Saturday, May 16, 2015

18 May – CENTRELINK, MEDICARE WORKERS TO WALK OFF THE JOB OVER GOVT ATTACK ON RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS

CPSU: MAY 15, 2015

Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support staff will kick off a week of rolling public service industrial action at 11.30am on Monday 18 May, with a series of one-hour stop work meetings.

The action is designed to highlight growing anger about Abbott Government attacks on public service workplace rights and employment conditions.

As well as stopping work and imposing a range of internal work bans, union members in DHS will also distribute 1.5 million flyers to clients outlining their concerns.

CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said: “Public sector workers don’t take industrial action lightly but they have been pushed to this point by a belligerent government that has cut 17,300 jobs and is now intent on attacking the living standards, pay and conditions of 160,000 public servants.

"The deals this Government are offering across the public service are so draconian no one could accept them.

“Workers are being asked to cop a massive cut to rights and conditions, in return for low annual pay offers of between 0% and 1% a year that leave real wages going backwards.

“No major private sector employer in Australia is making such nasty offers.

“You can learn a lot about a Government by the way it treats its own staff. This one has launched a vicious attack on its employees. And now, a year later, the Government is refusing to sit down and talk about a more sensible way forward."

"Public servants in the Tax Office took action last week and thousands of CPSU members in agencies such as the Bureau of Meteorology, Agriculture, Defence, Veterans Affairs and Employment will be holding similar one-hour stoppages throughout the week.

Meanwhile agencies including ABS, Customs and Immigration are also preparing or taking industrial action in protest at Government plans to cut conditions in return for low-ball pay offers.

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