PSA delegates and staff listened to the Education Support Staff (ESS) Town Hall message from the Secretary Murat Dizdar yesterday. This included an update on the Flexible Working Arrangements Procedure for ESS employees.

As the PSA reported previously, we were engaged in consultation after the announcement late last year. We conducted member meetings and compiled and submitted substantial feedback on the flexible working procedure on your behalf.

If you missed that bulletin, you can read it HERE.

Town Hall on 27 February 2025

While the Town Hall was general in nature, the union has been provided with a summary of the consolidated staff feedback. Your feedback has resulted in a number of changes to the original draft procedure. These changes were shared with staff yesterday.

• The 50 per cent baseline requirement will be calculated in days, not hours
• Work/office location will be determined by what is on your letter of offer and/or payroll record. Not all roles will be located at Parramatta
• Border towns will be considered to be working within NSW

The new forms and the finalised procedure will be implemented over a transitional period throughout Term 2, to allow all ESS employees to review and submit their arrangements for approval. Teams will be able to discuss and work on this in the interim.

Further representation by the PSA

The PSA has the opportunity to provide further feedback as the procedure is implemented.

We will also continue to represent members on an individual basis including where members have:

• Individual circumstances such as carers’ responsibilities or require reasonable adjustments for disability or a medical condition
• Dramatic or unreasonable impacts due to increased travel time, particularly those who live a significant distance from an office
• Specific conditions or terms that employees were employed under, such as their contract of employment or letter of offer
• The recognition of other written agreements entered into.

It is important to be a PSA member: ask your colleagues to join

PSA delegates and staff have worked tirelessly to ensure protection of flexible arrangements negotiated by the PSA during the COVID era. It is vital all staff are members of the union to guarantee access to individualised support as outlined above.

You can support the work of the union and delegates by asking your colleagues to join the PSA.