Active PSA Delegates Ida and Ross and PSA Industrial Officers Phoebe Dangerfield and Amy Lennox attended a Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meeting on 20 October with the new Deputy Secretary Shane Hamilton, representatives from People, Culture and Talent (PCT), and one of the new functional review leads Tony Lloyd.
As this was the first JCC meeting, and acknowledging the change of leadership at Aboriginal Affairs (AANSW), all parties recognised a shared goal of a safe, stable and productive workplace for all.
The key matters that members nominated as their main concerns at the most recent AANSW member meeting in June were raised. You put forward strong positions on job security, WHS (predominantly mental health and wellbeing), and the way your employer undertakes change management. In particular, you indicated that six-month contract extensions does damage to workforce stability and safety, and that staff need to see movement on the Functional Review as soon as possible.
Mr Hamilton acknowledged and agreed that there is considerable work to do in getting AANSW and its workforce to where it wants to be. Mr Hamilton and Mr Lloyd listened to concerns and expressed the importance of actively engaging with all staff in meaningful consultation to be able to bring about important changes and improvements that suit staff, community and business needs.
People, Culture and Talent spoke to updates to WHS policies, and the status of the draft Aboriginal Employment Strategy. They agreed that a review of psychosocial safety supports will be important to assess and mitigate barriers to accessing supports.
Overall, the JCC proved a crucial forum to highlight the employee voice and raise the key issues that matter to members. All members should congratulate themselves on their ability to work together at the last member meeting to confirm and deliver a united position. Moving forward, a successful JCC will need members to continue to mobilise in order to highlight key issues and hold management accountable to solutions.
The PSA is also pleased to see the development this week that AANSW will be running talent pool recruitment to improve staff security at their current grades and recognises the timeliness of this announcement after the JCC. If you would like to clarify your entitlements with regards to these processes, we strongly encourage you to contact the PSA Member Support Centre to discuss your individual circumstances. Your matter will be escalated to the Industrial Team where required.
For a full report back on the meeting please get in touch with Ida or Ross. The next member meeting will be in December, an invite will be sent to you in due course, to offer an opportunity to talk further about the JCC and the next steps as we close out the year and prepare to enter 2023.
PSA Members are reminded that all union members are entitled 12 training days every two years under your Award. If you are interested in becoming a delegate or would like to be more involved with the PSA, follow the think to sign up for our Training sessions HERE and contact your Industrial Officer Amy Lennox via .