Key points
- A ballot to seek approval of the proposed Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020-23 will commence on Friday, 18 December 2020.
- The ballot will close at 2.00pm AEDT on Wednesday, 23 December 2020.
- The proposed Enterprise Agreement, an explanatory document and further information on the ballot process are available on the MaPS website.
Following the conclusion of negotiations for the proposed Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020-23, a ballot will commence at 12.01am on Friday, 18 December 2020 and close at 2.00pm on Wednesday, 23 December 2020.
Negotiations were conducted between employee bargaining representatives, union bargaining teams, and the Department of Finance on my behalf. I would like to thank those that participated and contributed to the development of the proposed Enterprise Agreement.
The proposed Enterprise Agreement was negotiated in accordance with the Government’s Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy 2020 (the Policy) and provides three increases of up to the Wage Price Index for the private sector per annum to salary and allowances. Consistent with the Policy, the first salary adjustment will be deferred for 6 months after the commencement of the proposed Enterprise Agreement.
Under the proposed Enterprise Agreement, employing Senators and Members will be able to allocate electorate staff allowance (ESA) to employees, rather than the positions they occupy. There will also be additional levels of ESA for all parliamentarians’ offices and further additional levels of ESA for offices of regional parliamentarians who are eligible to receive reimbursement for a satellite office, which will better enable parliamentarians and their employees to undertake their work in supporting their constituents.
Current employment conditions including leave, superannuation, the retention payment, travel allowance and studies assistance will continue, with additional supporting partner leave and more flexible Excess (Canberra) Travel Leave and long service leave arrangements.
A copy of the proposed Enterprise Agreement and an explanation of its proposed terms and conditions are available on the Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (MaPS) website.
The ballot will be conducted by GoVote, an independent ballot provider. Next week, employees will receive an email from GoVote with a link to the ballot for online voting and, as an alternative, instructions for voting by phone. Further information about the ballot is on the MaPS website.
I encourage all employees to vote on the proposed Enterprise Agreement.
I expect to be able to inform you of the result of the ballot soon after it closes.
Should the proposed Enterprise Agreement be supported by a majority of employees who cast a valid vote, it will be lodged with the Fair Work Commission for approval. An approved Enterprise Agreement would commence operation seven days after it is approved by Fair Work Commission.
Should you require any further information regarding the enterprise agreement, please contact the MaPS Help Desk on (02) 6215 3333.
Yours sincerely
Simon Birmingham
Minister for Finance
9 December 2020