Service NSW Joint Consultative Committee update - Public Service Association

Service NSW Joint Consultative Committee update

The Service NSW JCC was held on 25 August 2021 and was attended by PSA Delegates and Industrial Staff with Senior SNSW Management, this bulletin is a report back to members on that meeting.

COVID-19 arrangements

It would be no surprise to members that COVID-19 and its impacts and challenges on every area of business was the major discussion point between the parties, particularly in a week where we have had the highest number of Service Centres (five) being impacted directly. In brief the areas discussed were:

Vaccinations

Members are reminded that they are eligible for up to two hours of Special Leave to assist with getting vaccinated and are encouraged to do so. The JCC was also advised that priority access to vaccinations for SNSW staff within the 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in areas of concerns will be available.

The PSA has been advocating since February for priority access to vaccination for our members who have to work with the public face-to-face and will continue to do so.

Pandemic Special Leave

It has been brought to the PSA’s attention that there is a level of confusion amongst members as to individuals access to the Pandemic Special Leave as allowed for by C2021 – 14 Employment Arrangements during COVID-19.

In short, if you are excluded from the workplace due to a COVID-19-related contact (and you are not sick), then you should have access to up to 20 days of Special Leave. While there is a public sector-wide FAQ currently available, Service NSW (SNSW) is looking to put out its own specific FAQ.

The PSA reminds members that if they are uncertain as to their eligibility, they can contact the PSA for further advice.

Red/Blue rosters

The Red/Blue Rosters currently in place throughout Greater Sydney will continue. However, no decision has been made yet as to whether there is a need to extend this into regional areas. Any decision to do so will be made if there is a change to the risk profile, which is reviewed on a daily basis following the Premiers announcement by the SNSW leadership team.

Workloads

It has been widely acknowledged there has been a significant impact on workloads, particularly for the Contact Centres and that there has also been a change in the type of call.

The PSA was advised that there are currently two training packages in development to assist staff, such as dealing with vicarious trauma, and the PSA hopes these will be available to CC staff soon. However, at this point SNSW could not commit to a timeframe.

There was a sincere acknowledgement from SNSW about the voluntary take up by staff to undertake the calls through additional hours and overtime. While your employer is aware the queues have exponentially increased, it is not pushing for more productivity

Staff wellbeing

A general reminder to members that there are supports available to you, as well as your family, through Benestar-EAPS and you are encouraged to utilise these resources. In addition, if you are struggling with workloads, please discuss it with your immediate team leader. The PSA reminds you that if you are not comfortable approaching  management in the first instance, you can always contact your union for further assistance.

CCO/CSR (Contact Centres) dispute

Since the previous JCC, PSA Delegates have provided feedback to SNSW on new Role Descriptions and Score Cards. While it would be fair to say that there is a difference of opinion between the PSA and SNSW as to whether these will resolve the issue, they have progressed to next stage of the approval process and should still be in line for an anticipated implementation in October.

The other main area of work which we hope will deliver some clear delineation between these two roles within the Contact Centres is the task mapping. This is still in the early stages, with Development and Improvement, and will be put out for further consultation with the PSA when ready.

Genesys rollout

In response to concerns raised by your PSA Delegates, the Genesys Project Manager provided the committee with a high-level overview of the project and its progress. So far the project has seen approximately 900 roles across the Department of Customer Service (DCS) transition into Service NSW through the Customer Engagement Integration, with a further 600 roles earmarked to transition in the future.

Issues raised by the PSA were around leave visibility. There was an acknowledgment by Service NSW that more training can be provided to assist staff with this and issues around rostering, as the system needs to be in line with the pay cycle.

Again it was acknowledged there are some complexities in this, particularly for staff who have a back-to-back late finish and early start.

There were further discussions around functions such as screen recording, which, while possible, will not be available until privacy issues can be resolved as it captures everything on the screen. In addition, the US date convention is unlikely to be changed anytime soon.

Start and finish times and overtime inconsistencies

Another longstanding, ongoing issue is how start up and finish times are managed across Service and Contact Centres alike.

SNSW has completed a survey of Management and Team Leaders. The PSA is looking forward to further discussions with SNSW with a view to getting a consistent process across the organisation.

 

 

 

 

 

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