Save DSC Campaign Update 7 May 2014

Privatisation Plan Derailed! 

It is the month of May and despite DSC continuing to claim their privatisation process is on track they have failed to privatise even one home. In no small part, that delay is the result of our campaign: members, families and the community fighting together to push back and stop these homes being lost.

A WIN on Leave 

Members in Group 2 and Group 3 homes have had a win on the issue of leave. We have advocated strongly on behalf of members in these homes against the department expecting them to take all excessive leave in the face of the current threat to your job. DSC have now conceded that members in Group 2 and 3 homes may now ‘bank’ up to 400 hours of annual leave and all accrued long service leave entitlements which will be cashed out in the event of termination of employment. Any annual leave above 400 hours will still need to be recorded in a leave planner.

The Petition 

The parliamentary petition now has over 1500 signatures. We are aiming for over 2000 by June 6th but we won’t get there without your help. The petition is open to ANYONE who opposes the privatisation. Get your workmates to sign, your friends, your family and get the petitions back to us as soon as possible. At the end of June we will be having an event at parliament house where we will present the petition to parliament. We will need everyone’s support then. Look out for finalised details soon.

Staff Deployment 

Many members are concerned about the process of staff transfer between houses. Members feel that the process could be open to bias and favouritism in the choice of deployment. To provide greater surety to members, we have asked DSC to appoint a person independent of ASD to oversee the transfer process. Without this, members will remain concerned about the process. We will be pursuing this issue further to make sure our members are not disadvantaged by the transfers.

Swipe Cards 

The ongoing issue of members being penalised for unsuccessfully swiping on or off has been raised at the Joint Consultative Committee meeting. We gained a commitment from DSC to investigate the matter. As a result of that investigation DSC have now said that:

• There will be further information provided to staff about the swipe card system and how they ascertain whether their swipe has registered, along with information about how to drill down into their pay slip on kiosk.
• There will be some refinement to the current pay query/variation form and the swipe card guidelines.
• There will be advocacy for enhancements in the payslip information.

DSC claim they will continue to upgrade swipe card readers, facility equipment and software. Further details are needed on how DSC plan to improve this policy and make sure staff are not unfairly docked pay.

National Campaign 

Disability services workers across the country are fighting battles against privatisation. Two of our campaign team members, Michelle and Vlad, have just returned from a national meeting to discuss our respective campaigns. In NSW delegates passed a motion that condemned the NSW Government for using the National Disability insurance scheme (NDIS) to disguise its privatisation agenda. In the Illawarra/Shoalhaven district of NSW work bans on Home Administrative reporting to the agency have been put in place. These bans show the determination of the members to fight to save their jobs and the services they deliver.

It’s time for WA members to start considering similar actions. For more info, speak to your delegates and provide feedback about what you are prepared to do.