News

New WaterNSW Enterprise Agreement voted up

The ballot for the proposed WaterNSW Enterprise Agreement 2022 concluded Friday 9 September 2022 , and was voted up with a resounding YES vote, with the final results being:

• 600 of 825 (72.7 per cent) of eligible employees participated in the vote
• 535 (89 per cent) voted yes
• 65 (11 per cent) voted no

The CPSU NSW would like to thank all involved in the Bargaining Team. In particular, the CPSU NSW bargaining representatives Scott Butler and Andrew Harrison.

This is a culmination of nine months of bargaining, resulting in the following changes in pay and conditions for WaterNSW staff.

• 2.53 per cent pay increase (plus 0.5 per cent superannuation) effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2022.
• Simplified Pay and Classification structure Simplified PCS which clarifies pay progression and reduces the years of service required to progress to maximum pay for each grade. Grades 1-7, two per cent progression to maximum. Grades 8-10, 2 per cent progression to mid-point, one per cent progression to maximum.
• Bonus system name change to ‘performance pay’.
• New Performance zero per cent if “not met”, 1.1 per cent if “partially met”, 2.8 per cent if on target, and 3.4 per cent if “out performance”. NB: to pay for the 0.2 per cent cost of the simplified PCS, and the restrictive NSW Government’s wages policy, there is 0.2 per cent reduction in the performance pay matrices.
• Temporary employment: Updated wording and removal of 36-month cap; reporting to PCG on arrangements greater than 24 months.
• Incident Roster arrangements: Updated wording to clarify night shift rate applies to entire shift at same rate.
• Include traditional kinship in definition of family member.
• Acknowledgement of Country at beginning of Enterprise Agreement.
• Parental Leave provisions improved and aligned to the rest of the NSW public sector.
• Added exhaustion of personal leave, hardship and any other reason approved by WaterNSW to Special leave.
• Annual Leave – Removal of additional day of leave granted for 2021/22 only. Removal of the requirement to take two consecutive weeks. If there is to be a soft shutdown during the Christmas/New Year period it will be brought to the Peak Consultative Group at least three months prior to the proposal. Words added to clarify ‘usual work location’.
• Military payment updated to 2021/2022 rates

What happens next?

The Bargaining Team will now prepare the appropriate documentation to submit to the Fair Work Commission within the week for the EA to be formally approved. It is expected to be approved and ratified in October 2022.