Land and Property Information PSA media statement – May 2017 (PDF version)

The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported taxpayers could potentially pay tens of millions because of LPI F6 bungle. Typically, and disgracefully, Finance Minister Victor Dominello once again rushed to blame the bungle on LPI staff, rather than recognise the real cause: his Government’s privatisation-at-any-cost agenda.

See the PSA media statement debunking the Minister’s false assertion HERE.

LPI pay rises post-transition

As LPI T&R staff will be aware, your conditions and entitlements found in your current Award will be carried over to the new employer for a period of four years as per the conditions of employment guarantee your union campaigned for as the privatisation bill went through the NSW Parliament.

Quite literally, your state award is copied word for word, and it will exist in the federal sphere.

This copied state award will also include the carry over of your flexible-working-hours entitlements.

However, despite the copied state Award being tied to the state Salaries Award, Treasury has provide LPI advice that any pay rises will be in line with the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage reviews. Whilst the Fair Work Act and related Transitional Act does include a section allowing for the variation of a copied state Award relating to wages, the PSA does not agree that it is automatically linked to the annual wage review. The relevant section of the Transitional Act is:

• In an annual wage review, the FWC may make a determination varying terms of a Division 2B State award relating to wages.

However this only allows that the Fair Work Commission may make a determination of this type. In other areas of PSA coverage the PSA has fought for and won an increase of 2.5 per cent to apply when the FWC increased wages by 2.4 per cent.

For your reference, the past three years the FWC annual review has increased wages as such:

• 3 per cent on 1 July 2014

• 2.5 per cent on 1 July 2015

• 2.4 per cent in 1 July 2016

The PSA is seeking further legal advice on this matter, but members can be assured, the PSA will fight for fair and appropriate pay rises, which are at a minimum the 2.5 per cent, which would have automatically applied had the Government not sold off LPI.