AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC Service (APS) employers have been offering inflated rates of pay and conditions to employees who signed Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) rather than Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs), while public sector workers have often been denied the right to bargain collectively, according to a union
AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC Service (APS) employers have been offering inflated rates of pay and conditions to employees who signed Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) rather than Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs), while APS employees have often been denied the right to bargain collectively, according to a union.
Noting a steady increase in the level of staff dissatisfaction about the APS bargaining framework, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said the APS is adopting a deliberate strategy to undercut employee bargaining power and restrict meaningful consultation and negotiation.
“Public sector workers have made it clear they are tired of not being listened to or respected by their management,’ said CPSU national secretary Adrian O’Connell.
O’Connell said management in agencies such as the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and Australian Government Solicitors had upped the ante by forgoing any direct consultation with staff and present draft agreements to staff on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis.
Since 1996 there have been 600 separate agency agreements made within the APS, with more than 60 per cent of APS staff involved in campaigns to reject sub-standard or unfair management proposals, according to O’Connell.
The CPSU’s claims come after a number of private sector companies have taken pre-emptive action with their employees on AWAs in order to ensure the continuity of certain employment conditions if the Labor wins the forthcoming federal election.
Telstra, for example, was encouraging employees on AWAs to re-sign if they wish to maintain their current employment conditions.
Telstra said the option to re-sign was entirely voluntary and there was no political motivation behind the move, adding that job security wouldn’t be impacted if employees did not renew their AWAs.
However Craig Emerson, Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations criticised such moves, saying that companies should make it clear to employees that any condition of employment in an AWA can also exist in collective agreements, including salary sacrificing, career breaks and flexible leave arrangements.
The DEWR and Australian Government Solicitors failed to return Human Resources magazine’s calls.
