There is power in being part of the union. The first quarter of the year has been a busy three months for the PSA/CPSU NSW. Below are just some of the recent successes we’ve had.
The PSA won a case in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) against the Rural Fire Service (RFS) over the employer’s policies for managing bullying complaints. The IRC has ordered the RFS to speed up its resolution process and questioned a system where an employee has to continue to work under a manager they have reported for bullying.
After a long campaign by the PSA, members at Destination NSW are now covered by the superior Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Reviewed Award 2009. Members will receive Extended Leave as opposed to Long Service Leave, have better overtime entitlements and will be able to work under a Flexible Working Hours Agreement.
After the PSA raised health and safety concerns, management has agreed to replace the leaky roof at Blacktown Court House, which was creating a mouldy work environment for members. The renovation will commence this financial year.
With another mould win, when a Health and Safety Representative in a Central Coast Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) office noticed black mould in her workplace, she took the issue up with management. After a series of meetings, she convinced managers to close the office and for staff to work in safer environments either in another DCJ office or from home.
Two PSA members in schools have received a “life-changing” amount of back pay after discovering underpayment that went back many years. After investigating their pay claim, the Department was cooperative and their back pay was transferred to the PSA members as soon as possible.
Team Leaders at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA) have healthier bank balances thanks to work by the CPSU NSW. The members received thousands of dollars in back pay after the CPA confirmed it had concluded calculating what it owed workers. The employer had planned to delete the Team Leader roles, but a campaign by the CPSU NSW meant the positions were retained.
A PSA member noticed their overtime pay as a Casual Correctional Officer was being calculated incorrectly, with an additional 15 per cent to the base rate of pay missing. After the PSA approached Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) on the issue, the member’s pay was recalculated and they were reimbursed for the outstanding amount. Other Casual Officers who had worked overtime later received outstanding payments.
The State Government has failed to pass legislative changes that would have forced workers exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace to prove they had not been exposed to the pandemic elsewhere. The proposed changes had met with fierce resistance from unions, including the PSA/CPSU NSW.
A call to the PSA/CPSU NSW Member Support Centre (MSC) yielded good results for a member in disability provider Livebetter. The member had been made to sign a contract for a permanent position on the inferior Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award, with the threat that if they didn’t sign it then they wouldn’t get any shifts. Once the member made a telephone call to the MSC, their employer returned them to the superior Copied State Award and back paid the difference in their wages.
After pressure from the PSA, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has started filling vacant roles at the Transport Management Centre.
The PSA conducted a Workplace, Health and Safety (WHS) inspection at NSW Trustee and Guardian Service Centre 6 after receiving multiple complaints from members regarding unsafe work conditions. The PSA identified some issues which the union and management worked together to rectify.
Concerned about the safety of our members, the PSA successfully lobbied Youth Justice to move an 18-year-old client to a correctional facility for adults. The client had been responsible for a number of assaults on staff.
After the PSA’s intervention, TfNSW had concede to staff there is no restriction to three flex days per settlement period for members in Shared Services.
In a major win for PSA members in the Special Constables Security Management Unit, members received back payment of their uniform allowance. For some long-serving members, this back pay amounted to more than $1,000.
Corrective Services NSW has responded to pressure from the PSA over staff shortages and has committed to recruiting a large number of additional personnel, as well as providing casual-to-ongoing roles to staff in the talent pool.
NSW Police has finally admitted its plan to move Radio Operations Group staff from Penrith to Surry Hills is not happening. The announcement last year met with spirited resistance from the PSA and delegates and was shelved. This year’s confirmation that members will stay in Penrith is vindication for the hard work members and union staff put in to defeat the proposal.
Members in TAFE will no longer be subject to Key Performance Indicators as their union, the CPSU NSW, pointed out there had been no consultation on the move.
After staff rejected a previous pay offer, the CPSU NSW has negotiated a better salary increase from TransGrid. The employer has presented staff with two consecutive offers of three per cent increases in the next two years.
There is always so much that happens to our members in the workplace. Always remember, if you need any help at work, please contact us and we will assist to resolve the issue.
Yours in union,
Nicole Jess
President
