December 2020 Salaried Enterprise Bargaining General Meeting

The PSA attended the salaried enterprise bargaining general meeting held today (21 December 2020).

In the meeting, the PSA once more emphasised that job security, retaining our Redeployment, Retraining and Redundancy (RRR) provisions, and protecting current conditions remained PSA members’ highest priority. The PSA once again called upon the government to change their position on RRR.

PSA Acting General Secretary Natasha Brown confirmed to all those at the meeting that PSA members had recently overwhelmingly committed to supporting each other in standing together to achieve these fundamental objectives for a new agreement. The Acting General Secretary’s statement to the meeting is included below.

 Today’s meeting had been called without any real agenda, purpose or proposals.

The PSA’s general approach is that meetings should have a purpose and structure, and that proposals should be identified prior to a meeting.

Next year will see the continuation of the enterprise bargaining process. The PSA intends to continue to stand up for members, to protect your conditions, and to protect the legacy of those committed PSA members who have left us an agreement worth standing up for.

 The PSA will continue to keep members informed as the process develops.

We congratulate members on your determined commitment to protect your conditions and your commitment to support each other in pursuing your priorities.

In the meantime, we wish those members who are able to take a break from serving their community a safe and restful holiday period, and thank those members who are unable to take a break for keeping the state running.

 Nev Kitchin
 PSA General Secretary

 Natasha Brown
 PSA Assistant General Secretary

Statement of the Acting General Secretary of the
 Public Service Association of South Australia

Enterprise Bargaining General Meeting, 21 December 2020

PSA NEGOTIATING POSITION - SALARIED ENTERPRISE BARGAINING

 For the benefit of the meeting, I provide the PSA’s position on negotiations for this round of bargaining. This position was first endorsed by the PSA Council and Executive, followed by meetings of our Worksite Representatives as is the democratic process that governs our union. Over the past months we have affirmed the continuing support of this position, both with our Council and out on the ground with members.

 The PSA’s negotiating position is based on extensive engagement with members.

 PSA members have overwhelmingly confirmed their collective commitment to maintaining job security in their enterprise agreement.

 In a recent round of membership meetings across our entire salaried membership, PSA members have endorsed the following motion:

This meeting confirms our commitment to pursuing our objectives for a new salaried enterprise agreement. 

We reaffirm that our priorities for a new agreement are: 

• Job protection

• Maintaining our effective redeployment systems and processes

• Protection from, and processes to deal with, unreasonable workloads

• Maintaining all current conditions of employment

• A fair and reasonable wage outcome     

We commit to supporting each other and standing together to pursue these priorities. 

We confirm that protecting our job security, retaining our RRR provisions, and protecting our current conditions, are our highest priorities at this time. 

We support the PSA standing firm in EB negotiations in pursuit of achieving our priorities. 

The PSA has reinforced that these are our members’ highest priorities in every negotiation meeting with Government during this round of enterprise bargaining. These priorities remain unchanged.

PSA members are standing up for an agreement that protects their respect and dignity at work. The PSA is committed to continue to pursue our members’ priorities.

The government’s current agenda is to remove retraining, redeployment and redundancy (RRR) provisions from our enterprise agreement in order to make it easier to sack people, and to reduce a number of other fundamental conditions – e.g. dispute avoidance and resolution, and consultation.

I reconfirm our strong rejection of the Government’s enterprise bargaining agenda, in particular the proposed removal of RRR and reductions to consultation and dispute resolution. Nothing the government or your agency representatives have presented to date shows any evidence of a process that is failing or gives any support to your position of wanting to change the current RRR process. All we have heard is evidence of poor HR practice on the ground.

For the benefit of our members, your employees, I once again invite the Government to reconsider your agenda in order to progress negotiations.

The PSA has previously advised in summary form some modest improvements members are seeking through this enterprise bargaining process. The PSA is ready for negotiations on these improvements, including a wage outcome, once our highest priority of maintaining RRR is confirmed with the Government.