The Together Union says it is pleased that “long-awaited changes” to the Public Service Act have been tabled in Parliament.
In a statement, the union said it wanted members’ views on the changes, stemming from the Bridgman Review of Public Sector Administration.
“This is our first good look at the proposed changes to the law and while our industrial experts will go through the legislation and prepare a technical submission to the Government, we want to hear directly from all Together members,” the union said.
It urged its members to fill out a survey and discuss the changes with colleagues.
Earlier, the Department of Premier and Cabinet said the review, undertaken by barrister and public policy expert, Peter Bridgman (pictured), was the first review of public sector laws since the late 1980s.
The Department said the review was commissioned to ensure Queenslanders had the most responsive, consistent and reliable Public Service possible.
It said Mr Bridgman’s report recommended new ways to understand how and why the Government employed people, starting from the employee and the work they were needed for.
“This is a major shift from the current laws that start with institutions and their managers,” the Department said.
The report says that the laws governing employment should start from the employee and the employment relationship with the State and State entities:- “employment is for a purpose: To do a job in a workplace”.
“The structure of Government is therefore important to assign employees to relevant workplaces. Structures are commonly understood to be the Government Departments and various statutory entities and separate services,” it says.
Among the more important recommendations in the report were the retention of merit as the central driver in selection and promotion decisions, expanded to reflect broader human rights criteria.
The review calls for a Special Commissioner (Equity and Diversity) to drive improvements in equity, including gender pay equality and a diverse workforce.
It seeks clearer, simpler language and the removal of artificial distinctions and categories and it recommends clearer criteria for engaging casual and temporary staff and for their conversion to ongoing employment.
The report says there should be a review of senior positions to improve management and control of higher paid roles and a new system for independent case management of complex, intractable or long-standing discipline and performance improvement matters.
The 155-page Bridgman Review can be accessed at this PS News link.
