Workers Compensation Commission: Restructure consultation update - Public Service Association

Workers Compensation Commission: Restructure consultation update

Restructure Update - Sept 2020 (PDF version)

The PSA met with management on Thursday 17 September to discuss the PSA’s notification of dispute regarding the Workers Compensation Commission (WCC) restructure.

The following issues were raised:

Consultant’s report

We raised concerns that an understanding of the consultant’s report is vital to being able to respond in a clear and detailed fashion to the proposed changes. Given that members have provided input into the process we would expect that the Department would want to provide at the least an executive summary.

As a result of the PSA’s advocacy, management is reviewing its decision not to provide a copy of the report.

The PIC

The PSA raised members’ concerns regarding the timing of this restructure in light of recent announcements made by Judge Gerard Philips in Edition 2 of the Towards the PIC newsletter. Significantly, that the Personal Injury Commission will lead to major workplace changes within the WCC. The PSA argued that implementing two restructures in less than 12 months was likely to cause unnecessary distress to workers and contended that suspending the current restructure and using one processes to deliver all of the PIC-related changes at once would be a preferable way to proceed.

This issue was taken on notice by management and the PSA will update members on any developments.

Flexitime

The PSA understands members have been informed that they are only allowed to work seven hours a day when they are working from home. PSA contends that this is an incorrect interpretation of the Department of Customer Service’s flexible working arrangements, which apply to the Workers Compensation Commission.

Due to the threat of COVID-19, the PSA has agreed with the executive of the Department of Customer Service to allow all workers to work from home unless there are operational reasons that preclude them from doing so.

All regular flexible working practices apply as they are detailed in the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation Flexible Working Hours Agreement 2016, regardless of whether you are working in the office or working from home. The only exception is that, due to the exceptional circumstances that COVID-19 has put workers in, the union and management have agreed to temporarily abolish core hours and expand the daily bandwidth to 6:00am to 10:00pm.

It is important that members input their hours honestly and accurately when completing timesheets.

If you have any issues regarding this matter, email your Organiser, Harry Wall, on or call the Member Support Centre on 1300 772 679.

Next steps

The PSA has listened to the concerns of members regarding this restructure and sent a combined submission to management on Friday 18 September representing your views.

We keenly await the decision on whether to proceed with the restructure or to postpone it due to the impending changes that will be caused by the PIC.

If you have questions or concerns, you can contact your Organiser, Harry Wall, on or call the Member Support Centre on 1300 772 679.

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