NSW: Public staff cuts deemed unfair

PSA 07 December 2011

A group of public servants have won back their right to redeployment after the Industrial Relations Commission declared their forced retrenchments ''unfair''.

The decision means 29 public servants who were retrenched under the O'Farrell government's new policies have 12 months to find other positions within the public service. Otherwise, they will be given three months' written notice and improved severance pay - a payment of three weeks per year of service to a maximum of 39 weeks.

In a judgment delivered this week, the commission said the state government's policy for managing ''excess employees'' was unfair under the Industrial Relations Act 1996.


The NSW Government has been dealt a significant blow after the NSW Industrial Relations Commission this week declared unfair its policy that allows public servants to be forcibly retrenched, the Public Service Association said today.

The decision means that the 29 public servants who were about to lose their job without any real opportunity to be redeployed within the public sector now have 12 months to find a suitable position, as per the 2008 policy.

It also puts under a cloud the treatment of public sector workers declared excess in the future.

"Since the O'Farrell Government was elected eight months ago, we have seen a vicious attack on the rights of workers in this state, and this week's decision highlights that the Government's actions are unfair and unacceptable to its workforce," John Cahill, General Secretary of the PSA said today.

"Fair workplace arrangements are necessary in this state, and the O'Farrell Government has with its changes taken away workers' rights.

"The court has said that the unfair 2011 policy that deals with excess employees is actually in breach of NSW public sector employment laws as it makes little, if any, attempt to redeploy excess staff into other jobs.

"As such, the policy has been declared unfair and will not apply to the workers who were being represented in the action.

"Instead, the 2008 Excess Employee Policy will apply to these people until the end of July 2014.

"With these orders, the court is sending a clear message that you cannot forcibly retrench people when there is other suitable work available within the public sector."