Mercer member bulletin – March 2018 (PDF version)
The CPSU NSW met with Mercer on Wednesday 21 March for the Joint Consultative Committee at the Coniston Boardroom. Three CPSU NSW delegates and the CPSU Industrial Officer attended.
Mercer is looking at policy alignment and integration to merge Mercer policies with Pillar policies, which are still active. The areas it is looking at are:
Functional:
And Client:
Mercer is processing this policy by policy, although some policies are not applicable and Mercer remuneration will differ, but remuneration is not a high priority at present. The annual performance process will change in line with the financial year.
Shared Services is split into four, each as its own team. Instead of working “vertically”, the shift is to work “horizontally”. This is a “pilot” group at present. Mercer tells the CPSU NSW that it has spoken to all the teams and that this is an open process and is customer-focused. It informed us at the table that it is happy to work with the CPSU NSW.
Regarding a smoking policy, Mercer has consulted with stakeholders, defining the problem and seeking solutions.
The final meeting will be held this week. Mercer will send out an email declaring Mercer a smoke-free site, but is trialling a designated smoking area.
The CPSU NSW delegates put “flex leave” on the agenda in General Business. Some employees have been asking managers about using flex leave and have been declined, with managers responding that those employees don’t have enough hours. The CPSU NSW thought that some managers may not understand what flex is and how it can be utilised.
At the JCC, HR management has committed to following this up and will report back to the CPSU NSW.
Enterprise Agreement Negotiations won’t be until the end of 2018 and the CPSU NSW will need to run an election for its workplace group before then. The CPSU NSW Organiser can assist the Mercer Workplace Group with this process. Workplace delegates may attend the Joint Consultative Committee meetings (held four times per year) and attend Union Training and Conferences. They also can take part in the Enterprise Bargaining process. They are people who are committed to assisting members in their workplaces and we thank them for their dedication.
CPSU NSW has just launched its own web site: https://cpsunsw.org.au/. Any news for members in Mercer or photographs of members or delegates at work, we would love to put up on that site.
Our next Joint Consultative Committee meeting with Mercer will be on 6 June.
