AGD Flexible Working Hours Offer Rejected

The Director General of the Attorney General’s Department (AGD) has made another offer to settle the dispute over Flexible Working Hours. The AGD Departmental Committee met on 17 February and unanimously rejected the latest offer.

The reasons for rejecting the offer include:

• The offer of 18 flex days per year is not acceptable when the standard in most other NSW state government agencies is 26 days per year;

• The inclusion of OPC/OPG and the Public Trustee is also unacceptable. These business centres have separate agreements which allow 26 days flex leave per year. Members in these centres agreed to extended opening hours in exchange for 26 days per year. Inclusion in this agreement would significantly disadvantage those members.

• Sheriff's Officers continue to be excluded from the flex agreement

• The latest offer is still has elements unacceptable to the PSA such as linking flex time in the agreement to the Department's leave liability and the level of sick leave taken in the Department. These issues are not related to flex time and should not be included in this agreement and separate policies in relation to these matters can be negotiated.

• At the time of the expiration of the proposed agreement action to terminate the agreement by one party can occur with three (3) months notice. This would appear to have the PSA in the same situation as faced when the Director General cancelled the last agreement.
• Concerns about wording in the agreement that appear to place an emphasis on an agreed work pattern between staff member and supervisor which could have the effect of restricting a staff member from accruing flex time. Flexible working hours is a matter of consultation/negotiation between the members and her/his supervisor.

• That the offer of two options for core time would appear to be a Claytons offer as most business centre managers would be directed to choose 9.30am - 3.30pm for core hours;

• Rejection of Clause 10.12 and 10.13 as in certain areas, i.e. one person Court Houses, back-filling is essential if a staff member in those areas are able to take flex leave of more than one day;

• The continued broad interpretation of "operational requirements" to restrict access to flex leave;

• Only one period of block leave available during the year. Any request for additional block leave to have the approval of the Director General and is tied to a staff member having had two (2) weeks consecutive recreation leave. Two (2) weeks consecutive leave is already an Award requirement.

• Paragraph 18.3 has previously been rejected by the PSA and continues to be rejected in this offer.

The AGD DC will conduct a ballot of members should an acceptable offer be negotiated at any further meetings between the PSA and AGD.

The Executive of the AGD DC met with the PSA legal representative on 8 March 2005 seeking further legal advice.

Advice was received this week from the PSA lawyers, Jones Staff & Co, of a decision of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to have the May hearing dates vacated and to have the dispute heard by a Full Bench of the IRC as a "special case". The matter is listed for directions before Justice Walton, Vice President, IRC on Friday 18 March.

The Departmental Committee will be meeting shortly to consider any revised offer from the AGD and consider our case.

Members will recall that the Director General unilaterally cancelled the agreement in September 2003. The Director General's advice is that he is endeavouring to reach an agreement prior to the Easter and School Holiday breaks coming up. The PSA would expect to see a realistic offer in line with agencies within the AGD and other government agencies.

Flex leave is not a concession as members have to work the hours in order to access flexleave.

The PSA is committed to pursuing an equitable flexible working hours arrangement for members in AGD.