Federal public servants strike over pay and conditions

The commonwealth public sector union plans to launch its most disruptive industrial action in 30 years today.

The commonwealth public sector union plans to launch today its most disruptive industrial action in 30 years, with up to 36,000 of the union’s 55,000 members expected to stop work at airports, Medicare and Centrelink offices around the country.

Public servants in more than 1000 workplaces, including bio-security and quarantine officers alongside Department of Human Services workers, voted for the half-day strikes, potentially disrupting services ranging from border patrols to export-meat inspections.

The union is protesting against the government’s stance on pay and conditions for 160,000 public servants. Nadine Flood, the secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, has branded as “Work Choices by stealth” the government’s attempts to shift superannuation, personal leave and other entitlements from enterprise agreements to departmental policy, where they can be changed at whim, circumventing Fair Work rules.

Public servants have been left in limbo over their future wages, entitlements and job security after negotiations with the government broke down.

No new agreements have been signed since the previous award expired on June 30.

One Centrelink worker told The Australian that staff were “under huge pressure”, following the loss of 17,000 jobs across the public service.

Staff at the tax office, where industrial action is rare, also plan to join the strike after the loss of more than 20 per cent of the workforce and 4400 jobs.

The government has said its offers have so far been fair and reasonable, blaming the CPSU for “scaremongering”.

However, a summary of one offer — seen by The Australian — to Department of Human Services staff that was later withdrawn, reveals a 20 per cent cut in personal leave and longer working hours for no more pay.

Staff in the Department of Employment and the Department of Industry voted down proposed agreements by 95 per cent and 77 per cent respectively in recent months. The union has signed on more than 12,000 new members in the past year, giving it a 34 per cent membership rate in the sector.

The union will flood government agencies next month with 2.5 million leaflets aimed at telling the community that “the government has cut jobs and now they’re going after workers’ rights”.