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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Wednesday, 30 June 2004) . . Page.. 3038 ..

a public sector that was moving towards the rear of pay scales. Having to deliver immediate relief to those public servants provided enormous pressure. We were seeing difficulties in retaining staff, difficulties in recruiting staff and a drift to the Commonwealth, where we compete for considerable numbers of our public servants.

In the two years before Labor came to office, people employed in the public sector clerical area were receiving pay rises of about 1½ per cent. This was clearly inadequate to maintain a professional public service, so in the first round of agreements the public sector received a 10½ per cent increase over 18 months. We have now finished negotiations on template 2, which is the collective template for all clerical public sector agencies. Those agencies will now negotiate their own schedules. This template delivers a 13 per cent pay rise over three years; it will deliver five per cent in the first instalment and then two payments of four per cent.

Importantly, the conditions in the new template build on the conditions in template 1, which included 14 weeks paid maternity leave, 14 weeks paid primary carers leave, flexible working arrangements through access to part-time employment, job sharing, purchased leave, home based work, financial assistance for vacation care, child care programs, assistance with family care costs, facilities for nursing mothers and, in addition, 18 days personal leave with access to leave for caring purposes up to the available credits.

In template 2 we have taken all the conditions from template 1 and improved them in areas which allow public sector workers to better balance their work and family lives. Improvements in conditions include formal recognition of employees with caring responsibilities, flexible working arrangements for SOGA and SOGB officers, including access to five days off once additional hours have been worked, and access to flex time across the public sector up to SOGC level. Template 2 includes a new bonding leave entitlement of five days leave on the birth or adoption of a child.

The template 2 agreement also includes reimbursement for vacation child care programs when leave is rejected due to school holiday periods and a two-day formal closure period over Christmas. employees will now be able to access pro rata entitlement to long service leave, in case of severance, after seven years of service. Casuals, who were receiving a 15 per cent loading, have had their loading increased to 20 per cent.

I think those conditions have been worked out in a collective spirit between the government and the unions. The parties held their negotiations in good faith. Whilst there was a little turbulence around the edges, it is pleasing to see that we have reached an agreement and, in time, all those agreements will be certified to the benefit of public sector workers. As members would know, the government has reached in principle agreement with the teachers. We will be waiting on that vote by members of the AEU on around 22 July.

That agreement will again improve conditions around payments for casuals, a new permanent teacher scholarship scheme, additional executive positions to support teachers and reduce their administrative workload, additional promotional positions to improve teachers’ career prospects, and improved support for beginning teachers in their first three years. That is something Mr Pratt has been seeking and making comments on in the last few days. It also improves wage outcomes from between 15 and 18.87 per cent over

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