PSA News – 30 March 2015

NSW Electoral Commission – a job well done

Congratulations to PSA members in the NSW Electoral Commission for their outstanding work in relation to the State Election over the weekend.

The systems they have put in place along with their website made following the election a very user friendly experience for the people of NSW.

ServiceFirst members take action

ServiceFirst which employs over 300 staff in Parramatta, the CBD, and across regional NSW is an award winning shared service provider managing IT, HR, payroll and finance for DPC, NSW Treasury, Office of Finance and Services, Service NSW and the PSC.

Under the Government’s plan, ServiceFirst is to be privatised with up to 240 of the 300 positions likely to be sent overseas.

Following strong media coverage, in mid March, a community run petition to support staff at ServiceFirst was handed to the Labor Party MPs in Parramatta by ServiceFirst staff and PSA General Secretary Anne Gardiner.

To see the photo of the petition handover click HERE

On 26 March, over 150 members from ServiceFirst walked off the job in Parramatta and at the McKell Building in Sydney to protest against the State Government’s plans to privatise and off shore their jobs.

In Parramatta, 100 ServiceFirst members were joined by 50 members from Community Services with another 50 ServiceFirst members taking a stand at the McKell Building.

Members in Parramatta marched through the streets to the office of Liberal MP Geoff Lee chanting slogans such as “ServiceFirst is not for sale, keep our jobs in NSW!”

See photos of the walk out HERE

To read the PSA media release click HERE

To read the Sydney Morning Herald article about the Government’s plans, click HERE

Community Services action

Buoyed by the action taken on 19 March by Community Services members at Lakemba, Penrith, St Marys, Shellharbour, Nowra, Coniston, Ballina, Tweed Heads, Lismore, Tamworth, Ingleburn and the Blue Mountains, more Community Services caseworkers and support staff walked off the job for an hour at lunchtime on 26 March.

The spontaneous walkout by members in Taree, Armidale, Windsor, Fairfield, Parramatta, Blacktown and Coonabarabran was again in response to the NSW Government’s failure to properly resource child protection.

You can see the photos of the 26 March action HERE

You can see the photos of the 19 March action HERE

You can read just some of the media coverage of both actions HERE

And HERE

Working with children check

On 27 November 2013, the PSA lodged a dispute in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) over the lack of consultation by the Department of Community Services regarding the implementation of new Working with Children Check (WWCC) provisions which incurred an $80 fee for a 5 year clearance to work with children.

The WWCC legislation was silent on whether the employee or employer should pay this fee.

The PSA argued that this was an employer related cost and as such should be paid by the employer.

Given the wide application of this issue, UnionNSW became involved and this lead to an application for a new award, the Child Protection (Working With Children) Award 2014.

On 3 February 2015, the award application was heard by a Full Bench of the IRC.

The arguments from both parties were complex and it took some time for the Full Bench of the Commission to give due consideration to the merits of the submissions by the parties.

On 19 March, the application for an award to permit the reimbursement of monies for the working with children check was dismissed.

This means that staff who have paid for their WWCC clearance will not be reimbursed by their employer and employees who have yet to pay for the clearance must shoulder the cost themselves.

The decision can be read HERE

NSW Government accused of breaching international labor obligations

The PSA, the ACTU and the CPSU have joined forces calling on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to investigate the conduct of the NSW Government in its attack on fundamental workers’ rights.

To read the media release click HERE

To read the official complaint click HERE

Public Services International report into privatisation of public services

Australian affiliates, including the PSA through its federal counterpart, of the global union federation, Public Services International (PSI), have welcomed a new report which outlines why the privatisation of public assets and services is fundamentally flawed.

The report, ‘Why Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) don’t work,’ by Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) assesses the experience of PPPs in countries both rich and poor.

You can read the media release HERE

You can read the report HERE

Red Tape

Members should have received the latest edition of Red Tape last week.

We have had feedback from some members that the journal did not arrive.

Given increased postage expenses, we would like to make sure that this interesting read is being delivered to you.

If you did not get Red Tape please email with your name and home address so that we can identify any issues.

To read the March edition click HERE