Queensland Police Union Journal

Updates: EB and The Stewart Restructure
particular concern given the State
Government’s position that they
will not consider interim wage rises
nor backdating of EBA increases
finalised after July.’
March 19 – COP response to GP
• ‘...I can assure you that Government
representatives are fully authorised
to negotiate the content of the
Union’s logs and also the broader
areas of reform common to all
public sector negotiations...’
March 20 – GP response to COP
• ‘It is unreasonable to assert that
you and your representatives are
authorised to negotiate when
no wage offer nor a QPS Log of
Claims has ever been approved or
authorised by the State Government.
Either you can negotiate a wage offer
or you cannot. It is quite simple.’
WHAT IS GOOD FAITH BARGAINING?
• QPS requests that both Unions
table respective Logs of Claims
prior to the QPS being in position
to do likewise does not constitute
‘bargaining in good faith’.
• Section 146 of the Industrial
Relations Act 1999 clearly states
that, ‘When negotiating the terms
of a proposed agreement, the
proposed parties to the agreement
must negotiate in good faith’. It
stands to reason that for the parties
to be able to negotiate the terms of
agreement, the respective position
of all parties should be known.
• This requirement is reiterated in
this section under the heading of
‘Examples of good faith bargaining’
where it states, ‘disclosing relevant
information as appropriate for the
negotiations’.
THE STATE GOVERNMENT’S WAGES
POLICY – HAVE THEY MOVED THE
GOALPOSTS?
• YES
• The government changed its wages
policy after the parties commenced
negotiations for the new EBA.
• QPU survey advised members that
the Newman government’s wages
policy provided for an increase of
up to 3% per annum.
• The QPU developed our Log of
Claims based on that policy.
• Exchange of correspondence
between GP (29 January) and COP
response (18 February).
• 19 February – Deputy
Commissioner for Workforce
Reform, Ross Musgrove, stated
that the policy will be ‘amended by
lowering the existing ceiling from up
to 3% to between 2.2% and 2.5% p.a.
inclusive of productivity’.
“The government
has changed the
legislation to make it
harder for the QPU.”
QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS COMMISSION (QIRC) –
FUTURE WAGE CASES – WHY CAN’T
WE JUST GO TO ARBITRATION LIKE
WE DID LAST TIME?
• The government has changed the
legislation to make it harder for the
QPU.
• The Newman government has
legislated to impose additional
obligations on the QIRC in relation
to future wage cases.
• QIRC is now obliged to take into
consideration the financial position
of the state and address this in any
wage case decision.
• Also, there’s a new process where
the government can brief the QIRC
‘on the State’s financial position,
fiscal strategy, and related matters’
whenever it chooses.
• This may limit the Union’s ability to
achieve a reasonable outcome from
the QIRC in a wage case.
CAN’T THE STATE GOVERNMENT
DIRECTLY BALLOT MEMBERS NOW
TOO?
• YES
• Another legislative change by the
government is that the employer
has the ‘right to directly request
employees to approve a proposed
certified agreement by voting for it’.
• If the QPU did not accept a QPS
wage offer, the QPS could directly
ballot all members and if a majority
of members vote in favour of the
offer, that offer then becomes the
next EBA.
SO WHAT’S THE QPU DOING ABOUT
IT?
• The QPU has now written to the
Premier to negotiate directly
with him because we are not
receiving any feedback from the
Commissioner of Police.
• The QPU is also considering our
options to ‘Lodge a Notification of
Dispute’ in the QIRC on the basis
that the Commissioner of Police is
not negotiating in good faith.
STEWART RESTRUCTURE
The QPS has now re-engaged with the
QPU, and the QPS has become more
open and accountable owing to the
stance the QPU has held.
“The QPU has
now written to the
Premier to negotiate
directly with him
because we are
not receiving any
feedback from the
Commissioner of
Police.”
An update on the Stewart Restructure
process is below.
GENERAL PROCESS
• Officers in existing positions that
are being reduced in number -
closed merit process.
• Unsuccessful officers join all other
displaced and existing surplus
officers in a ‘displaced pool’.
Queensland Police Union Journal June 2013
67