The Public Service Association (PSA) has waited and waited for an offer from NSW Treasury with respect to the Fisheries Employees Award after the PSA advised that we had exhausted our endeavours with representatives of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Unable to put our members at further disadvantage, the PSA filed a dispute with the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to make sure that any outcome would involve the administration of backpay. The PSA was informed on several occasions that another offer was to be made. However, nothing has materialised. No one is advising who is the holdout on the offer: the PSA is of the opinion that it rests with your agency.

So now, the only offer was the one provided in April that was roundly opposed by the PSA and the Fisheries Officers Vocational Branch (FOVB) Executive as being entirely unsatisfactory because it involved an expanded FO3 classification, smaller increases, no Allowances or increases in annual leave.

The offer for Fisheries Technicians would not include keeping flex provisions nor would it review the current gradings of roles before transition would be considered.

Fisheries employees have every right to be furious. And it’s not like the PSA hasn’t been baited and switched before this with the previous bargaining team being let go and a hiatus of six months before the agency entered into discussions again with new participants and new terms.

Before Commissioner Webster on Friday 8 August, the Commissioner made the following recommendation in conciliation:

1. The respondent provide an interim pay increase to the employees the subject of the dispute in the amount of 4%.
2. The employees the subject of the dispute and the PSA does not engage in any industrial action in respect of the matters in dispute while it is before the Commission in either conciliation or arbitration.

As per the PSA’s rules, your union is obligated to provide this offer to our Fisheries Employees membership for endorsement. The PSA Executive and the FOVB Executive recommend that the Fisheries Employees membership accept the interim offer because:

1. It is an immediate increase backdated to the first pay in July
2. It partially deals with the now historical determinants posed by an MoU that was not adhered to and previous agreement from the PSA and Fisheries Employees to accept 3 per cent on the basis that Award negotiation that has not been finalised
3. The interim offer allows the PSA to continue with the negotiation or arbitration of the substantive issues with respect to the Fisheries Award unencumbered.

Whilst the Fisheries Employees Award encompasses all Fisheries employees, the negotiations have been kept separate because of the different structures and claims.

The PSA invites all ranks of Fisheries Officers and Fisheries Technician and Hatcheries Staff members to meetings on Friday 15 August 2025 to discuss the pay offer and strategy of the PSA going forward.

The FOVB Chair has already provided Fisheries Officers with a link to the meeting between 12:00pm-1:00pm.

The link for the Fisheries Technician & Hatcheries Staff meeting between 1.00pm-2.00pm can be found below.

Join the meeting here
Meeting ID 431 321 091 539 8
Passcode vk7VX9Hy

After the meeting to discuss the interim pay offer, the PSA asks that Fisheries Employees provide their response as part of our democratic processes by filling in the survey HERE.

The PSA apologies for the rushed timing of this however, we are required to inform the NSW of our intentions to follow the recommendations by Monday 18 August.