PSA Public Sector Pay Case

Here is a progress report on our next pay award:-

• We are claiming 6.5% per year over three years. That claim has been served on the employing authorities.

• The Government's starting position is 2.5% plus any extra is to covered by trade offs, etc.

• The Government has made us an offer which has been rejected. This was for 3.0% p.a. (2.5% + 0.5% for trade offs). As well the offer excluded a large slice of our members -- e.g. school administrative & support staff, RTA employees, zoo employees.

• The NSW Industrial Relations Commission has been notified that we will be running an major arbitrated case. There have been a number of "major case conferences" and a recent one worked out a schedule for the preparation and lodging of a evidence.

• PSA staff have been preparing evidence for months now. The biggest item is gathering productivity evidence. We will present detailed evidence highlighting productivity improvements in a sample of agencies.

The NSW Government's Public Sector Wages Policy, issued in September 2007, says "future increases to employee related expenses will be limited to a net cost of 2.5 percent per annum." Any increases of more than 2.5 percent must be funded through employee related cost savings and reforms. . . . "

Some of the proposals which the Government has put to the PSA include:

• reduction in accrual of sick leave;
• requirement of medical certificate when more than 2 consecutive days are taken as sick leave or more than 5 days in any year;
• where an employee takes LWOP for more than 1 year, then their position could be backfilled on a permanent basis;
• if employees have 8 weeks Rec leave accrued then flex leave would not be available;
• removal of the provision for meal allowances on over day journeys;
• Departments' to determine whether it books and pays for accommodation or pays sustenance;
• restrict special leave for trade union activities to maximum 5 days per year;
• replacing job evaluation committees with 1 person who would carry out all the job evaluation for the Department.

The PSA Executive rejected the offer completely, and we told them we would not talk if any offer did not cover all agencies and members under the current award.

The agencies which have been chosen as a representative sample to demonstrate productivity improvements across the sector are:

• NSW Police
• Department of Ageing, disability and Home Care
• Department of Environment and climate change
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Corrective Services
• Department of Education and Training
• Department of Primary Industries
• Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales
• Attorney Generals
• Department of Local Government
• The Rural Fire Service
• Office of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority

The employers have agreed with this is an appropriate sample.

Our claim covers all departments and agencies which are covered by the current public sector salaries award.

Dates set for the hearing of the case are September 4-24 and October 14-16.

The PSA will filed its application last week and all evidence will be filed by 30 April. The Employers will file their evidence by 23 July. The PSA will file evidence in reply by 20 August.