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CONSULTATIVE PRINCIPLES
UPHELD BY INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION - REVIEW OF OCPE
The
PSA has been in dispute with the Government over its response to the
2004 Review of the Office for the Commissioner for Public Employment
(The OCPE Review) and its rush to implementation.
Though the PSA is in agreement with some aspects of the 32 recommendations, the PSA has major concerns with other aspects, and expected meaningful consultation and cooperative analysis of the implications prior to any implementation. The Government's decision will impact on all the Public Service and then other Public Sector workers. Proposals to reduce the responsibilities of the Commissioner for Public Employment by delegating to Chief Executives removes safeguards for members. Specialist advice and expertise will be lost by slashing the OCPE staff by 50% in the new Office of Public Employment (OPE). A press release by the Premier, Mike Rann on 8 September 2004, announcing major reforms to the Public Service was the first advice of the changes. This included removing the “tenure” option in contracts for Executives, and the external advertising of vacancies for ASO6 and above. As the Government was moving to implement others of the recommendations without adequate consultation with the PSA and certainly no formal agreement, the PSA took the matter to the Industrial Commission in a Voluntary Conference. Commission Recommendations Deputy President Hampton issued the following recommendations on 19 January 2005. 1. “That the parties now establish a formal consultative arrangement, involving senior representation, to further consider the sector wide proposals including the changes to the existing OCPE delegations, the changes to tenure arrangements for Executive Positions and the implementation of competency based job and person specifications. 2. That further consultation now also take place as a matter of priority with respect to the structure and proposed functions of the OPE. 3. That in the absence of agreement on the structure, the employers not implement any proposed new structure for the OPE pending a further (early) report back to this Commission. 4. That in the event that the matters cannot be satisfactorily addressed between the parties, the relevant issues be brought back to this Commission for further consideration. In that context, the Commission would expect that the parties would be in a position to further outline the basis of their respective proposals and to provide the Commission with a greater level of detail as to the practical consequences of any such initiatives”. Consultation The Commission also made the comments that 5. “The employer has through the relevant industrial instruments been committed to consultation with employees and their representatives (including the PSA) with respect to “workplace change” (clause S2.13 of the SA Government (Public Sector Salaried Employees) Salaries Interim Award 2004) and these establish principles associated with such consultation”. 6. “The consultation required by the industrial instruments contemplates genuine discussions and an opportunity to contribute effectively to the decision making processes and not simply receiving advice of what will be done..........” A full copy of the Industrial Commission's Statement and Recommendations of 19 January 2005 is available on the PSA website, www.cpsu.asn.au/PSA_v_CEDAIS.pdf. The OCPE Review 2004, the Premier's News Release of 8 September 2004 and the Government's response to the Review of OCPE is available on http://www.ocpe.sa.gov.au/ 24
January 2005
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