Department of Finance, Service and Innovation – flexible working hours agreement
Last week, PSA General Secretary Anne Gardiner wrote a letter to a number of people in high-level positions within the NSW public service. Martin Hoffman, Department of Finance, Services and Innovation (DFSI) Secretary was a recipient of this letter which requested an immediate freeze on the 12-month notice period that DFSI provided the PSA under Clause 10.4 of the Crown Employees Public Service (Conditions of Employment) Award 2009 to terminate various flexible working hours agreements (FWHA) within DFSI and implement a single FWHA to apply to all department employees. Mr Hoffman has now responded and declined to agree to a freezing of the notice period.
Additionally, the letter called on the DFSI to undertake an independent gender, carers’ responsibility and WHS impact assessment, and requested a new approach be adopted by the Department giving consideration to a greater diversity of views when it comes to consulting on changes to flexible working agreements.
The PSA had made the request for a moratorium on FWHAs as remarks made by the Premier on International Women’s Day, highlighted flexible work as a key priority for the sector, were inconsistent with the flexible working parameters imposed by the Wages Policy Taskforce (WPT).
A moratorium on FWHA negotiations would have allowed Public Service heads to reconsider their approach to negotiating FWHAs, address the current failures to consult on proposed changes to these hard-won conditions and, at the very least, provide the opportunity to conduct a review of the WPT parameters and bring them into line with remarks made by the Premier.
FWHA Working Group
The PSA has tried to improve a number of clauses in the draft FWHA. However, there is a clear intention by DFSI not to abide by their original commitment to ensure that no employee will be disadvantaged by the new agreement.
We are now waiting to hear back from the Department on whether it is able to meet our request in relation to:
- 12-week settlement period
- 6 flex days
- Uncapped flex per year
- maximum accumulation of 42 hours carry over.
Thank you to the PSA delegates who have been representing the membership on the Flexible Working Hours Agreement negotiations.
