A significant number of Public Service Association(PSA) members are currently experiencing the joys of a review in the Public Service. The majority of these reviews are due to the Skills Strategy Agenda or as a result of the budget cuts forced on the Public Sector by the Government. Below is a brief summary of the reviews currently underway.

TAFE SA SOUTH EDUCATIONAL ADMIN REVIEW:

The PSA is a member and attends the reference group of this review. There has been significant work undertaken to gain a clear understanding of "in scope" employees, clarification of organisational structures of clusters and validation of relevant data. Letters will be provided to all "in scope" employees to commence phase 2. To compliment the letters, campus info sessions have and will be occurring to ensure that members are consulted and informed of the process. The PSA will also attend information sessions and visit campuses to speak with members. The PSA is pleased to note that an important aspect of this review will be to identify any long term under classified employees. These employees will be reclassified to the appropriate levels. ASO1 employees will be the first classification investigated. On Monday the 20th April 2009 it was agreed that any reclassification of ASO1 positions would be back paid to this date. The PSA has reached agreement with the Reference Group to consider accelerating long term under classified members to the top increment of ASO2. An answer is likely at the next meeting. TAFE SA also stated it does not expect to declare any employees as surplus to requirement.

STRATEGIC FINANCE AND BUDGET UNIT RESTRUCTURE:

The PSA has been informed by the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology(DFEEST) that a review of this unit is underway. DFEEST has also stated that it will not reduce the number of employees. At this stage, the restructure will be focusing on changes to reporting lines and the creation of generic Job and Person Specifications. Members have contacted the PSA with their concerns and a meeting with DFEEST HR will be called.

LEARNING MATERIALS REVIEW AND RESTRUCTURE:

The PSA has met with members in each affected area. General consensus from the membership is that the review will not deliver improvements to services and will have a negative impact on staff, workloads and quality of service. The PSA will continue to meet with management to ensure that members are supported and that a reasonable outcome is achieved.

ABORIGINAL EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE RESTRUCTURE:

The PSA has been involved in this review and subsequent restructure. A significant difference to this review is that additional positions were created rather than cuts to positions which are often common to a typical review and restructure. As with many reviews, Job and Person Specifications have been updated to reflect the current roles and functions of workers. Members have had the opportunity to provide feedback. This review is nearing completion.

LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRE REVIEW:

The PSA initiated this review by petitioning the Deputy Chief Executive Officer on behalf of members in TAFE SA Libraries. The review's first phase was to rewrite Job and Person Specifications and ensure that positions were correctly classified. As a result of this review ASO1 positions were classified to ASO2 and eligible members were accelerated to the top increment of ASO2. This was a significant win for PSA members. However, there is still a concern that some Library Technicians and Librarians may be under classified. The PSA will be holding a TAFE SA specific reclassification course. Members are entitled to attend this course in paid time at the PSA. Many members have already expressed their interest and the PSA will soon advertise the date of the course.

Phase two of this review will now be governed by the Skills Strategy Agenda. The PSA is represented on the reference group by Barbara Staite(Librarian) and Basia Helwich(Library Technician). Should phase two determine that changes to Learning Resource Centre organisational structure be implemented the PSA will ensure that appropriate human resource principles are in place to govern the process and protect members.

Review and Restructure General Information:

Reviews and Restructures can be a difficult time for members and the department offers appropriate counseling services through it's Employee Assistance Program. The PSA encourages members to use this service for any non-industrial matter.

The department MUST inform the PSA of any proposed review. Failure to do so is a breach of the Award and Enterprise Agreement. The PSA has agreed to a set of Human Resource Principles for each review and/or restructure. The purpose of these principles is to ensure that members employment entitlements are upheld and protected. Due to the significant number of reviews underway and the expectation of more to come due to the Skills Strategy Reform, the PSA will be writing to the Chief Executive to develop a generic set of principles for any review in TAFE SA or DFEEST that affects Public Sector Management Act staff.

The outcome of some restructures may result in members, who are on-going employees, being declared surplus to requirements. This is colloquially known as becoming a redeployee. It is important to know your rights during this process and the PSA encourages any member who has been declared surplus to requirements to contact the PSA. It is important to remember that each member has a unique set of circumstances and therefore generic advice is often difficult to provide.

Should you have any questions or believe your worksite or business unit is undergoing a review or restructure contact PSA Industrial Officer Jean-Guy Townsend on jgt@cpsu.asn.au or 8205 3233

PSA WORKING FOR MEMBERS IN TAFE SA AND DFEEST