This week your union proposed a quicker way to deliver a timely and fair collective agreement for all ABS staff.
ABS is considering our proposal and said they would try to respond by Friday. Progress was also made on some outstanding CA matters. Your continued and increased membership support will only help get your agreement over the line.
A quick way forward
Because your current CA was made pre-WorkChoices, we can establish an ‘extend and vary’ which effectively provides an extension to the current CA to create a new agreement. Proposed transitional legislation allows this to occur only until 31 December 2009. Both parties have to agree to an ‘extend and vary’. This is the process we are using for the recently endorsed Interviewer CA.
What does it mean?
An ‘extend and vary’ agreement would be negotiated between CPSU and ABS.
Subject to progress in settlement discussions, agreement could be reached in a matter of weeks with an immediate pay rise on activation.
An ‘Employee Collective Agreement’ would be maintained but CPSU would continue to be able to enforce employees’ rights as ‘a party’ to the agreement.
Why change now?
Since September last year, ABS and CPSU have been seeking to establish a WorkChoices Union Collective Agreement. Unfortunately we have run out of time to establish this type of agreement. Proposed transitional legislation requires that there has to have been a staff vote on a proposed agreement before 30 June. Even if we were to agree on a proposed agreement today, there is still a requirement to have a CPSU member vote, consideration by DEEWR, approval by the Minister, a 7 day consideration period and an all-staff vote. Because this is clearly not achievable before 30 June, the option of a WorkChoices Union Collective Agreement has disappeared.
Outstanding CA issues
We have sought, and ABS is now considering, a 2 year agreement. This will better align the expiry date and facilitate the Bureau transitioning to an APS-wide framework agreement. Your union is campaigning for this as part of our Agenda for Change to address wasteful duplication in individual agency bargaining and the unfair pay, condition and classification gap between agencies. Read more here.
We are close to agreement on improved, streamlined dispute settlement procedures in the CA.
We are close to agreement on improved, time bound consultative provisions around guidelines.
ABS is totally opposed to requiring CPSU agreement on changes to policy and guidelines, or to allow disputes about guidelines to be resolved using the Dispute Settling Procedures.
Redundancy provisions discussion have been deferred pending the outcome of an agreement on the job cuts dispute.
There was significant discussion over our claim for an improved pay outcome, including adjustment to the salary ranges. ABS is considering its position and undertook to try to respond by Friday.
What can I do?
Support your union’s push for a fair, quick redundancy process and collective agreement
How? If you haven’t already, become a CPSU member online at www.cpsu.org.au or call 1300 137 636
