Gladys Berejiklian – The Grinch who stole Christmas – December 2017 (PDF version)

As Stewart Little, General Secretary, informed you in his Christmas message a few weeks back – the PSA wrote to the Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, regarding Christmas Eve Concessional Leave for Public Servants.

If you are working on the morning of Christmas Eve (Sunday 24 December), you are entitled to concessional leave for the afternoon after you have worked a standard half day. If you have to work the afternoon as well, you can take your concessional leave on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve (Sunday 31 December).

Traditionally, concessional leave was made available to staff working on the Friday prior to Christmas Eve when it was the last regular business day prior to Christmas.

The former Premier, Mike Baird, ended this practice last year without any consultation with the PSA. As was noted, this entitlement has been enjoyed by public servants for close to 100 years without interruption – be it depression or war.

Despite receiving our letter in mid-November asking for her to reinstate the entitlement, Premier Berejiklian has still has not responded!

This is a government that doesn’t care for tradition or for the people who keep this state running.

The PSA will be lodging an application in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to have the Christmas Concessional Leave entitlement recognised in our Awards and end this farce.

Unfortunately, the inability, or unwillingness, of the Premier to respond to our simple request means public servants will have had their Concessional Leave stolen for a second year running by the Christmas Grinch.