ACT government workers ready to fight
By Stuart Martin
CANBERRA — In a strong show of opposition to the ACT government's attacks on public servants, and in defiance of intimidation by management, Community and Public Sector Union members stopped work on November 25. There was standing room only in the Canberra Workers Club auditorium. Many non-union public servants also walked out.
CPSU ACT government section secretary Tim Gooden outlined the strategy being pursued by the ACT government to attack conditions across the public service, and the union's response. He said that, despite management's insistence that individual certified agreements (CA) were being negotiated and that redundancies were not an issue, the government was seeking to use the provisions of the public service Retirement and Redeployment (Redundancy) Award to permit "involuntary redundancies" in preparation for privatisation and outsourcing.
Privatisation is gathering pace, with the sale of the power and water authority (ACTEW) on the cards, as well as Canberra Hospital.
The current state of the 40-odd CAs initiated by the government was outlined. The Chief Minister's Department (CMD) is seen as a test case for the government's agenda, with staff voting on November 25 and 26 on a non-union-negotiated CA which includes a 2% pay rise in exchange for working 2% longer, a further unguaranteed 2% pay rise at the end of the agreement, acceptance of forced redundancies, and performance of higher duties for six weeks before qualifying for extra pay.
The CPSU ran a strong campaign against the CMD agreement, during which management prevented CPSU officials from entering buildings to service members. The CMD is also attempting to bar scrutineers at the CA count.
Gooden noted that management in other areas are waiting for the outcome of this vote before revealing their own proposals.
Gooden said that where the CPSU is the only union involved in negotiations, management has attempted to limit the union's ability to represent members by opting for a non-union staff agreement. (Under the federal Workplace Relations Act, management can disallow unions to represent members by opting for either a non-union staff agreement or individual contracts.) This contrasts with CA negotiations involving other unions, for example at Environment ACT where a union-negotiated agreement is acceptable to management.
CPSU members at the meeting voted unanimously for industrial action in workplaces where the government: attempts involuntary redundancies or declassification; attempts salary increases that rely on job or service cuts; imposes non-union agreements or agreements that do not include the CPSU; imposes agreements which contain reductions in working conditions.
The meeting also supported a 24-hour stop-work if the ACT chief minister Kate Carnell and her agency heads do not give a commitment to union agreements with no involuntary redundancies.
After the meeting, union members assembled behind the new CPSU ACT section banner and marched to the "ACTEW — Not For Sale!" rally outside the Legislative Assembly.