Jim McIlroy

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has slammed the decision by federal welfare agency Centrelink to cut 175 jobs from its staff in Victoria. On November 23 the union described as “utter nonsense” claims by Centrelink management that it needed to reduce staff because a booming economy in Victoria and the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Melbourne had lowered demand for its services.

CPSU national secretary Mark Gepp said Centrelink had cut more than 3000 staff from its national work force of 27,000 since July 2003. “There’s been a steady attack on jobs. We are either dealing with mismanagement or a lack of funding because all the evidence shows workloads are increasing. This has nothing to do with the economy or events in Victoria.”

Statistics for payments and work completed “shows a consistent trend upwards in workloads, which is consistent with what we are hearing from Centrelink staff that they are groaning under work pressures”, Gepp said.

A CPSU bulletin reported that Victorian CPSU delegates had raised questions about “the impact these cuts would have on clients, services and Centrelink staff ... Delegates also queried the timing of the job cuts given that they coincide with extended opening hours [for Centrelink customer service centres].”

The union “has written to Centrelink calling for a halt to the redundancy process until the employer meets with the CPSU as required by the Centrelink development agreement and the Workplace Relations Act. Centrelink may well claim that the redundancy process is voluntary. However, there will be nothing voluntary about the impact increasing workloads and diminishing staffing levels will have”, the bulletin states.

The staff cuts have been proposed as negotiations begin for a new Centrelink development agreement. Centrelink has also moved to restrict union workplace facilities. The job cuts add to strong concerns among Centrelink staff about the future direction of Centrelink under the new umbrella Department of Human Services.

[The writer is a CPSU delegate at a Centrelink call centre.]

From Green Left Weekly, December 1, 2004.
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