Public Sector General Agreement negotiations
Public Sector General Agreements registered
On 2 September 2008 the Public Service, the Government Officers Salaries, Allowances and Conditions, and the Electorate and Research Officers General Agreements were registered in the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
Circulars have been issued to departments and authorities authorising them to pay the new agreement salaries and conditions. The following circulars provide the new agreements:
Circular to Departments and Authorities 9 of 2008 - Public Service General Agreement
New salary rates can be found here.
Work is currently underway to finalise the other CSA agreements.
The Agreements: frequently asked questions
Salaries
Q. Do I get back paid to 26 February 2008?
A. Yes, you will get back paid to the first pay period commencing on or after 26 February 2008 if you were employed by your employer on 2 September 2008 (being the date of registration of the agreement in the WA Industrial Relations Commission).
Q. Do I also get back pay in relation to the shift allowances and overtime I have been paid since 26 February 2008?
A. Yes. All salary related entitlements that you have been paid since the first pay period commencing on or after 26 February 2008 will be adjusted in line with the new salary rates and back paid, if you were employed by your employer on 2 September 2008.
Q. How do Level 1 and 2 general division employees move to the new structure?
A. The following table shows how Level 1 and Level 2 employees move to the new salary structure. This change does not affect junior Level 1 employees.
| Existing Level | New Level at Date of Registration |
|---|---|
| LEVEL 1 | LEVEL 1 |
| 1.1 | 1.1 |
| 1.2 | 1.1 |
| 1.3 | 1.2 |
| 1.4 | 1.3 |
| 1.5 | 1.4 |
| 1.6 | 1.5 |
| 1.7 | 1.6 |
| 1.8 | 1.7 |
| 1.9 | 1.8 |
| LEVEL 2 | LEVEL 2 |
| 2.1 | 2.1 |
| 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 2.3 | 2.3 |
| 2.4 | 2.4 |
| 2.5 | 2.4 |
Q. When do I move to the new general division salary structure?
A. Affected employees will move to the new salary structure from the first pay period commencing on or after 2 September 2008.
Q. Does my translation to the new general division salary structure affect the date my next increment is due?
A. No. Your next increment will be due on the date it would have been due had you not translated to the new salary structure.
Q. Do part time Level 2.5 general division employees receive the $1,000 sign on bonus?
A. Yes, on a pro rata basis.
Q. Do I get the sign on bonus if I am acting at general division Level 2.5?
A. Yes, if you were acting at general division Level 2.5 on 2 September 2008.
Q. Do I get the sign on bonus if I am a substantive Level 2.5 general division employee but I am acting as a Level 3?
A. Yes, if you were a substantive Level 2.5 general division employee on 2 September 2008.
Q. Do I get the sign on bonus if I am a substantive Level 2.5 general division employee but I am currently on unpaid parental leave or leave without pay?
A. Yes, if you were a substantive Level 2.5 general division employee on 2 September 2008. You will not, however, receive this payment until you return to work.
Dates of Salary Increases
Q. When will I get my pay rise?
A. Agencies have been authorised to pay the new agreement salaries and conditions.
Q. How long does the agreement run for?
A. The agreement runs from 2 September 2008 to 1 April 2011.
Conditions
Q. From what date do the new and improved conditions apply?
A. Agreement provisions apply from the first pay period commencing on or after 2 September 2008. Other than the salary increases, changes to conditions are not back dated to 26 February 2008.
Q. Do I get the first aid allowance if I have a current first aid certificate?
A. You can only get the first aid allowance if you are formally appointed by your employer to be the first aid officer for a workplace and you have the appropriate first aid qualification.
Q. How is the first aid allowance to be paid?
A The first aid allowance is to be paid in each fortnightly pay.
Q. What has happened to the conditions contained in the 2006 Public Service General Agreement and the 2006 GOSAC General Agreement (GA3)?
A. Most of these conditions have been incorporated into the Public Service Award or GOSAC. Some conditions have been included in the 2008 agreements.
Q. What has happened to district allowance?
A. District allowance is currently contained in separate industrial agreements that apply to all public sector unions, including the CSA. The Government will negotiate replacement agreements with all public sector unions and the outcome will be applied from 1 July 2008.
Summary of Salary Increases
General division employees
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The majority of Level 1 and 2 employees will receive salary increases of between 16% and 20%.
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The number of salary increments for Levels 1 and 2 has been reduced to provide higher starting salaries.
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Level 3 employees and above will receive total cumulative salary increases of at least 15.5%.
Specified calling employees
Specified calling employees will receive salary increases of 13.03% - 4.5% in 2008, 4% in 2009 and 4% in 2010.
Dates of salary increases
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Salary increases will be back paid to the first pay period on or after 26 February 2008.
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The second increase will be paid from the first pay period on or after 26 February 2009.
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The third increase will be paid from the first pay period on or after 1 April 2010.
Summary of New and Improved Conditions of Employment
Shift work
The night shift allowance has been increased from 15 % to 20%.
Overtime
There has been an increase in the limit on access to overtime from Level 5.4 to general division Level 6. 4 and to specified calling Level 3.4.
On call
Out of hours contact allowance has been increased. The allowance is now based on the Level 3.1 general division salary and increased with each annual salary increase.
First aid allowance
A new public sector First Aid Allowance has been introduced. The allowance is $439 per annum in 2008 and will increase to $472 per annum by 2010.
Working with children checks
Agencies are to pay for working with children checks and any renewals for existing employees, and agencies may reimburse the cost of checks for new employees.
Purchased leave
The maximum purchased leave amount has been increased from 8 weeks to 10 weeks.
Parental, partner and grand parental leave
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Fathers can access paid parental leave within the 12 months following the birth of their child.
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12 months unpaid grandparental leave has been introduced to enable grandparents to care for their grandchildren.
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Employees can use personal leave for paid partner leave purposes.
Pro rata access to extra weeks leave for shift workers and North West employees
Shift workers and North West employees can access their additional leave on a pro rata basis.
Higher duties allowance
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Higher duties allowance is to be paid on all paid leave in the same way as it was previously paid to employees on annual leave.
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Part time employees no longer have to work five consecutive working days to access higher duties allowance. They can access HDA where they work five consecutive days according to their part time work pattern.
Personal leave
The personal leave entitlement has been amended to include care or support to a member of an employee’s family or household who requires care or support because of an illness or injury to the member; or an unexpected emergency affecting the family member.
Part time employment
Any employee has the right to request to work part time.