As expected, the Rudd Government’s first Budget contained a range of cuts to public sector spending.
The Budget contains significant changes for government employees and the military. There will be approximately 2000 additional uniform personnel and 3200 less public sector workers. The overall change in the total size of the Public Sector is a reduction of 1200 positions. Areas with significant changes include:
Redeployment and Redundancy: Following strong representation and lobbying from your union, there has been a commitment from the Government to avoid forced redundancies, the establishment of a Career Transition and Support Centre and the introduction of new redeployment guidelines for APS agencies.
FAQs: Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions are now available in the ‘Know Your Rights – Federal Budget 2008’ resource. Click here to download a PDF copy.
What does it mean for my workplace? CPSU’s research and industrial experts are in the process of conducting a detailed examination of the Budget papers to gain a clearer picture of what it means for your agency or department.
Sustainable workloads: Over the longer-term CPSU will be working with members in affected agencies to ensure workloads match reduced staff levels. As we all know, many area of the public service are already under-staffed and stretched to the limit. Funding and job cuts will make things worse and it is the responsibility of the Government and your employer to clearly tell staff and clients which functions, programs, services and tasks will no longer be performed because of the cuts.
Shifting the debate: The union will be engaging CPSU members, the Government and community in a dialogue around finding a better way to resource and support the public sector so it can help the Australian community meet challenges as such climate change, skills and an uncertain global economy. It's time to break the cycle of budget cuts and band-aid fixes.
1. If the Howard Government was doing what the Rudd Government has announced, the CPSU would be jumping up and down? Yes or no.
2. What is the CPSU doing about obtaining a commitment from the Government that there will be no forced redundancies?
Public Servants need a clear answer, one way or the other - YES or NO.
3. What is the CPSU doing about ensuring that the "Career Transition and Support Centre and the introduction of new redeployment guidelines for APS agencies" having real teeth. That is, require Agency Heads to redeploy staff; along with closely monitoring the number of redeployment outcomes (eg how many staff has the CTSC redeployed to-date? Zero would be my guess)
4. What is the CPSU doing about updating the Government's Policy Parameters for agreement making.
As I recall, the redundancy entitlements have not been reviewed for over 20 years. For example, recently the employees at Mitsubishi (SA vehicle assembly plant) obtained entitlements three times more generous than those enjoyed by APS employees. TIME FOR AN UPDATE - LETS START WITH DOUBLING ENTITLEMENTS - it was a Howard Government position that agencies could not increase RRR entitlements - why is the CPSU seemingly agreeing to its continuation.
As a member, these are the sorts of things the CPSU needs to do to make the union attractive and relevant to current and future members.
Posted by:Ross - 15 May 2008, 4:42pm
Career Transition and Support Centre & new redeployment guidelines for APS agencies.
How does this work, when DVA and Defence have some of the highest salary rates in the PS now? A top increment APS 6 in DVA gets more $71779. In some other agencies, this same level may earn under $67000.
As most APS6 in DVA also have an AWA, this potentially adds another 4% making a total of $74650 gross.
For me to be relocated to one of these other departments and also give up the 4% bonus; that equates to an 11% pay cut.
When can we see all agencies returning to a standard rate of pay across work levels?
Posted by:Sam Byrne - 15 May 2008, 8:50am
Our union should never have reaffiliated to the Labor party last year. It costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege, and now they're slashing thousands of our jobs. An independent union is what I want.
Posted by:Robert Henderson - 14 May 2008, 4:45pm
Looks like there is bugger all job cuts. So there is not an issue to cover. Of greater concert is the extra producivy bonus cut. Wages have been kept low for too long. With the 3% cut it will be harder to fund decent pay rises.
Posted by:Laura - 14 May 2008, 3:28pm
Update sent to members says 200 Cntrelink job cuts. E-mail sent by Jeff Whalan to all Centrelink assured no job cuts. is this info accurate?
1. If the Howard Government was doing what the Rudd Government has announced, the CPSU would be jumping up and down? Yes or no.
2. What is the CPSU doing about obtaining a commitment from the Government that there will be no forced redundancies?
Public Servants need a clear answer, one way or the other - YES or NO.
3. What is the CPSU doing about ensuring that the "Career Transition and Support Centre and the introduction of new redeployment guidelines for APS agencies" having real teeth. That is, require Agency Heads to redeploy staff; along with closely monitoring the number of redeployment outcomes (eg how many staff has the CTSC redeployed to-date? Zero would be my guess)
4. What is the CPSU doing about updating the Government's Policy Parameters for agreement making.
As I recall, the redundancy entitlements have not been reviewed for over 20 years. For example, recently the employees at Mitsubishi (SA vehicle assembly plant) obtained entitlements three times more generous than those enjoyed by APS employees. TIME FOR AN UPDATE - LETS START WITH DOUBLING ENTITLEMENTS - it was a Howard Government position that agencies could not increase RRR entitlements - why is the CPSU seemingly agreeing to its continuation.
As a member, these are the sorts of things the CPSU needs to do to make the union attractive and relevant to current and future members.
Career Transition and Support Centre & new redeployment guidelines for APS agencies.
How does this work, when DVA and Defence have some of the highest salary rates in the PS now?
A top increment APS 6 in DVA gets more $71779. In some other agencies, this same level may earn under $67000.
As most APS6 in DVA also have an AWA, this potentially adds another 4% making a total of $74650 gross.
For me to be relocated to one of these other departments and also give up the 4% bonus; that equates to an 11% pay cut.
When can we see all agencies returning to a standard rate of pay across work levels?
Our union should never have reaffiliated to the Labor party last year. It costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege, and now they're slashing thousands of our jobs. An independent union is what I want.
Looks like there is bugger all job cuts. So there is not an issue to cover. Of greater concert is the extra producivy bonus cut. Wages have been kept low for too long. With the 3% cut it will be harder to fund decent pay rises.
Update sent to members says 200 Cntrelink job cuts. E-mail sent by Jeff Whalan to all Centrelink assured no job cuts. is this info accurate?