Your union and delegates met with SafeWork management on 12 December 2024 to continue discussions around the restructure and also for the last consultative sub-committee meeting for the year.

Matters discussed included:

Team Coordinator roles

SafeWork is putting out Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for backfilling of vacant Team Coordinator (TC) roles which it hopes to fill the week starting 6 January 2025. EOIs are internal but will also be advertised externally in January 2025.

Questions were raised about TCs appearing in SAP as TC1 when they should be TC2. We were asked to advise members to escalate that through managers who should lodge tickets with GovConnect.

Lower Grade roles in mobility

It was recognised that an impacted employee’s profile in mobility is based on their substantive grade so they would not be matched to a lower grade role or be offered one but people can advise that they are willing to consider one if available.  This does not mean that they would get priority, nor would they get salary maintenance.

Recruitment

SafeWork is working on recruiting more Inspectors. There will be a second cohort recruited to, early next year. SafeWork is also bringing back the opportunities for Inspectors to move through other teams to give them more professional development.

There are 10 roles in Department of Customer Service mobility at the moment and a number of clerk grade roles still to be filled.

Finance partners

Consultation will commence in January 2025 with a view to onboarding finance partners in February.

SAP locations

There are erroneous locations showing up in SAP. The PSA reminds members to go into SAP and check that your Headquarters are correctly identified.

P Card usage

The Deputy Secretary talked to a proposal to reduce the number of P Cards issued and retained across SafeWork NSW which they believe will improve financial control, enhance procurement practices and minimise financial risk.

While use of P Cards by Inspectors is not within the scope of this proposal, usage by Regulatory Service Officers (RSOs) is. The PSA invites RSOs to raise any concerns they have with their local delegate, Louisa Burns, in the first instance.

Laundry Allowance back pay

We are advised that SafeWork is working with the Building Commission and Fair Trading to identify employees who should receive the back pay. It is taking longer than first envisaged and they SafeWork expects it will be (at the earliest) late March 2025 before the matter is resolved.

Vehicle policy

A working group has been formed and will begin meeting at end of January 2025. Vehicle accessories will be included in their deliberations.

Referrals to the Resource Regulator

A new process for referrals to the Resource Regulator is being developed. The backlog of issues is being dealt with through internal issue resolution and the rest of the matters will be handed over to the Regulator to deal with.  We expect to have more information on the process early in the new year.

Work Health and Safety: Gosford incident

Safety and Wellbeing advised that the crisis management team took over the matter. Communications were sent out, a dedicated EAP line created and a working group has been reviewing a draft violence and aggression risk assessment. Extra security guards were also employed.

Mutual Sick Leave Fund

The September balance for the Mutual Sick Leave Fund was 2442.31 days. The PSA and Delegates will meet with Employee Relations to seek further understanding of how the number was arrived at before confirming agreement with balance.

Office refurbishment

The refurbishment of the Donnison Street office in Gosford is still in consultation.  Please advise your delegates if you have concerns to raise.

We remind members that weekly meetings with management are continuing, with the first one for 2025 due to occur on 16 January.  If you have any questions, comments or feedback please talk with your local delegates in the first instance:

Maree Davidson
maree.davidson@safework.nsw.gov.au

Toni McKay
toni.mckay@safework.nsw.gov.au

Gavin Parker
gavin.parker@safework.nsw.gov.au

Dave Chamings
dave.chamings@safework.nsw.gov.au

Louisa Burns
louisa.burns@safework.nsw.gov.au

Jodie Cleaves
Jodie.Cleaves@safework.nsw.gov.au