Public Sector Wages

Victorian public servants seek increases

The Victorian branch of the CPSU-SPSF is seeking a pay increase, a reduction in hours and a boost to annual leave to six weeks for members working in electorate offices. Below is a letter from Branch Secretary Karen Batts to State Members of Parliament about the issue.

Community and Public Sector Union
SPSF Group * Victorian Branch

9 September 2003

Dear Member of Parliament,

ELECTORATE OFFICERS ENTERPRISE BARGAINING FIASCO

This morning you would have received a letter from Hon. Judy Maddigan MP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly which refers to Electorate Officers salary increases (attached).

This letter advises Members of Parliament that extensive negotiation and discussion has occurred which we assume implies between the Parliament and Government because they certainly have not been held with CPSU.

It is our understanding that the funding of our federal EO link to salaries has caused some concern and accordingly various options were being discussed at an ERC level. Today we understand that, without any consultation whatsoever, a decision has been made which impacts on your budgets and future staffing levels in order for the Parliament to fund our federal EO link.

It is appalling from our perspective to witness such a blatant disregard for Labor values and principles to even contemplate a jobs trade for dollars.

Members of Parliament must be reminded that our federal EO link to salaries has been a condition offered and accepted by Electorate Officers back to 1997 and was designed to prevent future industrial disputation in relation to salary increases.

From CPSU's perspective, it was always a risk that if our federal electorate officer counterparts did not fare well in their negotiations then we would also not fare well. In other words, if our federal counterparts were to receive less than the State Government pay policy in their negotiations, EO's in Victoria would have had to accept that deal. The fact that our federal counterparts have negotiated greater salary increases this bargaining round has meant that the Government is trying to change the rules and make the funding of those increases a problem for Electorate Officers' job security and your budgets.

Our federal link was not on the agenda for negotiation when we served our log of claims on the 1 April this year because, as aforementioned, the federal link to salaries was already settled and CPSU was prepared to honor our side of the bargain by not attempting to put any additional salary claims on the table.

In order to agree on a new certified agreement, the outstanding deal breakers from our viewpoint relate to the payment of reasonable overtime and salary related expenses (reimbursement for personal use of mobile phones and private vehicle usage), an increase in severance pay by 2 weeks, an additional classification band in our current classification structure to reward those employees with more than 10 years service and a new remuneration committee to deal with any disputes arising from the non recognition of prior service.

There have been many clarification meetings but no negotiations have occurred in relation to our "deal breakers".

Our log of claims has been shunted from the Joint Services Department to the Presiding Officers and back again many times.

The Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) have had our issues on their agenda many times and not dealt with them.

CPSU went back to the Presiding Officers and also back to the Joint Services Department.

Without any negotiation, the last message the union received was delivered by the Joint Services Department which indicated that the response to all our "deal breakers" was an outright NO and in order to maintain what we already have in relation to our federal EO link to salaries, we must have a 75% turn around in the answering of all correspondence and also complete a course in public administration.

In other words, the negotiations have gone backwards.

Further insult to injury was added when we were advised that staff cuts from the pool would be necessary in 2004 to fund our federal link and the MP's would also have to carry the burden by having your 2003 & 2004 budgets cut.

All Members of Parliament need to be absolutely clear that at no stage did the CPSU suggest that your budgets should be tampered with in any shape or form in order to fund our salary increases. In our view the Speaker's letter is mischievous by implying this and could possibly leave the impression that you should somehow no longer support your electorate officers in their endeavor to achieve a certified agreement.

Electorate Officers will be meeting to discuss this latest attack on their job security as well as the refusal by their Employer to properly negotiate a certified agreement this Thursday.

This meeting may potentially result in further industrial action being taken.

Please be aware that such action, if taken, would not be directed towards you, rather those colleagues on Expenditure Review Committee.

Please indicate your support for your electorate staff and help us to remind those making these ridiculous decisions of the true Labor Party values and principles.

Yours sincerely.

KAREN BATT
Victorian Branch Secretary

Debbie Hill
Industrial Officer

© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/public_sector_wages/20030909_negotiations.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005