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Pay deal update The 2008 PSA pay deal has already reduced some working conditions for many members. Through the DET Savings Implementation Plan more cuts to conditions and jobs are claimed. Because only 2.5% of the 4% pay rise was Treasury funded an opportunity was created for further claims by management. Senior PSA officials claim that: "It was agreed by both parties to negotiations through a Memorandum of Understanding that most of the 1.5% difference would be gained through reforms contained in the MOU. The Government has reneged on this agreement." (PSA SAS Staff News, 10 November, 2009) Many members question whether this is the full story. Progressive PSA supporters in Schools, DET and TAFE are actively supporting efforts to organise against these claims by DET. We call for united action across all members in schools, DET and TAFE not the current approach which leaves the membership divided. To Read more click here Performance Development Schemes When done properly Performance Feedback systems can be good for employees because they force supervisors to say how they will assist anyone who they think isn't doing well rather than focussing on punitive behaviour that does nothing to help the employee. In each agency the performance schemes have different names e.g. 'performance development', 'performance feedback', 'coaching and performance' etc. Many members express concern that managers may misuse Performance Management (as it is called in DET/TAFE) as a form of bullying. Where an employee "Exceeds most performance expectations" according to the DET Performance Management and Development Scheme there is concern that this may lead to staff being expected to work outside SODs or PDs. The statement "delivering work outcomes and results above what could normally be expected at the staff member’s classification level" reinforces this. There is the implication that agreeing to work outside the position would result in a more favourable performance rating. No individual can be expected to work beyond his or her SOD or PD. Work performance can only be measured against the duties listed in a SOD or PD. Click here to find out what you can do to turn performance feedback to your advantage. Schools members Schools GAs Must Stay In 2007 the DET had discussions with the union regarding General Assistants undertaking an ‘’enhanced’’ role in the school facilities maintenance contracts. The union was later advised by the DET that this would be negotiated with the renewal of the school maintenance contracts. Then, in April 09, the DET announced the preferred option was to introduce a new classification of GA/Cleaner to be taken up with the commencement of the new school maintenance / cleaning contracts in 2010-11. Should this be the case, it would be a rationalisation of the 2 positions - GA/Cleaner, effectively providing a much diminished service to schools. Delegates have commented that they do not believe the GA component would play any official role in the facilities maintenance contract, other than menial tasks. The proposed ''enhanced'' maintenance contract role, where GAs would perform major role in the implementation and overseeing of the school facilities maintenance, went overboard. Currently maintenance supervision is meant to be done by school principals. In reality many GAs undertake this role ''unofficially''. Now, General Assistants in schools are facing privatisation as a result of a complete back flip by DET. PSA GA members are mobilising and are networking on line, and advising the broader school communities of the negative impact this will have on their respective schools and the quality of public education for students. Parallels with the failure of privatising of government school cleaners gives a very clear picture what schools can expect if this proposal goes through. After cleaning was contracted out standards dropped. Many parents and schools based employees have consistently noted the huge reduction in cleaning standards, based on the significant loss of cleaning positions in schools. PSA announced that the ‘’GAs Must Stay’’ – Public Education - No Privatisation’’ campaign starts in earnest the week commencing 18 May 2009. To be successful this campaign must be won on the ground, with GAs taking a significant role and ownership by enlisting the support and solidarity from a range of different school community stakeholders. STOP PRESS: Collective action wins! DET has reversed its decision to privatise School General Assistants DET/TAFE members The new Managing Excess Employees Policy from the Nov 2008 Salaries MOU is being implemented in DET and TAFE. The Department Premier & Cabinet announced a new Managing Excess Employees Policy in late May 2008 and the PSA Executive objected in early June 2008. The PSA Executive then accepted the new policy which emphasises forced redundancy ‘as a last resort’ as part of the Memorandum of Understanding. Click here for the Premier's Memorandum on Forced Redundancies as accepted by the current PSA General Secretary. Around 12 May 2009 a number of long term displaced employees have been given letters under the new policy. They had been informed of being excess to establishment in April 2008. In spite of the new policy being officially implemented only on 4 May this year their letters have in effect been backdated to April 2008. The Department has ‘granted an extra three months retention period’ till August this year when they may be given a further three months notice of being made redundant if no permanent or temporary position has been found within that time. They have been offered the standard voluntary redundancy offer and have till 27 May to accept it. It is unclear whether the redundancy payment is still on offer if not taken up before 27 May. DET/TAFE members Learning Management and Business Reform (LMBR) Learning Management and Business Reform (LMBR) program is a large scale, complex computer-based program that will bring about a staged replacement of the current personnel, finance and student administration systems in schools, TAFE NSW and across the Department. PSA delegates met with the Department on 14 April 2009 in the first of a series of meetings to be held over the coming months. At this early stage of consultation it is not possible to give members a clear picture of the industrial impact of this massive reform agenda. Some members working in affected areas report that "they have been told” that their jobs are at risk. But it is too early to say with any certainty just whose jobs will be impacted or exactly how. One of the issues soon to confront members is the effect of taking time from their normal work to test the SAP systems. Your delegates put a case for extra resourcing so that members don’t come back to a double workload. This was declined by management. The union will continue to pursue the matter. Schools members General Assistants Facilities Maintenance in Schools As an act of ‘goodwill’ many General Assistants work beyond their Statement of Duty in the administration of maintenance contracts. Union officials say that this issue cannot be raised until after the current maintenance contract expires in 2010.Members have not been consulted , nor formally advised about this development, and for union officials simply to remind General Assistants to work to their current SoDs is not good enough. There are regular meetings between top union officials and senior management (sometimes including the Minister) on a regular basis. If management expects GAs to do this extra work the issue of compensation must be raised sooner rather than later. Schools members General Assistants Wage Anomaly Permanent part time School General Assistants who work less than 38 hours per week are paid at a higher hourly rate than full time General Assistants. This wage anomaly was detected by DET in 2008. DET has yet to come up with a fair and reasonable proposal with the PSA to overcome this problem. The PSA has put forward two proposals to date, both of which have been rejected. The Chair of the PSA General Assistant’s Working Party has a proposal to solve this matter. This proposal simply involves giving full time permanent General Assistants an extra Rostered Day Off per month to be taken only in the school vacation. This proposal would be cost neutral. Unfortunately this proposal has not been able to be put to members as a solution due to PSA officials not scheduling meeting dates for the GA Working Party for 2009 Schools members April 2008, How much is your work worth? Job Evaluation systems are widespread in the Public Sector and are used as an objective measure to grade jobs. A good job evaluation system is worth money in the pocket to employees. We know that schools support staff are vastly underpaid compared to similar jobs elsewhere. That was recognised by the independent 2003/04 DET sponsored SASS Review. Why is the Department of Education the only big NSW government department that does not use a recognised job evaluation system? Many Schools based PSA members ask “Is the under valuing of schools work something the Department wants to cover up and prolong by not adopting a recognised system for grading jobs?” 2004 saw the best opportunity for this matter to be rectified. The whole of the Department was under review, SASS, DET and TAFE. TAFE has had a Job Evaluation system (known as Cullen Egan Dell) since the 1990’s. DET does not, nor does Schools. After the 2003/04 DET/TAFE restructure those TAFE employees who were transferred to DET Corporate Services lost their job evaluation system. But a combined effort in 2003/04 involving Schools DET and TAFE could have gained a much better result all round. Why did the PSA leadership refuse to combine the campaigns? The independent DET sponsored SASS Review recommended much more of a salary increase for SASS than the Department was willing to offer and more than the PSA officials were willing to accept. It was said at the time by PSA President Sue Walsh that this deal was only a "part settlement only". But its been 4 years and where is the action on the second instalment? PSA members in schools have a right to be angry with the union leadership. At the Sky Channel broadcast schools PSA members were encouraged by President Sue Walsh, General Secretary John Cahill and Assistant General Secretary Steve Turner to accept a bad deal. Comparisons from the current Public Service Notices Clerical Officer Grade 1/2 is paid $21,154-$43,903. A Clerical Officer 1/2 in TAFE is below the generally accepted entry level for clerical work which is Clerk 1/2 ($46,320-$50,356). Even taking into account the shorter working year for schools employees: How much is your work worth? Read more'here'. Read more about what senior PSA officials promised'here' March 2008, Extra training places to be funded by vouchers In an apparent reversal of a pledge made before the federal election last year the Rudd government has kept a Coalition voucher system for “skills training places” which it pledged would be abolished. According to Sid Marris writing in the Australian, 6 March 2008: “… the funding is on top of existing programs, Labor is looking at using the funding infrastructure of the Howard government's Work Skills Vouchers to pay for the training. The old voucher system, much in demand by business, expires next month.” At the ALP campaign launch last year, Kevin Rudd announced that if Labor won the election there would be 450,000 extra training places over 4 years partly funded by replacing the Coalition’s voucher system. “Although Labor is proposing to boost the number of Coalition-funded places, the increase is to be funded in large part by scrapping the Howard Government's "Work Skill Vouchers" program.” Brad Norrington, Australian, 15 November 2007 What is wrong with a voucher system? This system for funding training needs means that a training “consumer” can shop around for the cheapest, shortest course whether it comes from a TAFE facility or a private provider. Quality is therefore at risk of being downgraded. Further the TAFE Directors Association chief executive Martin Riordan, is reported to have warned that "The price signals in the vouchers took no account of the cost of our infrastructure,". This indicates a continuing attack on government funded education where an open market in training takes no account of the extra human and physical advantages of the TAFE system. Indeed, ultimately, TAFE is punished for being better at supporting students with ‘expensive’ services such counsellors, libraries, student associations, and direct class support in labs and workshops. PSA members who work in these educational support areas should be wary of this encroachment of “market forces” where labour costs must be continually driven down at the expense of quality of education February 2008, Performance Management and Development Scheme Chair of the DET/TAFE State Delegates Committee, Leon Parissi said " Management has given the union assurances that the new Performance Management and Development Scheme will not be used as a disciplinary tool. We welcome the potential for PSA members to have greater opportunity to develop their skills and performance through training. But some members are afraid that wayward managers might misuse the Policy. If this happens to you let your local delegate know."   DET/TAFE STATE DELEGATES 2006-08 Elections held May 2006   PSA DET/TAFE Advisory Group EXECUTIVE PARISSI, Leon Chair Leon.Parissi@tafensw.edu.au (02) 9217 3289 HEWITT, Russell, Vice Chair Russell.Hewitt@det.nsw.edu.au (02) 598 6318 DALEY, Judith Secretary Judith.Daley@epac.det.nsw.edu.au (02) 926 68070 McLOUGHLIN-FULLICK, Margaret Assistant Secretary Margaret.Mcloughlin@tafensw.edu.au (02) 4923-7407 Don't look in the TAFE Gazette for TAFE public service jobs All TAFE public service job adverts will only to go in the PS Notices and online at 'Jobs.NSW' http://jobs.nsw.gov.au/Start.asp ; and the newspapers from now on. As of 17 March 2006 support staff are no longer employees of TAFE. We are now public servants. Teaching and Institute Manager jobs will continue to be posted in the TAFE Gazette as will policies etc. See article below for background: "Government moves to protect public sector workers impacts on TAFE". PSA DET/TAFE state delegate elections 2006 Nominations closed 24 March 2006. Only Sydney Institute is holding a postal ballot. There are 10 candidates for 4 Sydney Institute positions on the PSA DET/TAFE Advisory Group. The Progressives are supporting a 'ticket' with Russell Hewitt, Leon Parissi, Maolcholm Bruce and Jane O'Brien. Ballot papers were posted on 3 May and voting closes 19 May. In all other DET & TAFE electorates the candidates were elected unopposed. Delegates finally meet Minister Senior delegates from the DET/TAFE PSA Advisory Group, Russell Hewitt and Leon Parissi met the Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, together with the PSA General Secretary and President and a Principle Industrial Officer. The delegation sought and received assurances that the NSW government is working to minimise the impact of the federal government’s “Skilling Australia’s Workforce Act, 2005”. This legislation seeks to move TAFE employees onto individual contracts as well as having other unpalatable industrial agendas. More details of the government's moves will become available in the near future. Government moves to protect public sector workers impacts on TAFE Below is a quote from Department’s memo explaining the new legislative changes to TAFE's employment conditions. One major improvement is that TAFE support staff will become public servants. These moves appear to complete changes the Association has been seeking for TAFE employees and which were only partially addressed in changes reported last year (see below, the Technical and Further Education Commission Amendment (Staff) Act 2005). The government has been spurred into action by the drastic impact of the Federal government's WorkChoices legislation and by pressure from the unions. The government’s stated intention is to maintain the status quo in relation to salaries and conditions. To be on the side of caution your delegates have requested an urgent meeting with DET/TAFE to answer some detailed questions about some possible implications. From the Department of Education and Training's FAQ: “What are the changes? The TAFE Commission will no longer be the “employer” and staff will no longer be employed under the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Commission Act 1990. All TAFE Commission employees will be employed under the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.” Education Day of Action June 2005 TAFE and DET union members rally on 29 June 2005 Education sector union members from the PSA and teachers unions display solidarity action against the introduction if individual contracts in universities and TAFE Congratulations to the members and organisers for their excellent work. More pictures. PSA Priorities in Education Many union members questioned the union's priorities during the 2003/04 jobs campaign. We want a union that takes job security seriously. TAFE Conditions of Employment Award, August 2005 Download a copy of the Crown Employees TAFE Conditions of Employment Award. Leaflet for jobs rally 2003 Progressive PSA leaflet for jobs rally 2003 Read, Contribute, Participate Would you like to share some information with other PSA members? Simply email us at DET-TAFE@progressivepsa.org

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Contact the Progressive PSA at:DET-TAFE@progressivepsa.org