Australian Taxation Office management has announced it will put a revised draft enterprise agreement up for a staff vote between November 9 and 15. The new version is little different from management’s original proposal, which was rejected by staff by a margin of 59% to 41% in June. The total pay rise being offered is still 9% over three years, which is less than the expected rate of inflation.
The Community and Public Sector Union’s Tax Section Council has recommended to CPSU members they once again reject the proposed agreement. CPSU members are currently voting to determine the union’s position.
By contrast Jeff Lapidos, the secretary of the Tax Office Branch of the Australian Services Union, has issued a statement, sent to all ATO staff by email, recommending that they vote for management’s proposal. This was done without a vote of ASU members, or even of the ASU’s Tax Branch Council, causing anger among many ASU members.
Meanwhile, workers in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Australian Bureau of Statistics have won pay rises greater than 9% as a result of campaigns by the CPSU.