The ongoing restructure of enterprise services roles is again in the spotlight, with fresh questions being raised over compliance with consultation rules, specifically regarding proposed changes in CSIRO Business and Infrastructure Services (CBIS).
A large number of staff across CBIS have contacted the union to raise concerns with both the length of the consultation process and that feedback has not been considered and or fully responded to.
“CBIS staff perform vital support work to keep CSIRO workplaces and infrastructure operational and effective. These proposed job cuts threaten to have a massive knock-on effect on science capability, research impact and site safety,” CSIRO Staff Association Secretary Susan Tonks said.
Enterprise Services (ES) reform is anticipated to hit CBIS hard. In an email to staff in August 2024, CBIS Director Fiona Rothwell acknowledged the scale of the budget problems facing the business unit.
“Modelling suggests there is a need to realise significant OPEX (operational expenditure) savings currently estimated at $25.6 million per annum. Depending on the degree of OPEX savings and the overall need for CSIRO to reduce investment in enterprise services to core services, we could consider an expected reduction in labour in the order of 20 to 30 per cent,” Ms Rothwell said.
These plans were further expanded through the release of a CBIS strategy document in mid-November that confirmed ‘the key driver is ES Reforms requirement to deliver significant savings and a 20-30 per cent reduction in headcount.’
Following the release of the strategy document, CBIS initially announced a relatively truncated consultation period for the proposed job cuts, comprising of 19 working days, from 11 November to 5 December inclusive.
However, there were reports that some cohorts, such as those CBIS staff from Geelong’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, where all affected workers were not contacted until 22 November with finer details on the proposed changes provided as late as 3 December.
The Staff Association wrote to CSIRO Executive in early December, citing fears that the process employed in CBIS could be in contravention of consultation rules, constituting a breach of the enterprise agreement.
That union action delivered immediate results, with an extension of the consultation so that feedback from CBIS staff can be responded to as it should.
“Staff Association members have reported to the union that information provided about the proposed changes is inconsistent and unclear, and information is not being provided to employees and the union to support proper consideration of the proposed change,” Ms Tonks said.
“We’re also concerned about the health and safety risks of heavy cuts to CBIS staff who keep CSIRO workplaces safe and operational.”
“The union has already separately contacted the federal regulator for workplace health and safety, outlining the potential psychosocial hazards arising from the ES restructure, the worst CSIRO job cuts in more than a decade,” Ms Tonks said.
Widespread staff dissatisfaction appears to have been reflected in the over two hundred individual pieces of staff feedback supplied to CBIS leaders, as part of the consultation process.
“There was also feedback expressing dissatisfaction with the consultation process, citing a lack of detailed information and insufficient time to provide meaningful feedback and on the other hand we have received a lot of feedback on how slow the process had been to date,” Ms Rothwell admitted.
Following a meeting in mid-January 2025 with CSIRO Executive representatives, union negotiators put forward a proposal to further strengthen the consultation process through the development of practical resources aimed at providing specific and clear information to staff facing major change.
The Staff Association will meet with CBIS staff in the coming weeks regarding the required feedback responses for their ES unit and provide an update on the progress of the dispute.
This current dispute is the second time in twelve months Staff Association representatives have invoked the enterprise agreement to enforce consultation rights.
Last May, in response to human health research job cuts in Health and Biosecurity, the union’s dispute notification ultimately led to the development and adoption of an additional consultation plan which steps out the engagement process.
Member feedback throughout the ES restructure process is critical for better outcomes. If you have questions or further feedback on CBIS proposed changes please contact your workplace delegate or local organiser.
CBIS employees who are Staff Association members and are potentially affected are encouraged to contact the union to arrange support and individual representation.
