Crown Lands - Workload

Executive, 25 February 2008

Report adopted

Members at the Nowra office of Crown Lands gave notice to the Department last November that they wished two vacant positions of a clerical support nature in the office to be filled by 1 February 2008, and that they would consider industrial action if they were not.

The Department has made statements indicating that action is being taken to fill these positions. However they remain vacant, and indeed it appears that no recruitment action has been taken in their regard.

As a result, members at the Nowra office met on 14 February and resolved to take industrial action. By PSA Direction dated 18 February 2008, members are refusing to staff the office counter and/or act in any way as office receptionist, collect and/or open any mail received at the office, bank any money received at the office, perform any "searches", or respond in any way to "Ministerials" or any requests for "Briefing Notes".

On 19 February the Department informed the PSA that an advertisement for one Clerk, General Scale position at Nowra will be published in the Public Service Notices on 27 February 2008, and asked the PSA to lift its work bans.

Members have rejected this offer as being unsatisfactory, in the light of previous indications from the Department that both a Grade 1/2 position and a General Scale position at Nowra would be filled by 1 February 2008, and the mounting backlog of work they are continuing to face.

As a result, the PSA's Direction to members at Crown Lands, Nowra, remains effective until further notice.