obtained under freedom of information laws show spending on temporary staff rose from $385 million in 2009-10 to $468 million last financial year.
The biggest spender was the former Roads and Traffic Authority - now Roads and Maritime Services - which paid more than $72 million for labour hire in 2009-10. The total spent on labour hire for transport services, including the RTA and other agencies, was nearly $105 million last financial year."

Read the SMH report, 23 January 2012 Casual army beats Labor's freeze and Liberal cuts.

Managing union conflicts of interest: O'Farrell 'steps in'
The O'Farrell government has announced that union positions on government controlled Boards of Management are to be abolished. Members of the current PSA leadership group are set to lose $10,000s of extra income from Board positions that they hold. Progressive PSA supporters have long argued that PSA officials must at least declare and manage such potential conflicts of interest in accordance with the NSW Industrial Relations Act. If such Board positions are seen as ethically acceptable then the perception of union officials serving two masters (union members and the government of the day) will persist.

Read a previous article: "PSA Executive members must avoid, declare, and manage conflicts of interest" Read more here.

Read the Daily Telegraph article, 2 January 2012: Unions NSW appointments to be removed and banned from NSW Government boards. Or: Read the article here.

UPDATE: Some commentators have noted the lack of effective union action so far planned for 2012 over the 2.5% pay cap for the public sector. This contrasts unfavourably with the perception that certain union officials have their 'snout in the trough' and a similar attitude among some politicians. Many unions including the PSA need to clean up their act in order to maintain the support of members and the general community. Read the ABC story, 14 January Nationals branded hypocrites over allowance request.

“Fake emails, cyber sabotage and claims the Health Services Union is like a Stalinist state are just the latest developments in the strife-riven union where head office has engaged an investigator to track down and punish dissenting union members.” Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 30 January Union members' email protest sparks backlash from head office .

Boss Watch: Business boosts Barry
"The NSW Business Chamber will today call on the O'Farrell government to sustain the reform momentum in NSW."

Read the SMH report, 15 December 2011 NSW and Victoria cast aside rivalries to work together.

UPDATE: "New South Wales Treasurer Mike Baird has raised the spectre of further public sector job cuts, in response to a deteriorating budget outlook."
Read the ABC report, 16 December 2011 "NSW budget decline sparks job cuts fears."

Also read the NineMSN report, 16 December 2011 "NSW budget woes not cause for panic: Baird."

Privatisations: Feds call for more electricity sell-offs
"The Federal Government today argued the case for the privatisation of power in Australia, bluntly calling on states and territories to deregulate their energy markets.
Energy Minister Martin Ferguson released the Government's draft energy white paper, which warns that the power industry needs massive investment if it is to meet growing demand."

Read the ABC report, 13 December 2011 Government pushes states to privatise power.

ACTU Job Security Campaign
"Secure Jobs. Better Future is a national campaign to improve the rights and working lives of the 40% of the Australian workforce employed in insecure work.
The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic and disturbing growth of insecure jobs in Australia. More and more workers in Australia have jobs that have irregular and unpredictable working hours and pay, inferior rights and entitlements (including limited or no access to paid leave), and no job security."

Tell your story. Make a submission by 20 December 2011 Secure Jobs Better Future.

Read about the ACTU Campaign for job security.

Also read a cautionary tale from American truck drivers. A potential 'future' of highly casualised work that public sector unionists in NSW need to organise to avoid.
Read about the US Clean and Safe Ports campaign, 12 December 2011 An Open Letter from America’s Port Truck Drivers on Occupy the Ports.

Cuts Watch: Ban on NPWS rangers to clean toilets
"Rangers working at Sydney's national parks are warning people to prepare for dirty toilet blocks, overflowing bins and overgrown grass this summer."
Read the ABC report, 9 December Park rangers warn of Sydney NYE stink.

IRC puts question mark over O'Farrell excess employees policy
"A group of public servants have won back their right to redeployment after the Industrial Relations Commission declared their forced retrenchments ''unfair''.
The decision means 29 public servants who were retrenched under the O'Farrell government's new policies have 12 months to find other positions within the public service. Otherwise, they will be given three months' written notice and improved severance pay - a payment of three weeks per year of service to a maximum of 39 weeks." What is missing so far is any guarantee of what treatment will be afforded future excess employees.
Read the IRC Decision.

Read the NineMSN report, 7 December, "NSW govt dealt blow by IRC ruling: union".

Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 7 December, "Public staff cuts deemed unfair".

Jobs Watch: NSW Office of Water, cuts planned
"A memo from the Commissioner for Water, David Harriss, says the call for redundancies is part of a need for cost savings. ''Our immediate challenge is the requirement to achieve savings to meet a reduced budget allocation in 2011-12,'' he said."
Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 5 December, "Job cuts planned during critical period".

Jobs Watch: Family and Community Services, outsourcing
"More than half the children in foster care placements run by Community Services will be transferred to non-government agencies within two years under a transition plan issued yesterday.
The development of the plan to transfer 7800 more children from state care as well as new entrants to the non-government sector is in line with a recommendation of Justice James Wood, head of the 2008 inquiry into child protection in NSW."
According to the Herald report Community Services will retain responsibility for 5,500 children in non-statutory care.
Read the Sydney Morning Herald report, 1 December, "Public sector to start phasing out foster care responsibilities".

O'Farrell 'warning' on public sector salaries
"Barry O'Farrell has declared his intention to see out a ''long innings'' in charge of NSW, while key Liberal Party powerbrokers are now certain he will become a ''three-term premier''.
"He listed other priorities as bedding down public sector wage reforms, and the devolution of more responsibilities to school principals." In the year ahead these Coalition priorities can serve as warnings for PSA members generally and those working in schools in particular.
Read the Sun Herald report, 27 November, "Barry bats for a long innings".

UPDATE: Beginning of the end for the NSW Industrial Relations Commission?
"The Finance Minister, Greg Pearce, launched the parliamentary inquiry into consolidation of tribunals including the Industrial Relations Commission, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, health disciplinary tribunals and the Consumer Trade and Tenancy Tribunal." Also see below a previous report, "Beginning of the end for the NSW Industrial Relations Commission?"
Read the SMH report, 28 November, "Plea to keep Dust Diseases Tribunal".

PSA leadership calls cross agency wages campaign meeting
Only now, six months after the O'Farrell Government outlined its attacks on the public service have top PSA officials begun to turn to the membership following their unsuccessful legal challenge. The PSA leadership has a poor track record on mobilising members for industrial action. Even before Tuesday’s mass meeting has begun they have already ruled out strike action.

Make sure your workplace is represented at the 29 November PSA delegates meeting at PSA House in Sydney. Discuss ideas for action with your colleagues and ask your delegate to put them up for implementation.

Unfortunately most of the 10am - 3pm meeting has been reserved for speeches from the current leadership. Union activists should try and make the most of the one hour put aside for workshopping ideas for action.

NGOs worried about BO'F? So are public servants
"The O'Farrell government is looking for investors willing to back community programs around out-of-home care for children and criminals' reoffending rates to improve social outcomes and save taxes." With the O'Farrell government proclaimed aim of 5,000 public service job cuts even more could be at risk with out-sourcing projects like these. Members in the broad community welfare work areas, ADAHC, FACs and others should be preparing for a fight for jobs. Read the SMH report, 23 November, "Smaller non-profits fear being left behind in NSW's experiment with social funding".

Beginning of the end for the NSW Industrial Relations Commission?
"The state government has made no commitment to give the District Court extra resources when it inherits the bulk of the Industrial Relations Court's case load." Read the SMH report, 12 November, "District court takes industrial load unaided".

Gov't Ministers mixed messages on prison privatisation
A report for NSW Treasury by KPMG revealed a list of NSW prisons earmarked for potential privatisation. "This government has no plans to privatise any jails - unlike the previous government, which privatised Parklea jail" ... Attorney-General Greg Smith.."
Greg Smith's statement is contradicted by NSW Treasurer, Mike Baird who,“in his September budget speech, said the government was "examining the potential for greater contestability in the provision of corrective services".
"Contestability" is a well known and overused weasel word which means shifting public resources to the private sector.

Read the full SMH report, 14 November, "Report reveals list of jails that could be privatised ".

PSA's Managing Excess Employees case concludes
The NSW Industrial Court handed down a decision on the union's case challenging the O'Farrell government's 'forced redundancy' Managing Excess Employees Policy, 11 November 2011. The parties were told to file an outline of their respective positions by 4.00pm on Friday 18 November 2011 and to report back to the Court on 21 November. Further updates to follow.

Read the Decision, 11 November, "Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales v Director of Public Employment [2011] NSWIRComm 152".

Occupy Sydney, worker’s rights and trade unions
Occupy Sydney is a centre of solidarity where workers seeking community support can come to explain their issues. Occupy Sydney has heard from QANTAS workers, the fire fighters and the Maritime Union of Australia. Trade unionists and workers who want to renew, re-energise and strengthen the labour movement need to join Occupy Sydney.
At Occupy Sydney there can be cross-fertilisation of the experience of worker's struggles with youthful optimism and energy. New activists can be recruited to the union movement.

Find out more about the Occupy Sydneycampaign web page.

Find out more about the Occupy Sydneycampaign Facebook page.

Electricity: Chance for O'Farrell to break another public sector promise
The State Government has received the final report of the Tamberlin inquiry into the partial privatisation of power assets. The inquiry was set up last year under the former Labor government.
Read the ABC report, 1 November, "Tamberlin report recommends further power sell-off".

Read a report by the ABC's Quentin Dempster, 14 November, "NSW power privatisation: an act of vandalism".

Support the Stop the Selloff campaign.

Read Professor Bob Walker & Dr Betty Con Walker's briefing note on electricity privatisation ,31 October 2011, "2011-12 NSW Budget Papers confirm that Electricity Privatisations have been bad deals".

Challenge to O'Farrell IR law fails
The NSW IRC has made a clear decision against the PSA challenge to the validity of the O'Farrell Industrial Relations Amendment (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Act 2011 and its regulation.
Unions NSW described the legislation as "a one-sided mechanism constraining unions, but not the employer, from detrimentally affecting the working arrangements and conditions of employees during the life of an award." Unfortunately in a decision brought down on 31 October the Industrial Court of NSW found that the legislation and its regulation are legally valid.

What next? The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the PSA General Secretary, John Cahill, "was disapointed but accepted the decision".

What is needed is a plan of ongoing actions to raise awareness and organise opposition to the law among union members and the community. To read the Industrial Court's decision click here.

Read the SMH report, 1 November, "Public servants lose bid to quash wages bill".

Progressives have previously pointed out: "Instead of discussing such strategies on pay and conditions the PSA governing body (Central Council) spent the largest part of a very short October meeting discussing "making the switch" to a different credit union affinity program.
See article below: "The General Secretary wants you to 'make the switch' - to a different credit union."

Pay cap = pay cut
As reported in September Victorian public sector workers also have a 2.5% pay cap imposed by the Ted Baillieu Coalition government. As in NSW Victorian teachers and nurses are also fighting the ‘pay cap = pay cut’ policy.
The Progressive PSA has long argued that what appears to be the PSA’s strategy of a series of one off mass rallies, slow, grinding court challenges and waiting for a change of government does not apply ongoing pressure to the O’Farrell government. While Progressives don’t argue against those measures they should be supplemented by rolling industrial action as in Victoria.

The Victorian CPSU (the state public service union) successfully balloted for industrial action under Fair Work Australia. Karen Batt, Victorian union secretary, has announced a round of rolling industrial action.
"There will be bans in the prison system ... there'll be bans across public housing and the juvenile justice facilities," she told reporters.
The bans will range from one-hour to 24-hour stoppages and will also involve child protection workers with more than one year of experience not accepting more than 12 cases.
"There is no restriction on what we're intending to do across the state unless the government comes to the table with a more respectable wages offer," Ms Batt said

To read the SMH report click here: "Vic public servants threaten work bans"

Instead of discussing such strategies on pay and conditions the PSA governing body (Central Council) spent the largest part of a very short October meeting discussing "making the switch" to a different credit union affinity program.
See article below: "The General Secretary wants you to 'make the switch' - to a different credit union."

More NSW public service jobs to go
Judging from a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, 25 October 2011, the hundreds of job cuts already announced in a number of agencies including, DPI, Legal Aid, Health, Education, Industrial Relations and Correctives do not count towards the government’s target of 5,000 redundancies.
Various commentators discredited O'Farrell's excuse that the state is "living beyond its means" when he incorrectly announced a $5bn budget black hole. Using the same tired excuse the Coalition government has announced another 1,900 redundancies. What makes this worse for those affected and their families is that the government continues to call these "voluntary" redundancies having already implemented a policy of forced redundancy earlier this year.

“NSW Treasurer Mike Baird says offering 1900 voluntary redundancies in the public sector is a tough but necessary decision because the state is living beyond its means.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell will later on Tuesday announce the first of 5,000 public sector cuts flagged in September's budget, with 489 jobs alone to go in the Department of Attorney General and Justice."

Later we learned what we already knew that the redundancies are not really voluntary: To read the ABC report click here: "Baird admits voluntary redundancies are compulsory"

To read the SMH report click here: "NSW job cuts tough but needed: Baird"

The Daily Telegraph has more details of where the cuts will hit "Two thousand public service jobs in gunsights "

The O'Farrell government appears more interested in following the dictates of the NSW Business Chamber than keeping his pre-election promise of support for the NSW public sector "O'Farrell Government must deliver results that match the strength of its mandate"

Full BIS Shrapnel report discredits government claims of a black hole Outlook for the Economy and Some Considerations for New South Wales 2011/12 Budget

Salaries Award
The table of rates for the 2.5% increase can be found here. The increase is back dated to the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2011. This is the Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries 2008) Award updated 10 Aug 2011. (The pdf file may take a few moments to load). The RTA has been broken off to form a separate pay and conditions award.

Barry attacks TAFE
The TAFE Commission Amendment Bill was dropped, unannounced, into Parliament late on Tuesday 11 October, 2011.

The TAFE Commission will be the employer of current TAFE employees. Employees will come under the Federal Fair Work Australia industrial jurisdiction.

There will be a 12 month transition period during which only a few 'core' conditions will be maintained.

No consultation has been undertaken with the unions involved. As a result not all the implications of this legislation are clear.

The TAFE Commission Act amendment has the declared purpose of increasing “flexibility to secure more business and create more employment opportunities for its staff.” At the same time one type of "flexibility" the union has been fighting is the spread of imposed part-year (36 or 42 week) employment.
For more information click here: "Save TAFE"

Why does the General Secretary want you to 'make the switch' - to a different credit union?
While PSA top brass may not make as much as millionaire corporate CEOs at least we know how much the CEOs take home. PSA Executive remuneration remains top secret. Meanwhile some of the 'added value services' of union membership have become mired in the private financial interests of the current top PSA leadership. Sue Walsh and John Cahill have lost control of the State Government Employees Credit Union Board and have resigned from these lucrative positions.
Several internal sources have leaked the news that there was a falling out between the current PSA Executive and a former PSA General Secretary, Maurie O'Sullivan, who remains on the SGE credit union Board.

PSA Executive members must avoid, declare, and manage conflicts of interest Read more here.

Read a recent opinion piece on a related issue concerning the Health Services Union and union executive salaries. Perhaps PSA paid Executive members could learn some lessons about what could happen when the principles of transparency and accountability to members are not fully implemented: Brother unions must end their silence on excess of others.

Stop Primary Industries job cuts: Save Cronulla Fisheries
"The main reason for relocating staff from Cronulla concerns decentralisation of Sydney-based jobs out of Sydney. Yet NSW Fisheries is already one of the Public Sector’s most decentralised agencies. There are now 400 Full Time Equivalent employees in NSW Fisheries, 67.5% of whom are based outside Sydney – in fact, only 35% of the division’s scientific staff are at Cronulla."
"Over 60% of recreational fishers in NSW live in the Sydney Region, and less than 1% in the Nowra area (where the recreational fisheries management team are supposed to go) and approx. 1% in the Port Stephens area (where the scientists are supposed to go)."

For more information and to send messages of support click here: "Save Cronulla Fisheries"

Another threat to public sector jobs and conditions?
The New South Wales Fiscal Responsibility Act 2005 has been under review. The Act "sets targets and principles for the conduct of fiscal policy, with a statutory review after five years. The review found that the policy objective of the Act remains valid, and the Government is committed to this objective. It also found that many targets and principles of the Act have not been met, and revisions to the Act are expected later in 2011."

The review repeats the government claim that "While cost offsets above 2.5 per cent have been identified in current wage agreements, not all of those savings have been delivered. This lack of sufficient offsets will have contributed (along with employment growth and bracket creep) to total General Government employee costs increasing by an average 6.3 per cent per annum in the four years to 2009-10." How this justifies a pay cap of 2.5%, which is below the inflation rate, is not demonstrated. A government response may come before the end of the year.

Report to the Treasurer on "Fiscal Responsibility Act 2005 Review"

IRC approves retrospective pay increase to staff who ceased employment
The Director of Public Employment and the PSA have been in dispute over the application of the 2.5% pay increase to employees who ceased employment between the first pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2011 and the date of the Commission's decision of 10 August 2011.

The Decision of the Industrial Commission, 27 September 2011, is that pay increase applies to these former employees. This means that current and former employees should receive the 2.5% interim pay increase soon.

The full decision, "IRC approves retrospective pay increase to staff who ceased employment"

Vic Public Servants set to introduce work bans: Why not NSW?
"Tens of thousands of Victorian public servants are preparing to introduce work bans. The public sector is pushing for a pay rise larger than the 2.5 per cent salary increase currently on offer. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has asked Fair Work Australia to conduct a ballot to authorise 62 work bans." ABC Online 20 September, "Public servants set to introduce work bans"
Victorian PS workers are covered by the Federal industrial relations framework. The Victorian CPSU is the sister union of the NSW PSA.

Victorian State public servants are "preparing to unleash a wave of industrial action aimed at inflicting maximum pain on the Baillieu government" The Age, 20 September, "Union plans 'war' on Baillieu"

120,000 Commonwealth Public servants have also voted to reject a 3% pay cap by the Gillard government. Some PSA members commented: 'Unlike PSA members in our last pay deal at least they got to vote!' ABC online, 12 September, "More public servants join pay dispute"

ACT teachers prepare to strike over pay. Canberra Times, 20 September, "Teachers to rally in pay protest"

Government denials haven't eased concerns about job cuts at NSW DPI
Media reports:
ABC Rural news, 23 September, "Government denials haven't eased concerns about job cuts at NSW DPI"
Central Western Daily, 1 September, "Lost DPI wages will hurt everyone: union"

Why Crown Employees have not been paid the 2.5% interim salary increase
The Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission has handed down an interim decision on the PSA salaries claim for the majority of members on 10 August 2011. An interim amount of 2.5% has been awarded. This pay increase will be back dated to the first full pay period after 1 July 2011. Further, to quote from the decision, "there shall be no term of 12 months and we do not propose to include a no extra claims provision, at least at this stage."

The Director of Public Employment and the PSA have been unable to agree on applying the increase to employees who ceased employment between the first pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2011 and the date of the Commission's decision of 10 August 2011. The matter has been referred to the Full Bench for a hearing on 21 September. There is no dispute about existing employees and those who were employed as at 10 August 2011.

Because the interim Award has not been finalised processing of salary increases is delayed. The good news is that when the pay increase comes through the back dated portion will be that little bit larger.

Legal Aid chief quits, more jobs to go
"The chief executive of the NSW Legal Aid Commission, Alan Kirkland, has left his position days after a Herald report into a staff survey showing high levels of stress." Union members report that many Legal Aid jobs are to go amid another O'Farrell restructure. SMH, 17 September, "Legal aid chief quits amid demand for change".

Read previous report "Legal Aid lawyers buckle under work stress".

In defence of the public sector
An article by James Whelan, research director for the Public Service Program at the Centre for Policy Development, argues that "Axing public servants is unlikely to save money or improve the state’s economy." Newcastle Herald, 16 September, "Public sector cuts will hurt in times of crisis"

NSW public service commissioner named
Senior Commonwealth public servant, Graeme Head has been appointed as the first NSW Public Service Commissioner. Mr Head has also previously worked as a Deputy Director General for the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet.

September 8 rally a huge success
Thousands turn out to defy O'Farrell's industrial relations regime. ABC estimates 30-40,000 attend the Sydney rally. Thousands more rally in regional centres. Some pics in cube above and in media reports below. Not since demonstrations against Liberal Education Minister Terry Metherell 22 years ago has there been such a massive outpouring of anger by NSW public service workers.
SMH, 9 September, “This is just the start, strikers warn O'Farrell"
ABC Online, 8 September, “Union rage: 30,000 march on NSW Parliament"
AAP report, 8 September, “Unions claim 30,000 at Sydney protest"
Daily Telegraph, 8 September, “40,000 workers all walk off job to protest at rally at NSW Parliament House"

Defend public sector worker rights
Jobs have been cut; conditions have been cut; services are threatened. Organise your workplace!

Mobilise! Talk to your workmates and colleagues. Get our message out to the community

Call workplace meetings to discuss O’Farrell’s attacks and the campaign to defend our public services

Move motions for serious industrial action to stop the government and pass these on to the union’s executive

Organise your workplace to join industrial action, attend rallies and protests

Progressive PSA 8 September rally leaflet Defend public sector worker rights

“Office of IR disappears in Budget"
Labor MP Sophie Cotsis notes a little reported but unsurprising budget cut to the NSW Office of Industrial Relations.
"The Office of Industrial Relations delivers important services to NSW businesses and workers", said Ms Cotsis. In addition to advising the Government on industrial relations and job market issues, the Office undertakes workplace inspections to ensure compliance with IR regulations; helps workers recover lost entitlements, like unpaid wages; and conducts free workshops and other information sessions for business owners.
In 2009, the Office of Industrial Relations undertook more than 10,000 targeted workplace inspections and recovered more than $3 million in unpaid wages."

UPDATE: 19 September 2011. Regional jobs hit: "Across NSW the department will reduce its number from 157 to 109 and the two Wagga positions have been cut, despite expectations the new state government would bring in a decentralisation policy to boost regional public offices."
Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser, 19 September, “Public sector cuts hit Wagga "

ABC, 6 September, “NSW in the red, thousands of jobs to go"
Only 5000 job cuts? Maybe double. Daily Telegraph, 7 September, “Barry O'Farrell's axe to the public service really a feather"
Complete 2011 NSW budget papers, also links to previous years: NSW Budget Papers

Axe-wielding budget will hurt state
A report issued by economic forecast group BIS Shrapnel "dismissed government claims of serious budget problems as ''more emotive than real'' and argued public spending was needed to assist the state economy during the present ''soft patch" according to their chief economist, Frank Gelber. The study was commissioned by Unions NSW. Lending credibility to the report it should be noted that BIS Shrapnel is not usually regarded as friendly to the labour movement.

These findings are also supported by earlier reports from NSW Treasury that the Premier’s claim of a $4.5 billion black hole in the budget was seriously overstated. Even the State Treasurer Baird now accepts Treasury figures while still using the projected deficit as an excuse to weild the axe on public services and jobs.

Commenting on the report, to the Daily Telegraph, Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon said “the report backed claims the government was confecting a budget crisis to justify cuts to services, jobs and wages.
"It seems to us that the state's finances are in shape. We still have a Triple A rating," Mr Lennon said.” Daily Telegraph, 2 September 2011

SMH, 2 September, "Axe-wielding budget will hurt state, says report."
Daily Telegraph, 2 September, Industrial Commission outcome "NSW budget black hole 'not real'"
Full BIS Shrapnel report Outlook for the Economy and Some Considerations for New South Wales 2011/12 Budget

“Premier Barry O'Farrell gets set to wield the axe through the public service”
That was the Daily Telegraph headline on 11 August. Gone are the reassuring emails from Heads of Departments and in Parliament. That the September budget will be harsh has not been denied. NSW Treasury has announced a shortfall of $1.93 billion in State finances – causing further uncertainty for public sector jobs in the wake of the September budget. Just how hard the axe will fall remains to be seen. But already there have been announcements of harsh cuts in a number of Departments including Primary Industries, Attorney Generals, Community Services and Health.
What the Progressive PSA has to say: click here.

Read more media reports:
Next its government IT jobs threatened. The Australian, 30 August, “Barry O’Farrell axe poised over jobs.”
SMH, 29 August, "Revenue fall creates state budget crisis."
SMH, 29 August, “Baird's first budget will have to tackle spending growth.”
ABC online, 29 August, “NSW Treasurer warns of 'unpopular' budget.”

2011 PSA Salaries claim - interim decision 10 August
The Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission has handed down a decision on the PSA salaries claim for the majority of members. An interim amount of 2.5% has been awarded. This pay increase will be back dated to the first full pay period after 1 July 2011. Further, to quote from the decision, "there shall be no term of 12 months and we do not propose to include a no extra claims provision, at least at this stage."
The final sentence of the decision reads: "The proceedings are adjourned pending judgment of the Industrial Court in Matter No IRC 1276 of 2011." This means that the final outcome of the salaries claim has been stood over until after a decision of the Full Bench of the Industrial Court which is considering the constitutional challenge to the validity of the new Industrial Relations Legislation passed by the government. Even if that case is unsuccessful a claim for more than 2.5% may be possible.

The full decision of the Industrial Commission.

Public Sector (Conditions of Employment) Regulation 2011
Read a Unions NSW Outline Paper on the Wages Policy. In part it points out "The regulation, due to its drafting, seems to be a one-sided mechanism constraining unions, but not the employer, from detrimentally affecting the working arrangements and conditions of employees during the life of an award." Industrial Implications of the Public Sector (Conditions of Employment) Regulation 2011
Read the "Industrial Relations (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Regulation 2011", here.

Forced redundancies: O’Farrell moves on Public Service
The Premier has been quick off the mark since legislating to cap public sector salaries below inflation and give to himself power (without legal appeal) over public sector working conditions. The Sydney Morning Herald on 22 June repeated the usual clap trap misinformation about displaced employees being paid to do nothing. The SMH article is headed: "O’Farrell to axe staff with no jobs who still get paid” and continues “after a review discovered 390 public servants who had left their jobs were still being paid and 56 of those have not had a permanent job for at least a year, and in some cases more than a decade.”
“Mr O'Farrell said the cabinet had decided to shorten the period for retaining excess public servants from 12 months to just three months and reduce severance payments for employees who reject an initial offer of voluntary redundancy.
The government will give a one-off incentive payment of $10,000 for employees on the unattached list to accept a new voluntary redundancy offer on the condition they leave the public service within a month.
Mr O'Farrell said axing the ''no forced redundancies'' policy would save taxpayers about $16 million a year. ''It is no longer an option for those without jobs to stay indefinitely and be paid indefinitely,'' he said. ''Government departments will be more willing to restructure and adjust their workforces because they won't have to carry the cost of an excess employee indefinitely.''

PSA officials have been reported in the media to be seeking an urgent meeting with the Premier.

Read SMH article 22 June, O’Farrell to axe staff with no jobs who still get paid.

Read "Changes to the Management of Excess Employees", O’Farrell's new forced redundancy policy.

Read full details of the new minimum working conditions and what is in a government list of potential working condition losses for the public sector: O’Farrell's new wages policy.

Wages, conditions attacked by O'Farrell's son of WorkChoices law

PSA members are being urgently asked to join a campaign to save the current pay claim. Supporters of the Progressives encourage all union members to take advantage of the short time available and build an effective fight. But many union members were left scratching their heads, wondering about the effectiveness of the current union leadership.
The General Secretary, John Cahill, failed to negotiate a new pay award with the previous 'friendly' government. A pay claim was then lodged in the Commission in February. Cahill and the Executive were apparently taken by surprise when the new government took advantage of a weakened union position and introduced legislation to limit the ability of public sector unions to freely negotiate their pay and conditions. But what went wrong? And how can we do it better?
Read what Progressives said at PSA Annual Conference, 26,27 May 2011

Read the Bill Industrial Relations Amendment (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Bill 2011
Read the revealing Second Reading Speech here
Read a legal opinion regarding the unconstitutional nature of the Bill The validity of the Industrial Relations Bill

Read SMH article 26 May, Public-sector wage fight brews as union gears up.
Read SMH article 25 May, Public Service revolution.

Salaries Award 2011- we are in the Commission today 17/2/11
The current Crown Employees salaries award which covers the majority of PSA members runs out at the end of June this year. The government has refused to come to agreement on the next salaries award. PSA Central Council has therefore decided to lodge a 6.5% pa claim in the Industrial Commission for an award to cover the next three years. Meanwhile the current government is sticking to its offer of 2.5% pa with anything more being paid for by tradeoffs.

Details are sketchy but it seems that unlike the last award in 2008 there will be some form of consultation with members this time around.
The current union leadership faction have also said that this time members would at least get to vote on any deal. But the real question is why we haven't been consulted to date or informed of progress with the negotiations. Without member involvement their negotiations have not been from a position of strength. PSA General Secretary John Cahill had hoped to have a pay deal in the bag before Christmas, then before the state election. His go-it-alone tactic has failed to produce any result.

So what is plan B? We don't know because members haven't been consulted.

What we do know is that the focus remains on defensive actions such as seeking is to convert the current (inadequate) 'managing displaced employee' guidelines into award conditions and shifting members from payroll deduction to direct debit. Too many years of clinging to the ALP's skirt and not enough emphasis on generating an independent industrial capacity means we are now vulnerable to any change of government. Worse than that, our union appears to have lost the capacity to extract a decent deal from a government that is on its knees.

It remains to be seen whether the one available avenue for member participation (the 'Better Services' campaign) will really facilitate member input. The risk is that, like the campaign preceding the last state election, it will be little more than a platform for Labor without putting any serious pressure on either major party to deliver anything concrete.

There is a better way. A union is its members, and members should be involved as much as possible in the collective decision making of that union. As more details come to hand the Progressives will keep you informed.

Parliamentary report on ADHC
An inquiry into the quality of services funded by Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) has made wide ranging critical findings and recommendations. Meanwhile PSA members are raising questions about why they weren't adequately consulted over changes to their conditions in the new Community Living Award.

2011 salaries award update
It is not too late to create the sort of membership driven campaign that can challenge the government's 2.5% funded pay cap. The March 2011 election looms. Meanwhile, senior public servants will enjoy a fully funded 4% increase. Transport workers will get 3.5%. What is the union Executive planning for PSA members? Read the update and about what the Progressives have to say about member control of pay and conditions campaigns here.

It's time to challenge government wages policy
The current pay deal runs out in June 2011.The last pay deal was unfunded by an annual 1.5%. PSA members are now paying for that with decreased conditions and increased workloads. What happens next? Backroom deals and a 'fait accompli' ballot of members will not challenge the government's 2.5% funded pay cap. Read what the Progressives have to say about member control of pay and conditions campaigns.
South Australian public sector unions fight job losses and cuts to working conditions. Read news reports here.
And here.
Public sector unionists maintain the rage. Read and view ABC news report 26 Oct 2010 here.

Declaring and managing conflicts of interest
The Sunday Telegraph has reported on an apparent Parliamentary rort of travelling expenses – not for overseas trips but for coming to work. Read about how that issue has been related to the PSA and linked to both the mismanagement of potential conflicts of interest by senior union officials and a loss of conditions for members. Read more here.

Not so happy anniversary
One year ago in the run up to the PSA elections the General Secretary, John Cahill, signed our current pay award and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that went with it. According to the PSA leadership the unfunded portion was to be made up from a set of “Central Reforms” to our working conditions.

Clause 6 of the MOU allows Departments and Agencies to claim further cuts to conditions if the Central Reforms agreed to last year do not make up the 1.5% unfunded pay rise.

These were the tradeoffs so strenuously denied by the PSA leadership who were seeking re-election at the time. In contravention of PSA Rules this pay deal was never put to members. Read more about the pay deal one year on and what it means to you here.

PSA Incumbents returned - just
Incumbent General Secretary, John Cahill and his team have been returned despite suffering a 30% (2,200 vote) drop in their vote. Cahill managed to get over the line with 53% of the vote while the Progressive's Anne Gardiner fell short with 47%. Despite the significant drop in their vote the Cahill faction will increase their representation on Central Council and the Executive to 100% of the positions. Under the old proportional representation rules the Progressives would have won extra positions on both the Executive and Council. More results here.

Yes conditions WERE traded away for pay
The current PSA General Secretary claims delegates spread 'misinformation' about his pay deal and that there are no trade-offs. It doesn't matter whether you call them offsets, efficiency savings, 'modernising conditions', or trade-offs, the fact remains that he agreed that everything above 2.5% will be funded by offsets including:

the number of days off in a row without a medical certificate has been reduced from 3 to 2 and 5 per year in total

your employer can apply "greater evidence requirements" of your illness including disclosure of the nature of your illness. No backdating of sick certificates etc.

reductions in the motor vehicle allowance rates

restrictions on taking flex leave if you have more than 8 weeks recreation leave

reducing the circumstances under which you can take appeals to GREAT

restrictions on who is eligible for transferred officer compensation

changes to the accumulation of FACS leave, and more

The deal was never put to a vote of members. PSA Rule 25 reads:
"Any offer received with regard to the salaries payable to or conditions affecting any particular group or class of members shall be referred to those members directly or by reference to a committee authorised to advise on their behalf."

Want more detail on the pay deal changes to conditions?
For more details of the changes to conditions and how the pay deal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) works, check:

Our Memorandum Summary and explanation, or

the full Memorandum of Understanding

Public Sector Workforce Office letter to your employer

The Premier's Circular announcing the pay agreement.

The Premier's Memorandum on Forced Redundancies as accepted by the current PSA General Secretary.

Your agency has already submitted its savings wish-list to the Public Sector Workforce Office for approval. A number of agencies have already told their delegates of the cuts and changes to conditions.

Pay case abandoned as General Secretary accepts employer's wage policy
The decision to abandon our 6.5% claim came as a disappointment to many members and delegates. We get no more than the state wage case (4%) despite having a compelling case for productivity payments in excess of that amount. Unlike the state wage case, everything above 2.5% is clawed back through offsets and 'efficiency reforms'. That is what the PSA General Secretary John Cahill accepted on your behalf without a vote by members. Your agency will only be funded for 2.5%. They must find the extra via savings via initiatives outlined in the pay deal full Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Conflicts of interest need to be avoided
PSA Annual Conference has called on the current officials to declare and manage their conflicts of interest. They have refused to do so. It is well known that the NSW Government puts union officials on boards of public sector companies allowing them to 'tug the leash' if it is unhappy with a particular union direction. John Cahill has been given a position on Macquarie Generation, Steve Turner has been given Waste Services NSW, and Sue Walsh has been given Lotteries. They pocket the fees, don't provide reports to the governing body of the union, and do not give the fees back to the PSA as is the practice in other unions. They also occupy positions on SGE Credit Union (originally secured through a campaign paid for with PSA money). The officials do not promote loans that are the best value for members - they only promote SGE's loans. You can compare loans with the independent star ratings provided by Cannex.

Divisive rule changes adopted
February 08 - At the February Central Council, the Rank and File Team/Members First faction voted to adopt a series of controversial rule changes. They hope to strengthen their control of the PSA by removing all other groups from the Governing body of the union.

The manoeuvre has incensed the real rank and file (members and delegates) who were neither consulted nor informed of the proposed changes. Its just a taste of things to come if this group is re-elected. Another significant change will allow the PSA to fund and endorse political parties and candidates. We believe the changes compromise our independence and reduce our bargaining power. The changes do nothing to unify our members nor do they strengthen our union.

In this PSA election members and delegates will have to choose between the incumbent officials or a team that will reform and strengthen the union by pursuing an independent, member-based industrial strategy.

Table of changes including the motion on notice

Current PSA rules

The Progressive PSA brings together rank and file trade union activists in the Public
Service Association of NSW and the CPSU (SPSF Branch). We work for:

greater job security

improved and more equitable pay

sustainable jobs in a sustainable environment

a democratic and strong union

This is not an official PSA publication