Staff Association representatives recently met with CSIRO HR management for formal negotiations following weeks of delays due to the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) assessment of a new CSIRO Enterprise Agreement (EA) proposal.
The purpose of the meeting was to receive an update on any changes proposed by the APSC to specific clauses in the agreement proposal.
Limited change
Nine clauses were discussed; with five clauses involving technical amendments that did not substantively change EA entitlements. The remaining four clauses were:
Overall analysis
The Staff Association has updated the complete clause-by-clause analysis document. Overall, of the 94 clauses and schedules, 85 are agreed and 9are not agreed. Of the nine not agreed clauses, seven involve no change to current EA entitlements.
The other two clauses are pay – where the Staff Association opposes the wage constraints on CSIRO staff – and specified term employment – where the Staff Association opposes removing the current option for consecutive postdocs at CSIRO. Twelve clauses have been improved from the current EA.
Staff Association position
The latest changes to specific clauses has not changed the Staff Association’s position – based on member direction, following consultation on the EA proposal – to support the proposed agreement when it goes to an all staff vote.
The vote is likely to occur in late July or early August according to CSIRO management; following a period of consideration of the proposal by all staff. A new EA would take effect after the expiry of the current agreement on 14 November 2020.
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