New pay deals containing generous “working from home” rights for federal public sector workers are set to be voted up in some of the biggest government departments next week, extending the new flexibility clauses to 85,000 government employees. The expected endorsement of deals by employees in the Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia and the Department of Home Affair will mean more than half the public sector’s 170,000-strong workforce will gain the new rights that include no formal cap on the number of working from home days each week and a “bias towards approving requests”. In the highest “yes” vote for 15 years, 97 per cent of voting Department of Defence employees recently endorsed their deal that also includes significant improvements to paid parental leave, including 18 weeks for the primary carer and the secondary carer. Under the “working from home” clause, which the federal government and the Community Public Sector Union (CPSU) expect to apply across 103 agreements, agency caps that in practice have limited the right to work from home to two or three days a week are scrapped. Agencies are required to consider written requests for working from home on a case-by-case basis, with a “bias towards approving requests”. An agency head can refuse a request on “reasonable business grounds”, including that it would be too costly, would have a significant negative impact on customer service, or that it would likely result in a significant loss in efficiency or productivity. An employee who has their request rejected has the right to appeal to the Fair Work Commission. The Australian https://lnkd.in/eevkcK4U
One can only presume this will lead to better lives for our public servants and for those of us who wish to avail ourselves of the public services we need to always be mindful of the balance that is important to the public servant and not our needs or demands. We should be mindful and not impose unnecessarily on them when seeking public services. Our taxes at work life balance.
Time we culled our public servants as we seem to be getting less and less value from more and more of them. It is like HR, there is an inverse relationship between employee satisfaction and the number of HR personnel. Argentina has the right approach. Cull the public sector and lower taxes.
Will efficiency or productivity be increased by these provisions?
Mark Douglas
1y
Smart deal. They saw what was coming anyway down the legislative pipeline.
Trainer/Assessor, Entrepreneur, RE Licensee, Author, Speaker, Security consultant. Airbnb Host
1yThe forthcoming changes are poised to strike with greatest severity at the very heart of bureaucratic machinery—specifically, those officials who, driven by a blend of psychopathy and Machiavellianism, have wielded their positions as instruments of oppression against their peers. These individuals, adept in the arts of manipulation and coercion, have long thrived in an environment where drama and authoritarianism are not merely tolerated but often rewarded. As these covert machinations are dragged into the light, with previously whispered threats now starkly outlined in written policy, one can anticipate an initial surge in workplace bullying. This escalation, however, is not a sign of the policy's failure but rather an indication of its effectiveness in unsettling those who have grown comfortable in their roles as tormentors. The government, as the largest employer of individuals exhibiting such toxic traits, stands on the cusp of a significant confrontation. The deviants embedded within its ranks are likely to perceive these changes as a direct assault on the very foundations of their power and authority. Look forward to a realignment towards a healthier, safer workplace culture.