At the 4th Enterprise Agreement meeting with Ministerial & Parliamentary Services (M&PS) on 7th April 2016, your ASU bargaining team handed the committee a summary list of issues staffers want to see resolved.
- Retain relevant bargaining agents for Agreement and bargain around genuine productivity enhancements
- Additional term that recognises some positions covered by Agreement may become individually specialised
- Future negotiations clause
- Objectives of dispute settlement procedure
- No change to hours of work
- Better operation of Travel Allowance
- Change allocation of Electorate Services Allowance (ESA)/Parliamentary Services Allowances (PSA) from job to employee
- Enhancement of PPL, Adoption Leave and Supporting Parent Leave options
- Base Salary increase 3% p.a. backdated to July 2015
- Productivity allowance of 4 payments over life of agreement at the flat rate of $700.28
- Total Remuneration Package to apply increase to additional remuneration components including ESA/PSA and Superannuation
- Better operation of study entitlements
The ASU expects to present the detailed claim at the next meeting.
The ASU also proposes to continue to pursue resolution of your issues.
In particular, members have raised concerns about a fair and reasonable pay offer.
The Australian Public Sector Commission (APSC) bargaining policy
To date, government’s proposed changes include removal of your Union as a party to the agreement, diminishment of consultation terms as well as the Employee Consultative Group (ECG) Framework. Mostly, proposals from government have been presented as removing words contentiously described as having little value or importance or when the conditions are described in M&PS policies or determinations. The ASU believes many of the proposals to change your provisions will lessen the authority of the agreement and are not genuine improvements to productivity.
Of significant concern to the ASU are specific proposals under discussion from M&PS that would see an increase weekly hours for staff. The increase in hours could lead to a loss of a staff member and would have a disproportionate impact on part-time staff.
Another item that greatly concerns the ASU is a proposal to burden individual staffers with repayment of any travel costs incurred in excess of the electorate global budget entitlement.
Government don’t want to discuss a pay offer
ASU members should not have trade-off valuable consultation provisions when genuine productivity measures can and should be discussed. The ASU will continue to put forward member’s views on the productivity enhancements staff that have been making to address ongoing management of new forms of communication with constituents as well as larger electorate sizes. We believe dedicated staff should be valued and awarded with a fair and reasonable remuneration offer.
The ASU knows members have not received any improvement to their rates of pay since June 2014 and the ASU does not accept that Staff should be persuaded by a take it or leave it approach to bargaining while government plays a waiting game. We have asked M&PS to come back to us with an interim rollover of your current Agreement for 12 months and a 3% pay increase.
The ASU is working with other unions to resolve the issues government’s proposed changes would pose to staff and effective running of Electorate Offices.
Next meeting
M&PS have agreed to provide a response to a rollover and we anticipate the proposal can be accepted or rejected by government before the next meeting on 21 April 2016.
Time to join the ASU
For more information, please get in touch with the relevant contact below.
If you’re not a member of the ASU, you can join online now at our secure form:
https://www.asu.asn.au/asujoin
Commonwealth MOP(S) Act Staff newsletter, 18 April 2016 (download the newsletter for full details)