Rise in reports of sexual harassment in public service during lockdown - SMH 17/11/2021

Reports of sexual harassment in the public service have slightly increased despite months of COVID-19 lockdown when many people were working from home. The NSW Public Service Commission’s annual people matter employee survey which was open to 400,000 workers from August 23 until September 17 suggests that the four months of lockdown failed to lower the proportion of people who had experienced sexual harassment or bullying. It…

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Frontline workers to prove they caught COVID at work - SMH 16/11/2021

Under special exemptions introduced last year, workers in industries including health, transport, hospitality, retail, education, construction, disability and aged care were presumed to have been infected with COVID-19 on the job when making a workers’ compensation claim. The NSW government now plans to repeal that automatic workers’ compensation cover for essential workers such as Josh who, after the changes are introduced, will need to prove…

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School psychologists suffer burnout, ongoing job insecurity amid youth mental health crisis - 10 Nov 2021

https://www.school-news.com.au/news/school-psychologists-suffer-burnout-ongoing-job-insecurity-amid-youth-mental-health-crisis/ The mental health of NSW kids is at risk as school psychologists suffer a high rate of burnout amid worsening job insecurity. The need for better conditions comes as the Federal Government considers a recommendation to introduce a ratio of one psychologist per 500 students in schools. But the union is warning a lack of proper recognition of the psychologists’ qualifications in the education…

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Deputy Premier’s plan for fruit picking public servants highlights regional jobs failure - ABC Radio 15/10/2021

Deputy Premier’s plan for fruit picking public servants highlights regional jobs failure. The PSA has lodged a dispute over a plan to get NSW’s public servants to harvest fruit and grains. Troy Wright, PSA Assistant General Secretary said, “It is a dumb, lazy idea that assumes public servants aren’t already working. The people being asked to volunteer on farms are the people who, among other…

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NSW Government announces "Harvest Leave" for public servants - Yahoo News 15/10/2021

This week the NSW government announced public servants would be given one week's paid 'harvest leave' to help bring in crops, but Mr Jackson said it was only a small fraction of the workers actually needed. "There is a shortfall of at least 10,000 harvest workers this season, and that's because of the COVID restrictions we've had in place," he said. "Now that vaccination rates…

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