22 December 2016
The Hon. James Merlino
Deputy Premier and Minister for Emergency Services
Level 3, 1 Treasury Place East Melbourne
VIC 3002
Via email: james.merlino@parliament.vic.gov.au Cc: daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au
Dear Mr. Merlino
Re: FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL 48 ESTA OPERATIONAL EMPLOYEES
We are writing to you regarding a serious issue of mismanagement and potential bad faith bargaining which has been uncovered in relation to the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA)
In 2014-2016 the UFU, CWU & AEA negotiated a new enterprise agreement for emergency call takers and dispatchers employed by the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority.
During the lengthy negotiation period a key and ongoing issue raised by our members was staffing shortages across all services and centres.
The impact the lack of resourcing was having on our members was significantly increased overtime leading to serious fatigue management concerns, workplace stress and in some cases mental health issues. Employees have been unable to take sufficient breaks whilst on shift, have been expected to work unreasonable amounts of overtime and have been unable to access leave. Further, employees are unable to access employee development opportunities or even time for appropriate training and skills maintenance in either their primary service not to mention alternative services where that employee is multi-skilled.
The unions’ members also understandably had significant concerns regarding the impact the staffing shortages were having on the Victorian community and their emergency services counterparts in fire, police, ambulance and SES who they support and dispatch to emergency events. Like all emergency services workers the priority for ESTA operational employees is the protection of the Victorian Community and the unions members were extremely concerned that the lack of staffing was impacting their ability to best serve the public.
In response to the serious concerns our members had been continually raising the unions made a joint claim for minimum staffing provisions within the enterprise agreement to ensure adequate numbers of trained employees in the right skills and service would be available in this twenty-four-hour service.
Significant discussion was had between the parties both in negotiations separately and before FWC regarding the issue of resourcing.
In or around mid-2015 ESTA announced to the unions and their delegates in negotiations that they had secured government funding for 48 FTE additional operational employees to be rolled out during the life of the Agreement. The announcement made was unequivocal and welcomed by the unions delegates.
It was followed by confirmation in email to all ESTA employees on 31 July 2015.
In response to ESTA’s announcement and a commitment from ESTA to deliver these positions ASAP the unions withdrew their claims relating to resourcing and staffing in bargaining and agreed to focus our attention on implementing positive inanities initiatives from the increased resources including increased leave, training and skills maintenance opportunities for employees.
To be clear, the unions made concessions in good faith on our key claim in bargaining as part of a legitimate bargaining process before FWC based on this commitment from ESTA.
Unfortunately, in what is a bizarre set of circumstances, at our most recent ESTA consultative committee meeting on Tuesday 13 December 2016 ESTA made admissions to the unions that not only were they no longer employing the 48 additional FTE positions promised but that they ‘no longer had the funding’. When questioned further as to what was meant by that the unions’ representatives were advised that they no longer had the funding and despite the clear commitments to both unions and employees these commitments and promises that government funding had been secured came from the previous board which no longer was in place.
This was the only explanation that ESTA would provide to explain the apparent disappearance of this vast amount of funding.
Furthermore, ESTA refused to provide basic information to the Union officials present at that meeting regarding past and current staffing numbers and the current attrition rate despite a formal request.
Understandably, ESTA operational employees feel betrayed by this announcement and now have serious concerns about their ability to continue to protect the Victorian community and support their emergency services co-workers without these additional positions. They are disappointed that ESTA could make such unequivocal commitments to them and now simply not explain what has resulted in such commitment not being delivered.
In the context of this matter we wish to also bring to your attention that morale across all operational staff at ESTA is at an all-time low and behaviour such as this from the senior management has had a further effect on employees’ wellbeing.
It is the unions’ view that ESTA’s credibility to bargain in good faith is damaged and we seek an explanation as to how this has occurred given the Enterprise Agreement was approved by government.
We therefore call on you as the Minister to explain to ESTA Operational employees, their representatives and the Victorian public why such funding has no longer been allocated and how ESTA senior management representatives, including the current CEO Julia Oxley were allowed to make commitments that they either were not authorised to make or were mistruths.