Parliament House – members bulletin – 12 August 2015

Parliament House members bulletin – 12 August 2015 (PDF version)

PSA Joint Consultative Committee

The Parliament House PSA Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) last met on 23 July 2015. The Consultative Committee is the forum where your union delegates and officials meet with management to discuss and determine the issues that affect you in your workplace.

Members’ staff employment arrangements

Although the Members of Parliament Staff Act 2013 has been in force for over a year, its impact on employment security is only now being felt. Members of Parliament are permitted to hire and fire staff virtually at will and there is no minimum length of contract for staff. Some staff have been on rolling 3 month contracts at the Member’s request.

At the JCC meeting, management advised that after 6 months employment and subject to approval by the Member of Parliament, staff can be recommended for ‘ongoing’ employment. ‘Ongoing’ is the new term for ‘permanent’ and will be used for consistency purposes across the NSW public service. As Members’ staff do not have access to the Industrial Relations Commission, management has agreed to apply internal appeal guidelines to any employment issues that arise.

The PSA remains concerned that the Members of Parliament Staff Act 2013 not only substantially reduces the industrial rights of the staff of Members but also has the capacity to undermine the quality of the relationship between MPs and the staff they work with. We are currently investigating what access Members’ staff have to adjudication of disputes by the Fair Work Commission in the absence of access to the Industrial Relations Commission.

Public Sector Capability Framework

The Public Sector Capability Framework is currently being rolled out for all agencies in the NSW public sector. It is a new method of describing the capabilities required to perform a role, and will form the basis of all recruitment and performance development. Management is examining the capability framework for application to Parliament House. When a draft of any proposed changes to current policies has been completed, management will consult with the PSA and staff.

Advising the PSA

Please remember to advise the PSA if your work situation changes, especially if you move workplaces or leave Parliament House, so that your PSA membership information can be updated.

Your PSA workplace delegates

• April Lowndes, Legislative Assembly
• David Hale, Legislative Assembly
• Perri Hodge, Legislative Assembly
• Kelly Marks, Legislative Council
• Greg Shaw, Legislative Council
• Santiago Naves Gomez, DPS