Industrial action by members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) continues, with staff at Customs and Immigration stepping up their campaign tomorrow (1 July), the first day of their merger into the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the new Australian Border Force.
A planned nationwide two-hour strike from 9am follows a series of rolling four-hour stoppages last week involving CPSU members from Agencies including Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support in the Department of Human Services, Agriculture, Defence, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Tax Office.
National Secretary of the CPSU, Nadine Flood said it was expected that this action would cause disruption and delays at international airports, seaports and other centres.
Strike action marks first day of merger
“International airports that will be affected include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin,” Ms Flood said.
She said Customs and Immigration Officers were being hit particularly hard by the Government’s tough bargaining policy, with many of the allowances they rely on to make up their pay packet cut.
“These men and women literally put their lives on the line to keep Australia safe.”
She said some of the Allowances at risk in the new enterprise agreement included the Use of Force Allowance, for Officers required to maintain specified fitness levels so they could carry firearms; Marine and Marine Accommodation Allowances, for Officers deployed at sea for up to 36 days at a time; and the Dog Detector Unit Allowance, for Officers working with dogs detecting controlled substances.
“Our members take their work very seriously,” Ms Flood said.
“This action will not apply to members engaged in safety of life at sea or on land situations, or on work that could impact on counterterrorism and national security.”
She welcomed what she said was a last-minute determination not to cut the Allowances from the date of the Departmental amalgamation, 1 July 2015.
“Staff are no longer facing an immediate pay cut from day one of Border Force, but they still face a pay cut in a new Agreement which must comply with Government’s bargaining policy,” Ms Flood said.
The inaugural Commissioner of the new Australian Border Force, which will combine Customs and Border Control operations, Roman Quaedvlieg will be sworn in tomorrow at Parliament House in Canberra.
A planned nationwide two-hour strike from 9am follows a series of rolling four-hour stoppages last week involving CPSU members from Agencies including Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support in the Department of Human Services, Agriculture, Defence, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Tax Office.
National Secretary of the CPSU, Nadine Flood said it was expected that this action would cause disruption and delays at international airports, seaports and other centres.
Strike action marks first day of merger
“International airports that will be affected include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin,” Ms Flood said.
She said Customs and Immigration Officers were being hit particularly hard by the Government’s tough bargaining policy, with many of the allowances they rely on to make up their pay packet cut.
“These men and women literally put their lives on the line to keep Australia safe.”
She said some of the Allowances at risk in the new enterprise agreement included the Use of Force Allowance, for Officers required to maintain specified fitness levels so they could carry firearms; Marine and Marine Accommodation Allowances, for Officers deployed at sea for up to 36 days at a time; and the Dog Detector Unit Allowance, for Officers working with dogs detecting controlled substances.
“Our members take their work very seriously,” Ms Flood said.
“This action will not apply to members engaged in safety of life at sea or on land situations, or on work that could impact on counterterrorism and national security.”
She welcomed what she said was a last-minute determination not to cut the Allowances from the date of the Departmental amalgamation, 1 July 2015.
“Staff are no longer facing an immediate pay cut from day one of Border Force, but they still face a pay cut in a new Agreement which must comply with Government’s bargaining policy,” Ms Flood said.
The inaugural Commissioner of the new Australian Border Force, which will combine Customs and Border Control operations, Roman Quaedvlieg will be sworn in tomorrow at Parliament House in Canberra.
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