Members are well aware of the Government's review of Agency budgets and the preparation being undertaken by Treasury in the lead up to the September 2006 State Budget.

A document issued by the Under Treasurer to Agencies raised in Parliament yesterday made it clear that the Government is considering a cap or a freeze on Public Sector employment. While the PSA has not seen the Memo, the PSA is concerned that the Treasurer has indicated his personal support for a Public Sector staff freeze.

The PSA believes that Public Sector workloads are already so high that any freeze would make implementation of the Government's programs difficult.

The PSA has also made it clear that it is unacceptable for Government to blame Public Servants for non-delivery of services in situations where services are unable to be delivered due to lack of the necessary staff.

Pre-election the PSA ran extensive media advertising promoting the value of the work of PSA members in a context where the Opposition were proposing to cut 4,000 jobs.

Although no formal Government decision has been announced regarding future staffing, the PSA's current media campaign continues to highlight the importance of the work performed by PSA members.

Provision of services to the community are essential and they cannot be delivered without adequate staff numbers.

The most effective way of promoting the value of Public Sector work and the need for adequate staffing is to highlight actual examples.

Members with information regarding the impact of job cuts in their particular areas are invited to provide any relevant information on a confidential basis to the PSA by email to psalist@cpsu.asn.au. Members with particularly sensitive information should contact Chief Industrial Officer, Peter Christopher on 8205 3220 or email: pgc@cpsu.asn.au