Public servants protest plan to move them to new office block in Port Adelaide

PUBLIC servants are demanding they be allowed to telecommute, change jobs or have colleagues take their place in a bid to avoid being sent to a new office block in Port Adelaide.

A building on the corner of Nelson and Nile St, which is intended as the new home for Renewal SA and Shared Services, but many staff don't want to move there. Picture: Tait Schmaal

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PUBLIC servants are demanding they be allowed to telecommute, change jobs or have colleagues take their place in a bid to avoid being sent to a new office block in Port Adelaide. The State Government is nearing completion on a $40 million new building at the Port but is confronting a backlash as a large number of the 500 workers meant to staff it say they don’t want to go.

The building is a key plank in plans for a post-Holden revitalisation of the northern suburbs.

Public Service Association secretary Nev Kitchin said about half of the Renewal SA and Shared Services department workers meant to make a 15km move out of the CBD had strong objections, including “aesthetic” concerns about the industrial area, and many would quit.

Mr Kitchin said the strongest objections were over increased travel time and disruptions to the work-life balance of workers who based their routines around working in the city.

He said it was expected some would be given a reprieve, but a significant number would by forced to move in the middle of next year and then make plans to quit and leave the Port.

Travel time to the new site was the biggest concern of workers. Picture: Tait Schmaal

“Travel times is the biggest concern that people have, and that affects work-life balance,” Mr Kitchin said.

“We met with a member recently who would have to travel two hours one way.

“Some people would be concerned about the aesthetics of working in Port Adelaide.

“But we do hope those amenities will grow with a larger number of workers down there.

“About half of the staff who are affected by the move have concerns.

“There will be a core of ­people who will be unhappy with the move, and it will never suit them, and they on that basis will apply for other government and private sector ­positions.”

A Government spokeswoman said having more ­people living, working, investing and spending time in the Port was critical to its revival and consultation with affected staff was ongoing.

“Relocating hundreds of public servants to Port Adelaide will bring new economic activity to the Port, delivering a much-needed boost for local businesses,” the spokeswoman said.

“While some staff will need to travel further as a result of the relocation, many employees living in the western suburbs and around the Le Fevre Peninsula will benefit from the move.

“Staff who may be concerned about moving to Port Adelaide should know we will work in partnership with them to ensure the smoothest transition possible.”

A concept image of the completed Shared Services and Renewal SA building in Port Adelaide. Picture: Walter Brooke

The Government is also spending $16.4 million on a train for a new spur line to a revived train station in the heart of Port Adelaide, which is expected to be completed in 2019.

A union survey of staff affected by the Port move led to suggestions for better public transport to help them get to work, using computers to remotely patch into meetings held by colleagues in Port Adelaide, better parking and switching jobs with other workers.

Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said the dockside would be much more popular had a planned tram been delivered, but it was quickly emerging as a “booming area”.

“It is a change of culture for them (city public servants) to come down the Port, but we welcome whatever group eventually does,” he said.

“I can see they would have a general concern, and it is valid if they’ve been employed to work somewhere and then told to move.”

Cartoonist Jos Valdman’s take on the planned move.

Mr Johanson said old snobbery about Port Adelaide may be a problem, but “any person who has been watching trends can see excitement building around boutique breweries and arts”.

“Here’s an area on the cusp of greatness,” he said. “We need people to experience this passion.”

Public sector opposition famous­ly helped scuttle former premier Don Dunstan’s satellite city plans at Monarto, which in the 1970s was to become a new hub with government offices.

Mr Kitchin said he hoped the Government would work with the union to help workers avoid the move if they had ­exceptional financial and ­personal circumstances that created hardship.

He said one worker had already decided to go part time to avoid commuting five days a week.

Plans to upgrade the building were included in the Government’s 2015 “Look North” blueprint, which aims to help create jobs after the end of car manufacturing.