Public Sector Salaries Award - Document 1

The following document, the "Heads of Agreement" is one of two main documents which will be incorporated in the Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries 1997) Award. The other is the "Co-operative Negotiating Agenda" which is the subject of the News Item, "Public Sector Salaries - Document 2.

Heads of Agreement
Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries) Award 1997

Overview Principles

The parties' objective in this Heads of Agreement is to:
1. Give employees access to fair pay increases; and
2. Maintain and improve services to the people of NSW.

This Agreement is consistent with the NSW Government's Public Sector Wages Policy.

Agreement is now reached on pay increases in the Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries) Award 1997.

Ongoing saving in organisations' budgets and the funding allocations provided to budget sector organisations will ensure that the cost of the pay increases is covered and provide a share of benefits to improve services and/or budget targets.

As savings will need to be achieved for organisations covered by this Heads of Agreement, initiatives to achieve these savings will be discussed and negotiated between the Public Employment Office and the Public Service Association. These discussions will focus on the savings from the Corporate Services Review and the savings to be achieved through those other reviews of the Council of the Cost of Government which impact on groups covered by this Award - not program savings.

Should these savings not be sufficient, further savings are to be achieved at the organisational level. The Public Employment Office will be available to the Public Service Association and individual organisations to assist the process, if necessary, and to co-ordinate and actively assess progress in realising the savings.

The detailed clauses of this Heads of Agreement are to be read as subject to these overview principles.

1. The term of the agreement will be until 31 December 1999.

   No other salary claims to take effect during the term of the agreement will be lodged except for any areas so agreed between the parties.

2. The term of the award made as a consequence of this agreement will be from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1999.

3. Agreement has been reached between the parties that a total pay increase of 16% is available to employees covered by the Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries) Award 1997, subject to the following clauses.

4. From the specified dates the following increases are payable in accordance with this Heads of Agreement.

   The increases will be funded through the Consolidated Fund to budget sector organisations, savings from the Corporate Services Review and savings to be achieved through those other reviews of the Council of the Cost of Government which impact on groups covered by this Award - not program savings. Should these savings not be sufficient, further savings are to be achieved at the organisation level.

   The savings are to be pooled across budget sector organisations, other than those which receive the majority of their finances through hypothecated funding, and re- distributed to them to ensure full funding of the increases, as appropriate.

   Subject to Clauses 6, 7 and 8, the Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries) Award will provide the following increases to be paid from the dates indicated.

5. The aggregate increases under this Heads of Agreement are as follows:

   
   First pay period to                Increase
   
   commence on or after
   
   (i)     1 January 1997             1%
   
   (ii)    1 July 1997                3%
   
   (iii)   1 January 1998             2%
   
   (iv)    1 July 1998                5%
   
   (v)     1 January 1999             5%
   
   

6. The parties have agreed to fully co-operate in the identification and implementation of agreed measures to achieve real identifiable savings through the Corporate Services Review and other reviews of the Council of the Cost of Government which impact on groups covered by this Award - not program savings. The parties have also developed a Co-operative Negotiation Agenda to support this Framework.

7. Through the processes in Clause 6, in addition to the increases to be paid from 1 January 1997 and 1 January 1998, it is considered that the savings needed for the following increases will be achieved:

   
   First pay period to                Increase
   
   commence on or after
   
   (i)     1 July 1998                2%
   
   (ii)    1 January 1999             2%
   
   

   These increases will be included in the award by agreement no later than 31 December 1997, subject to the savings needed to fully fund the increases, through the processes in Clause 6, being achieved.

8. In relation to Clause 7 the Association agrees to work with the Public Employment Office and should it be necessary with each organisation to achieve the necessary savings.

   Should the organisation level processes be required, in any case where there is disagreement between the Association and an organisation, the matter subject of the disagreement will be referred to the Public Employment Office for peak level negotiations with the Public Service Association.