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PSA CPSU NSW Retired Associates: November update

The PSA CPSU NSW Retired Associates met on 22 October 2024 at PSA House and via Zoom.

Julie-Ann Bond, Manager of the Environment, Trade, Industry and Other (ETIO) Team, gave an executive update and discussed the following:

• salary matters and the extensive negotiations which have taken place to achieve an outcome;
• cost-of-living pressures are biting – impacting union members and across the community;
• Women’s Conference, which was a well-attended and well-received event with high-calibre speakers;
• Departmental Committee meetings taking place at PSA House – key role of delegates;
• promoting diversity;
• importance of staff getting out of PSA House, being seen at work sites, engaging with existing members and recruiting new members;
• underfunding of public housing over the years, highlighting the hard work of Housing DC members to highlight issues facing the community and
• no changes to GSE Act as yet.

We also had a great presentation from Ash Fowler, Policy Manager, Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA). Ash’s presentation referred to a wide range of issues including aged care, transport, older driver testing, loss of banking and other services, elder abuse, social inclusion and impact of the cost of living.

One issue highlighted by Ash was how some older people feel forgotten about in our online world and their anxiety about a cashless society, loss of cheques and their worries about being scammed.

People over 60 are now 25 per cent of the population in NSW yet consultation strategies are run by some government agencies where feedback can only be provided on-line.

Ash also advised that joining the CPSA costs $15 for an individual. =This enables members to have the organisation’s publication The Voice mailed to them.  The Voice is also available in PDF format on the CPSA website.

The approved minutes of the August meeting are attached HERE, and draft minutes of the October meeting are attached HERE.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 3 December 2024. Our guest speaker will be Ruth Davis, a retired mental health nurse who will be talking to us about looking after our mental health and well-being over the Christmas-New Year period.

Carmel McKeough
Secretary
PSA CPSU NSW Retired Associates