CPSU on the front foot in Enterprise Bargaining

20 September 2017

University of Sydney Enterprise Bargaining update

Dear University of Sydney staff colleagues
On Tuesday 12 September, after close of business, the university revised the Enterprise Agreement offer previously announced to the university staff, and it contacted the CPSU NSW seeking a response.
The offer regarding salary included a flat-rate component. It involved a $500 salary up-lift (a flat-rate pay rise of $500) for HEO levels 1-5 (Professional Staff) and for Academic Levels A and B in July 2018, while deducting the $500 sign-on bonus the university had agreed to pay all staff.

See the full update here.

UNION TAKES ACTION ON 'DRACONIAN' SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

APR 09, 2014

The Community and Public Sector Union has lodged an industrial dispute with the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet over its new social media policy.

The policy punishes workers who post critical comments about the government on social media and forces colleagues to report co-workers for such activity.

The Department’s failure to consult staff and unions over the changes is a clear breach of its enterprise agreement, the union says.

CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said: “Encouraging people to dob in a workmate is a new and nasty feature and one that we think is entirely unnecessary to police the use of social media by public servants. Forcing people to spy on their colleagues is incredibly divisive and will only sow the seeds of mistrust in the workforce,” Ms Flood added.

The CPSU was involved in initial consultations over the new policy, which is based largely on 2012 Public Service Commission guidelines, however the ‘dob in a mate’ clause was not in the draft shown to the union.

Ms Flood said: “We have had many members contact us to express their anger and frustration at what can only be described as a draconian policy. Furthermore we’d question whether there’s any evidence it is justified. What is the problem this policy is trying to fix? This is the Australian Public Service we are talking about not a police state.”

“We believe public sector workers should have the same rights as other Australians to engage in online debate, particularly when it’s in their own time and they don’t identify themselves as a government worker. This policy could mean that a public servant could be in breach of the rules if they attended a political rally and their picture is then shared on social media. That is not fair.” In the past the CPSU has been critical of the APSC policy because it over-reaches in seeking to limit what public servants do online privately, particularly where they are not identified as public servants.

However, Ms Flood added: “At the same time people need to be mindful of not being identified as public servants in comment critical of the Government of the day and of their responsibility as public servants as set out in the APS code of Conduct. We have said before that this is an evolving space and employers and Governments need to provide better, clearer guidelines. This policy does nothing to improve that.”

FOR COMMENT PLEASE CONTACT CPSU MEDIA OFFICER JULIAN LEE ON 0409 493 290

Now more than ever it is vital for UTS Professional staff to join together to stand up for your rights, if you are not already a member join today (https://membership.psa.asn.au/join/)

Are you being targeted?

CPSU Bargaining team standing firm despite attacks

• With the recent events at the University we now run the risk of being denied the right to be represented at bargaining and other industrial matters without fear of retribution.

• Management have shown a recent enthusiasm to use the investigation process of:

 EB 6 clause 54 DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR MISCONDUCT  

Application 

54.1 The procedures outlined in this Clause apply to all staff (other than casual staff) employed by 

the University.  

Definition 

54.2 ‘Misconduct’ means:  

(a) serious misbehaviour of a kind which constitutes a serious impediment to the 

carrying out of a staff member’s duties or to a staff member’s colleagues carrying out 

their duties; or 

(b) conviction by a Court of competent jurisdiction of an offence of a kind that may be 

reasonably regarded as constituting a serious impediment to the discharge by the 

staff member of his or her functions or duties, or to the staff member’s colleagues 

carrying out their functions or duties; and/or 

(c) serious dereliction of duties.   

Support Staff Agreement 2010 48

54.3 ‘Disciplinary action’ means any action by the University to discipline a staff member for 

misconduct and may include one or more of the following: 

(a) formal censure 

(b) formal counselling 

(c) demotion by one or more classification levels or increments 

(d) withholding of an increment 

(e) suspension with pay 

(f) termination of employment. 

•  One Professional Staff member was marched off the premises on Tuesday by representatives of UTS Management, HRU and UTS Security before being able to discuss unknown accusations in a meeting with UTS Management and a union representative.

• The University is persisting in wasting valuable resources on minor and unfounded claims which are easily unsubstantiated while putting staff under undue stress.

·         Now more than ever it is vital for UTS Professional staff to join together to stand up for your rights, if you are not already a member join today (https://membership.psa.asn.au/join/)

Petition: Defend union rights at UTS; lift suspension of NTEU President

I am posting this petition on behalf of the CPSU delegates who are also involved with bargaining @ uts who are concerned that bargaining in good faith has been brought into question with these actions against the NTEU President by the University. 

We encourage all our CPSU members to sign the petition please click on the link below.

Since I posted this further support has been called from Unions NSW!

NTEU Lecture 2013_3599 (Photo credit: NTEU Flickr)

Petition: Defend union rights at UTS; lift suspension of NTEU President

Posted 11 December 2013 by Emma Clancy (University of Technology Sydney)

In an extraordinary move, University management yesterday suspended NTEU Branch President Simon Wade by handing him a letter in the corridor, alleging serious misconduct. This happened after Simon had responded to a management directive to meet with only two hours notice by requesting a reasonable time frame to meet in order to arrange an NTEU support person, and requesting advice as to the nature of the meeting. 

This move comes after months of Simon being targeted in his workplace due to his involvement in enterprise bargaining on behalf of UTS staff. These attacks led to a hearing in the Fair Work Commission in September where protocols were established to provide for Simon’s attendance at the bargaining table. Despite these protocols the attacks continued unabated.

Staff and elected officials at the NTEU Branch and Division level are working to support Simon in refuting these allegations and to challenge the broader attack on the rights of members at UTS to be active in the NTEU. The work that is being done by Simon, and other people like Simon, to defend staff conditions against management’s attempt to avoid fair process and procedures, and remove any accountability for its decision making, is vital to ensuring UTS is a workplace where staff are treated with respect.  But we need all members to take action.

Please take two minutes to join with your colleagues and sign the online petition which demands that UTS follow the proper process in relation to Simon’s case - including lifting his suspension while the allegations are investigated - and that UTS respect the right of staff to organise in a trade union. Please also encourage member and non-member colleagues to sign.

There has never been a more important time to come together and stand up to management.

Now more than ever it is vital for UTS Professional staff to join together to stand up for your rights, if you are not already a member join today (https://membership.psa.asn.au/join/)

UTS CPSU EB7 Log of Claims Information and Vote

 MeetingRoom: CB04.02.36

University of Technology CPSU supporting the picket at University of Sydney this morning

A number of staff including Max and I have joined the picket lines at the University of Sydney if you have photos to add please send them to me everyone.

UTS CPSU AGM Notice 2012