 Home Decisions S170 review of the PSEM Act
S170 review of the PSEM Act
Executive, 23 June 2008
Report adopted
The Act contains the following provision with respect to a five yearly review, a mechanism which is common to all NSW legislation:
170 Review of Act
The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.
The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 5 years from the date of assent to this Act.
A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years.
The Public Sector Workforce Office (PSWO) wrote to the Association seeking submissions to an Issues Paper it produced after preliminary consultations with agencies. The Association responded to this in broad terms by the deadline of the 30 May 2008 by way of a letter. A more detailed response is being developed.
The review is to be completed and a report tabled in Parliament before 3 July 2008. This report may identify proposed changes to the Act.
Firstly, in the Association's response, the Issues Paper was examined and areas of broad concern were identified. Secondly the Association submitted that the Minister should in his report to Parliament make a commitment to consult with public sector unions over any subsequent amending Bill
The major areas of concern identified by the Association in the Issues Paper were:
Proposed Objects of the PSEM Act
The proposed Objects of this employment legislation stress managerial efficiency and don't acknowledge the need for consultation with unions
The attached Table compares the Objects in the Industrial Relations Act 1996 which emphasises consultation and union participation in workplace reform with those proposed in the Issues Paper. The PSEM Act does not have any Objects and those proposed in the Issues Paper were taken from the Minister's 2002 second reading speech. The PSEM Act is public sector employment legislation. The Objects being proposed for it focus on managerial efficiency and could be improved upon.
Mobility, flexibility, displacement and the need for employment protection
PSWO proposals raise the possibility of a greater incidence of restructures, amalgamations, shared services etc because it will be easier to move staff around, although it will be easier to redeploy displaced staff. At this time the received wisdom is that because of the ageing workforce and skill shortages large scale redundancies or downsizing is unlikely. However it will become easier to regroup the deckchairs.
There is an emphasis in the Issues Paper given to the need for greater workforce mobility - employers want to have more control over allocation of staff - both location and temporal. The Issues Paper says this in relation to proposals for:
Proposed Objects
- to facilitate agencies working together to deliver better services to the community,
- to facilitate staff movements across the public sector to provide quality services to the people of NSW,
Removing the concept of "occupying positions"
- The Issues Paper notes that currently "Officers are appointed to positions with job descriptions... " The consequence of the current arrangement is said to possibly "limit the Government's ability to allocate resources and staff and redeployment issues."
- The Department Head would employ staff, but not in positions
Reducing current employment categories
- Two categories of employee would be those with tenure (permanent or "open") and those without tenure ("fixed" term employees - temporaries and casuals)
Increasing alternative employment categories
- A new category of retired public servants registering for part-time or casual work through e-recruitment
- Ditching requirement for citizenship to make use of non-citizens on 457 temporary work visas for up to 4 years
The Association would be seeking guarantees that there are sufficient employment protections contained in the Act
Other changes proposed by PSWO
Other changes proposed by the PSWO include the following. These require clarification and discussion with unions/PSA as to the intent and scope of the proposed changes. Some would be immediately opposed and the PSA would also raise its own proposals as to legislative changes.
- Introduction of the term "capabilities" in s 19(1) Merit Appointment
- Allowing temporaries to compete for internal positions
- Appointment on Probation (s23) - suggestion that agencies have an express right to extend the probationary period - BUT unions want the period to reflect Industrial Relations General Regulation - 3 months or "reasonable"
- Special Temporary employees - currently deemed to form a branch of the DPC - suggestion that arrangement is not required
- Unsatisfactory performance - proposal to reduce the number of opportunities the staff member has to respond to adverse decisions from two to one
- Suspension from duty (s49) - propose clarification to confirm that suspension period includes the time the criminal charge is being dealt with under s48
- Citizenship requirements - proposing to remove to allow s457 visa applications for skill shortages
- Reporting bankruptcy - no longer considered relevant
- Excess staff and excessive salaries - 56 Excess officers of Department - no issues raised by DPC (But unions have!)
- Executive officers - various proposals
- S86 Temporary secondments - want clarified that temporaries cant go back to their former agency because the secondment terminates the original temporary employment
- Temporary Assignment of public sector staff to other agencies (s88) - suggest using this provision in relation to deploying staff in context of disaster recovery activities
- Shared jobs (s100) - need clarification that this arrangement is not 2 part time jobs but one position
- Use of Teaching Staff (s101) - should it be deleted? May be of more concern to Teachers Federation
- Chapter 4 Administrative Changes - no changes proposed at this stage
- Chapter 6 Director of Public Employment - does the list of responsibilities need updating?
- Chapter 7 Goods and Services - suggestion that Government contracts be opened up to purchasers from overseas - a larger, international market - could be issues
- Complaints about the tendering process - whether there should be an express process in the Act for dealing with complaints or breaches of Code of Practice on Procurement
- Giving the Director General of DPC special inquiry powers into public sector agencies or officers? (currently the Premier (s159) and the Director General of the Department of Health has these powers
- Continuity of service - should Clause 4 of Schedule 3A (Mobility) be amended to allow for greater breaks in service to be considered for recognition of service where the break is for career development? (PSA: A positive suggestion which could be expanded upon ie for work/life balance more generally??)
The second attached Table elaborates on all of the above proposed changes and proposes a few of our own. This document provides a preliminary basis for discussions with the PSWO. The Issues Paper itself can be obtained from http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/public_sector_employment_and_management_act/issues_paper or on request from the PSA Research Section.
Contact Details
Gwenda Happ, Snr Industrial Officer
Ph: 02 9220 0911
Fax: 02 9262 1623
|
