Voting for the proposed Enterprise Agreement opened yesterday at 9:00am. The CPSU NSW has raised concerns with The Benevolent Society that changes in conditions for transferred staff have not been adequately explained. As a result of our representations, The Benevolent Society has extended the voting period, which will now close at 5:00pm 24 May 2021. This will allow transferred staff more time to thoroughly consider the proposed changes to employment conditions.
A comparison of the major changes is provided in the table below.
|
Conditions |
The Benevolent Society Copied State Awards 2017 | The Benevolent Society Enterprise Agreement – Proposed |
| Hours of work |
• 35 hours per week with flex time |
• Option to move to 38 hours per week (with additional 3 hours paid at hourly rate)
|
| Flex and RDOs |
• 35-hour work week includes access to ADO |
• 35-hour working week re-classified as part-time with no access to ADO however may average hours to maintain flexibility • 38-hour working week retains access to ADO
|
|
Span of Hours |
• Monday-Friday
• 7:30am-6:00pm |
• Monday-Saturday
• 6:00am-8:00pm |
|
Extended/Long Service Leave |
• Extended Leave accrued at 2.5 months for every 5 years of service | • Long Service Leave accrued at 1 month for every 5 years of service
• (Existing Extended Leave balances preserved) |
| Sick Leave/Personal Carers’ Leave | • 5 days on commencement
• 10 days after 4 months • 15 days per year thereafter |
• 10 days per year |
|
Paid Parental Leave |
• 14 weeks
• 1 week other parent leave |
• 9 weeks for primary care giver
• 2 weeks for non-primary care giver |
|
Paid Union Leave |
• Full access to union meetings • 12 days’ union training per 2 years for all members |
• 2 days’ total leave for CPSU NSW delegates |
|
Domestic Violence Leave |
• Access to accrued leave entitlements |
• 10 days’ paid |
| FACS leave
(including Compassionate Leave) |
• 2.5 for first year of service
• 2.5 for second year of service • 1 day for each successive year of service • Untaken leave accrues |
• 3 days’ compassionate leave • Community service leave in accordance with NES (unpaid) • 10 days’ ceremonial leave (unpaid) |
After considering the totality of changes in the proposed Enterprise Agreement and the range of alternatives available as we approach the end of the period post transfer after which the copied state award would no longer apply, the CPSU NSW recommends members vote to APPROVE this Enterprise Agreement.
The CPSU NSW will continue to work with The Benevolent Society on implementating the new Flexible Work Policy. This will allow members to realise the benefits of this policy at the ground level and ensure that advantageous conditions in the proposed Enterprise Agreement, such as averaging of hours, can be accessed.
If you have and concerns about the above or any other issues, please contact the CPSU NSW.
Join today at www.cpsunsw.org.au/join.
