Today at 2pm Fair Work Australia will be hearing the CPSU bargaining disputes notified to Defence and other Australian Public Service agencies last week (including DIISR, FWO, Treasury, Customs, DIAC, DAFF, PMC, Defence, DHS, ATO, DOHA, Finance, DIT).
This dispute is about clearing the way for a better DECA
for Defence employees and for genuine negotiations right across the public
sector.
Fair Work Australia will be hearing all the disputes at once and the
Australian Public Service Commission will be involved so that their role in
preventing acceptable outcomes at negotiating tables right across the APS can be
resolved.
This dispute is about clearing the way for a better DECA
It’s about clearing the obstacles. Fair Work Australia will
conduct a conciliation that brings CPSU and Defence together to try to
resolve its disagreements and work towards a better DECA outcome.
What’s at stake? The proposed DECA will see employees receive a
real pay cut over the life of the agreement. The DECA proposal does not
address ever-increasing workloads as employees cover for job cuts and
unfilled vacancies, it does not recognise you for your contributions to
savings and efficiencies under SRP or provide adequate job security if your
job is change affected.
Vote NO for a better deal. The Department has indicated that it
will still be testing its proposal to see if you will accept what is on
offer. CPSU would prefer to see Defence return to the bargaining table to
negotiate a better pay outcome, but the Department Secretary has instructed
the Defence team to push ahead with a vote, which is likely to take place at
the end of June. This will be a test of the Department’s offer. If employees
vote NO, then it’s back to the bargaining table to negotiate an acceptable
outcome.
What happens after the vote? This dispute is about what happens
on the other side of the all staff vote. CPSU members have said they are
voting NO and want to push for a better deal to bring Defence back to the
bargaining table. The CPSU dispute is about making sure there are more
sensible discussions around pay, job security and back pay when this
happens.
Stay tuned. The outcome will be reported later in the week….
Defence can’t make a DECA without you
Some employees have been told that it doesn’t matter what they think; that
the Department’s proposal for 3% p.a. will be all they get no matter what
happens in the all staff vote. This isn’t the case. Under the Fair Work Act 2009
a majority of employees who vote need to approve the agreement before it can
come into force. That means employees have control over the DECA negotiations.
How you cast your vote will make all the difference. The more employees who vote
NO to send a signal that the DECA offer is not good enough, the more you show
Defence that they need to negotiate a DECA that recognises you for your
contribution to Defence.
Send your postcard in. Tell the Department Secretary that Defence
employees do their fair share for Defence and deserve to be recognised. You
can get your postcard off your local workplace delegate, or email
Georgia.ronning@cpsu.org.au
Talk to a friend and ask for their support. Ask your colleagues to give
their commitment to VOTE NO and stand with you for a better deal.
CPSU will be meeting with Defence Wednesday to comment on the drafting and
editing that has been done in the last week since the final round of
negotiations. CPSU will be looking to push your claims on job security and other
matters that are the subject of the FWA dispute. However, Defence has said
clearly that it will not reopen discussions on pay, so this meeting will not
result in an acceptable DECA proposal.
