In 2009, workers across the public sector will be campaigning for new agreements, incorporating the great wage deals won by members in 2008

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE & TO GET INVOLVED

Have your say

Vote online on the proposed agreement

Other ways to have your say

Proposed Agreements

Draft Core 2009 EB Agreement - Access Proposed agreement - Please note that some of the appendices may be amended during the week of 14 Sep 2009

Draft Core 2009 EB Agreement - Appendices: Coverage and salary schedules - Access appendices

Draft Core 2009 EB Agreement - All other appendices - Access appendices

Earlier updates

6 September 2009 - Delegates authorise member poll on core agreement

22 July 2009 - Not long now

May 2009 - The importance of 2009

Campaign news

Access QPSU news item relating to the Core 09 campaign and related activities

Core 09 Update: Good news on wages

Dear Member

Last week I wrote to the Government to let them know that members should not have to wait until March or April to receive the first pay rise and back-pay under the new Core agreement as certification is likely to be delayed whilst issues surrounding the Department of Transport and Main Roads are sorted out.

I am pleased to report that in response the Premier has agreed to apply the first pay rise administratively, sooner rather than later. The first pay rise of 4.5%, back dated to the 1st of August, will be paid before the end of the year - our advice is in the last pay-period for December.

Congratulations once again to all members who have taken part in our collective bargaining campaign. This campaign has been unlike any that we have run before with thousands of members across all agencies putting in time, effort and resources over almost the last two years. As a union we have achieved our best ever Core enterprise bargaining outcome amidst some of the most troublesome economic times we have ever seen.

Our strength as a union is testament to the fact that public sector workers are stronger together.

Thanks once again for all your hard work.

In union,
Alex Scott

Wages and Superannuation

The proposed core agreement includes the biggest wages increase ever won by workers in the core government departments through collective bargaining.

The proposed increase is 12.5%, spread over three years:

Wage increases for the first year will be back paid following certification. If the vote is successful, this will hopefully mean that the back pay will arrive by Christmas.

In March the government announced changes to the Machinery of Government (MOG) which created a number of new departments, including the Department of Main Roads and Transport. Workers in this department are covered either by the Main Roads collective agreement that was certified in January, or the core collective agreement.

QPSU members have successfully preserved the level of public sector superannuation at 12.75%. In April, the Courier-Mail and other media outlets reported that the government would slash superannuation contributions as a result of the global financial crisis.

The QPSU immediately promised to run a strong campaign if superannuation entitlements were attacked. The government backed away from the rumours of super cuts and super remains secure for public sector employees.

Some QPSU members have been affected by the government's policy in relation to superannuation payouts.

Currently the payment of superannuation upon retirement is calculated by averaging pay from the date of 1 July on the year of retirement. This means that in some cases, retiring workers will miss out on the super that would be otherwise accrued on the basis of increased contributions following a pay increase taking effect after the date of 1 July.

The government rejected the QPSU's claim to amend the operative date, because pursuing this claim would cost workers their 4.5% pay increase to all members.

Increases to allowances such as the qualification increment, locality allowances, shift allowances and travel allowances were not supported this time around. Similarly our claims for a new 'value-add' allowance for people who take on additional roles, such as Workplace Health and Safety reps, was not supported. Again, this was due to cost.

Employment security

A key focus for our collective campaign is employment security.

During these difficult economic times for Queensland, it is critical that public sector workers continue to have secure employment.

The agreement contains important commitments on job security. This includes commitments to preserve jobs and maximise permanent employment.

The Agreement also says that the government is required to consult with workers prior to organisational changes that may affect the job security of employees, and that permanent public sector employees will not be forced into unemployment. This is a great achievement and one all members should be proud of.

Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB) consultative arrangements

In the agreement the government has committed to an interest-based bargaining (IBB) consultative process with union delegates, to help secure better outcomes on a range of different points of concern.

These include:

The IBB will be a collaborative process to create revised versions of public sector directives.

In addition, the parties have agreed to use the IBB consultative process to develop possible amendments of the Public Service Act, on the subject of appeals, status of temporary employees, probation, disciplinary action and mental or physical incapacity, and other matters.

Amendments to directives on discipline and mental or physical incapacity will also be developed, as well as a policy or guideline in relation to workplace investigations.

The QPSU will participate in a formal 'exchange of letters' with the government around the government's commitment to a review of the Public Service Act.

Temporary Workers

A really important break-through for temporary workers is that thenew Recruitment and Selection Directive will allow for conversion to permanent employment status after 12 months as a temporary worker- a big improvement from the previous 24 month timeframe.

The employment status of temporary employees also must be reviewed after 3 years under the new arrangements. If the worker is not made permanent after 3 years then an appeal is available to the Public Service Commission. This is a big step forward for temporary workers.

Job Evaluation

The agreement re-introduces the requirement for each agency to have a process in place that allows employees to have assessments under the Job Evaluation Management System (JEMS) reviewed.

There will be a central review of the existing design principles for the JEMS review process - this is an important win for delegates reviewing these practices.

Hours of Work

For workers in the Brisbane CBD, the government, as part of an effort to reduce traffic congestion, wants to vary the spread of hours of work. Under the terms of the public service award, the spread of hours of work (that is, the hours workers can be required to work) can be varied from 6am - 6pm to 6am to 7pm.

The agreement has a provision that says that the spread of hours for workers in the Brisbane CBD will be varied, subject to ballot of affected employees allowing the change. In addition, workers will not be forced longer hours unless agreement is reached between an employee and their supervisor.

The agreement secures a commitment to vary the flexi-time provisions contained within the award. More information about this will follow soon.

The employer has agreed to put a new clause in the agreement to provide a day in lieu for workers who miss out on their local show holiday because they are required to work on that day in another location. This was an important win for members who could have been directed to work in other areas not having a show holiday that day and as a result missed out on their public holiday.

Workloads: In the agreement, the government has formally acknowledged for the first time that high workloads can lead to unsafe work practices. It also recognises that unrealistic expectations should not be placed on workers to require them to work long hours without access to time off in lieu or being able to use accrued time to take leave.

There is a commitment by the government to consider the impact on workloads when proposing organisational change. The workload management tool will be reviewed centrally, then adapted by each agency in consultation with its union-management Agency Consultative Committee (ACC).

Client aggression: The government will conduct a review of Workplace Health and Safety publications on occupational violence. The employer will then consult with union delegates about implementing strategies to combat client aggression within agencies.

For workers in call centres, the government has agreed to review the Call Centre Code of Practice as well as the Workplace Health and Safety Guide. Importantly, these reviews will take place with the input of QPSU delegates.

Areas that are covered by the proposed core agreement:

*The matter of who within the Department of Transport and Main Roads is covered by which agreement is currently awaiting determination at the Industrial Court.

Areas that have separate collective agreements that will include provisions that flow on from the core agreement:

Agreements covering QBuild (white collar staff) and CITEC have not yet concluded and new in-principle agreements will be reached at a later date.

NB: SES and Senior Officers are not covered by the terms of EB agreements.

What happens next?

If the proposed agreement receives the support of the majority of members who participate in our ballot, and the support of the majority of workers who participate in the ballot conducted by the employer, the agreement will be lodged with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) for certification.

The QIRC will hold a short hearing where union and employer representatives explain why the agreement should be certified.

The new collective agreement will take effect on the date that it is certified by the QIRC. From this point, payroll areas will begin to implement the new wage rates and process the relevant back-pay.

How can I vote on the agreement?

You can vote in the poll on whether or not to accept the proposed Agreement in one of the following ways:

Our sponsors