The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has set out March 30 as the official date for the APS formal bargaining, ensuring their commitment to fair and equitable conditions of employment and job security in the public sector.
According to The Mandarin, formal invitations are expected to be sent out to public sector unions and bargaining representatives following the announcement.
“All agencies are collecting details of nominated bargaining representatives by 17 March and we expect the meeting invitations will be issued during the following week,” the APSC said.
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The recruitment of public sector workers has been a persistent issue as Secretary for Home Affairs Michael Pezzullo expressed his concerns about his department’s recruitment problems at a public hearing last month.
Pezzullo stated that pay fragmentation was a significant factor in the challenge of recruiting more workers in the public sector. Reducing pay fragmentation across the APS is one of the primary goals of the bargaining.
Deputy Commissioner Peter Riordan is leading the negotiations on the government’s side and also chairs the service-wide bargaining (COO) sub-group. The sub-group, consisting of Chief Operating Officers from various agencies, has met three times in December, January, and February.
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Meanwhile, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said it would be endorsing its service-wide bargaining proposal on easing the crises within the public sector.
CPSU National Secretary Melissa Donnelly has stated that the APS has suffered significant harm over the last ten years, specifically mentioning the unanswered calls at Services Australia and the financial crisis at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE).
“It is no secret that we need much more staff in both biosecurity and Services Australia, but when there are ongoing vacancies in critical roles you know there is an attraction and retention crisis that must be urgently addressed,” she told The Mandarin.
According to Donnelly, the CPSU’s proposal aims to provide the public sector with a genuine pay rise and innovative conditions that enable jobs to keep up with the cost of living and compete with the private sector.
The proposal also prioritizes pay equity, manages workloads, promotes diversity, and future-proofs the rights of people in the workplace. Donnelly is confident that the proposal will re-establish APS as a model employer.