ABS National Forum 2010 – CPSU members report back
13 April 2010, 3:31pm
The annual ABS National Forum convened in March. Sessions were generally productive, though CPSU feels improvements to the agenda would make the NF even more useful.
It was pleasing to hear that an extraordinary second NF is planned for this year to specifically discuss the results of the staff survey. CPSU has four representatives at the NF table. They have each produced a short brief about their personal impressions.
Greg Platt (CPSU Section Councillor ABS Vic)
The highlight of the National Forum was the discussion on the October 2009 Management Meeting Paper "2009 Productivity Process - Lessons Learnt". The CPSU delegation was disappointed that some key lessons that we thought necessary were missing from the paper. Rather than debate the actions that ABS took during the "productivity process", we wanted to concentrate on preventing anything like that ever happening again. The Statistician asked CPSU to submit a paper on the lessons we think should be learnt and we'll be preparing a paper soon. There was also an interesting discussion on the state of staff morale, which overlapped with the CPSU item on Lessons Learnt. On Occupational Health and Safety, CPSU set out some issues with how the consultative process has been working and ABS undertook to address them.
Emily White (CPSU Section Councillor ABS NT)
This was the first National Forum that I have attended. I found it to be very informative and an interesting experience. It was good to be in a forum where issues were discussed directly with senior executives and Brian Pink. It was positive to hear that the joint ABS and CPSU Performance Management Review was well received by staff around the country - the extensive consultation process for this review was appreciated.
This was my first National Forum and was overall a positive experience. The possibility of speaking directly to the SES and the Statistician and put our views across was a valuable one and it was important to use the opportunity well. It was interesting to hear a more global, overarching viewpoint on the issues facing the ABS and the challenges we need to manage than the usual day to day operational viewpoint that we normally hear in our workplace. It was encouraging to hear the positive response that management had to the joint ABS/CPSU Performance Management Review and I look forward to the implementation phase!
Paul Tulett (CPSU Section Secretary ABS SA)
It was this time last year that the unfair job cuts dispute commenced. It took three months, including three visits to the AIRC, to resolve. NF devoted 1.5 hours to discussing it. CPSU made it clear that there were aspects of the ABS-produced Lessons Learnt paper that were incorrect, and may have misled senior management. We also made it clear that we were disappointed that the main lesson learnt by ABS appears to be that they need better legal advice next time. It is important that everyone learns from the past so that mistakes are not repeated.
For ABS to truly learn from the debacle, improvement must be made to consultation at every level from workstation to workstation right up to NF. We suggest a 360 degree information delivery and receipt process is required, where employees and their reps are offered the genuine opportunity to influence decisions before they are made.
CPSU commends steps made by ABS in the right direction this year. Firstly, the Performance Management review consultation was welcomed by staff, clearly demonstrated by the attendance of 700 employees at the sessions. Secondly, CPSU will be meeting with management to examine drafts of the Roles, Responsibilities and Capabilities Statements for ABS APS-level staff. Finally, the Review of Consultative Arrangements agreed to in the EA is about to commence. Naturally, CPSU is keen to involve employees as much as possible. What would a review of consultation be without full consultation with staff? Details are to be released soon and when this happens CPSU will be asking members and supporters for your views. The more opportunities you have to express your ideas the better.
