We have received a number of inquiries and reports from members about the 24 hour rosters being under threat. This appears to have come out of a Metropolitan Operations Management meeting held yesterday where the issue was raised. Further rumours that “the Union” has somehow agreed to this have also been circulated.
I can assure all members that this is not the case.
We have not been approached by FRNSW regarding any proposal to change or abandon the 24 hour roster nor will we be entertaining any such proposal.
SO Reliever Dispute – J and Z Relieving
In SitRep 10/2021, we advised all members of our intention to file a dispute regarding Station Officer Relieving positions and FRNSW failing to fill vacant positions in Country areas. The matter was before the Industrial Relations Commission on Tuesday 16 March 2021 for conciliation.
During these proceedings FRNSW unexpectedly declared that it wanted to reintroduce the old J and Z country relieving model as a way to resolve the dispute.
You would have recently seen an email from Acting Director of Industrial Relations Brendan Cox to all permanent staff outlining FRNSW’s view of what happened during the proceedings.
As you all know, the J and Z reliever model has a long history and was being renegotiated after the implementation of the Leading Ranks in 2015. In 2017, the membership told us in no uncertain terms that the model was not working and subsequently voted it down. We have not and will not look to reintroduce this model.
Since 2018, FRNSW has rejected any new or revised country reliever model. It is only now, after having the issue raised in the IRC, that they have finally made their position clear.
While the inconsistent approach from FRNSW regarding a ‘country reliever model’ has been both frustrating and unproductive, we welcome their willingness to now engage on this issue and look forward to holding genuine discussions around a new model.
PAD Update
In what appears to be a pattern of provoking the membership this week (see above), an update confirming that there has been no news from the IRC since the last update was sent out today by the Department.
As stated in previous SitReps, the IRC is yet to hand down its decision and the Department has yet to undertake consultation with HSRs or agree to any pay rise, training or support required for us to agree to undertake this work. More to follow, when there is something to actually report.
