THE ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES – WHERE TO NOW?

THE ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES – WHERE TO NOW – April 2019 (PDF version)

The PSA and combined unions met with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) Industrial Relations representatives today 2 April 2019, as part of the Award negotiating processes. This was effectively taken over by discussion on the announcements first circulated yesterday 1 April 2019, in The Sydney Morning Herald regarding the public service portfolio changes and the subsequent decision for Transport for NSW to subsume the Roads and Maritime Services.

In that meeting, there were a number of questions put to the RMS ranging on topics about the status of the Award negotiations; the mechanisms used to transfer staff; the current status of ongoing reform work in the RMS and; the lack of operational clauses in the Transport for NSW Award.

However, there were very few answers as there are no Administration Orders that went with the announcement and no information other than the emails sent by the DPC Secretary Tim Reardon and the Transport Secretary Rodd Staples. Much of the conversations revolved around past practice for Machinery of Government changes.

The PSA and the combined unions consider this to be a breach of the RMS Consolidated Salaried Award 2017 with regard to Clause 7 Consultation and Significant Workplace Change.

The PSA and combined unions have sought the assistance of the Unions NSW Secretary to write to the new Transport and Roads Minister and the Premier and Cabinet Secretary as a matter of urgency seeking to outline our concerns and meet to discuss the implications of the announcement for RMS staff and PSA members.

The PSA and combined unions are considering applications to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission as part of the dispute settlement processes.

The PSA will provide further detail as it comes to hand.

With the level of uncertainty this decision causes, there has never a better time to be a union member.