TAFE Member bulletin update – Oct 2019 (PDF version)
The CPSU NSW acknowledges the ICT Single Service Desk, and TAFE’s proposal to implement a roster (with one RDO every four weeks) has not been received well by staff we have engaged with.
The implementation of a roster has actually been communicated to staff as a union idea, when it was not.
The original management proposal for the Single Service Desk was no flex days and no roster days; i.e. straight seven-hour shifts on a rotating roster. We believe this was management’s intention for the Single Service Desk staff back in March 2019.
The CPSU NSW consistently pushed back and argued against the implementation of a seven-hour per day maximum roster. There is nothing in the TAFE Administrative and Support Enterprise Agreement 2016 that allows TAFE to place any classification of employee on such a roster – so TAFE was forced to back down. So this was, in fact, a win for us.
However, TAFE followed this up with the argument that Single Service Desk staff should be regarded as rostered workers.
According to Clause 41.3 of the EA “an employee who is rostered over a twelve-week period shall be entitled to three rostered days off over the work cycle. A rostered employee may defer the taking of a rostered day off to a later date where agreed, where operational requirements permit”.
Management came back and said Single Service Desk staff will now be classified as rostered workers or day workers on a roster, as such will be entitled to three RDOs per 12-week cycle.
TAFE informed SSD staff that the implementation of this roster will be introduced on 5 December 2019. It advised:
1.Change in operating hours to 8am-6pm, across the state, to support implementation of Single Service Desk Initiative Go Live.
SSD Go Live currently scheduled for 5 December 2019
2.Implementation of a Roster System
a) Implement a daily roster with 6 different start/end times to cover all hours we are open (8am-6pm)
b) Implement a rotation system to fairly allocate the 6 start/end times to all service desk staff
c) The rostered time slot will be for 7 hrs and 22mins per day, with 1 Rostered Day off (RDO) per month
d) Monthly RDO will be fairly and equitably distributed to all service desk team members on a rotational basis (Mon-Fri) via the roster
e) Roster will be for a two-week period with a forecast of six months
The CPSU NSW never agreed with TAFE that SSD workers should move from flex onto rosters. While implementing the roster per above, may be an option for TAFE, our position is it should not replace flex time where staff have this condition. CPSU-NSW believes there needs to be the ability to accrue flex on top of the guaranteed one RDO per four weeks.
In discussion with TAFE at the IBCC, both parties have indeed agreed that more flexible arrangements for employees should be available where a local arrangement meets all customer requirements, operational needs and there is no detrimental impact on cost. We intend to carry this into our November/December IBCC flex discussions.
We will report back during those upcoming negotiations.
Members – please consider forwarding this bulletin to non-member colleagues, placing it in notice boards and distributing in your workplace.
