MOP(S) Act Enterprise Agreement: USU/ASU CONDEMNS DELAYING TACTIC BY EMPLOYER

The ASU-USU condemns the ongoing delaying tactics by the Department of Finance in the resolution of the new MOPS Enterprise Agreement.

Union delegates and officials were dismayed to find out at the last minute that the Department was not going to present (as earlier promised) a revised Enterprise Agreement and remuneration offer at last Friday’s (16 April 2021) bargaining meeting. No reasons were forthcoming from the Department as to the cause of the delay.

Members have again been greatly disadvantaged by this unnecessary delay by the Department. With no promise of compensation for the delay, members will now have to wait for another month, at the next bargaining meeting scheduled for 14 May 2021, to view the Department’s revised Enterprise Agreement and remuneration offer. The Union was equally disappointed to learn that the Department may have not even lodged a revised EA and remuneration offer with the APSC or with the relevant Ministers as would have been expected.

With the other matter of underpayment or wage theft against EOA-01and EOA-02 staff as reported last week, the ASU-USU also raised concerns at last week’s meeting of the likelihood of the continuation of this underpayment/wage theft into the new MOPS EA especially in the context of the Department’s current proposal of a ‘No Floor’ and use of WPI as its preferred measure of wage increase in the new MOPS Agreement.

The Department of Finance’s estimate of maximum underpayment/lost wages potentially suffered by EOA-01s and EOA-02s during the last 4 years as a result of this debacle could be as high as $3 – $4,000 per individual staff. The Department has promised to work together with KPMG, who have now been engaged to investigate the underpayments at additional costs to taxpayers, to ensure that all underpayments/lost wages are paid out to all affected current and former Electoral Staff before the end of the current financial year, 30 June 2021.

If you have any questions please contact your workplace delegate or organiser Mick Jones at mjones@usu.org.au or phone 0450 020 589.