Key points
- A ballot to seek approval of the proposed Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020-23 will commence on Monday, 31 May 2021.
- The ballot will close at 2.00pm AEST on Friday, 4 June 2021.
- The proposed Enterprise Agreement, an explanatory document and further information on the ballot process are available on the MaPS website.
Following the conclusion of further negotiations since February 2021 for the proposed Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020-23, a ballot will commence at 12.01am on Monday, 31 May 2021 and close at 2.00pm on Friday, 4 June 2021.
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.
In response to feedback, the Government has put forward improvements from the December 2020 offer, without any loss of conditions, including:
- immediate pay increases for all employees in the first year if the ballot is successful.
- a further increase to the maximum individual Electorate Staff Allowance (ESA) allocation.
- the payment of superannuation for employees on all forms of parental leave.
- a further increase in paid supporting partner leave to five weeks, with a half pay option.
- clearer access to leave options for reasons of family and/or domestic violence.
- clearer support for employees with nursing infants.
- an increase to the minimum salary point for employees at the Electorate Officer A and Secretary / Administrative Assistant classifications.
Consistent with the December 2020 offer, the proposed Enterprise Agreement includes:
- the maximum pay adjustments allowed for all employees in the second and third years of the most recent year-to-June percentage change in the private sector Wage Price Index.
- the existing 1 per cent annual retention payment for eligible employees.
- reforms to ESA to permit allocation to individual employees, as well as additional ESA levels for all parliamentarians’ offices and further additional ESA levels for offices of regional parliamentarians who are eligible to receive reimbursement for a satellite office.
- more flexible Excess (Canberra) Travel Leave for regional, rural and remote employees.
- more flexible long service leave arrangements.
- the continuation of other conditions including leave, superannuation, travel allowance, studies assistance and corporate responsibility allowance.
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 the Fair Work Commission.
Should you require any further information regarding the proposed Enterprise Agreement, please contact the MaPS Help Desk on (02) 6215 3333.
Yours sincerely
Simon Birmingham
Minister for Finance
21 May 2021