PSA/CPSU Podcast

After a long campaign, the voting is complete and NSW has a new Premier. Acting General Secretary Troy Wright talks with the PSA Communications team about our union's role in a historic electoral victory. 

On the podcast today, we talk to PSA President Nicole Jess and PSA Women's officer Simone Scalmer about International Women's Day and some of the challenges still facing women in 2023

This week Mark Morey, Unions NSW secretary talks to host Marianne Ledic about issues relating to the Union movement leading up to the NSW election in March 

Stewart Little talks to new host Marianne Ledic about the upcoming election campaign and the main issues for the PSA leading up to election day.

On the podcast today is former Senior Public Servant Carmel McKeough. She discusses the vital importance of being in the union for all NSW Public Servants. 

On the podcast this week, PSA General Secretary Stewart Little and Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright discuss how the selling of public assets and transferring public services to private companies has cost us all.

Portable Entitlements allow workers to accrue leave and other entitlements through their industry rather than through their employer. This means that workers in NSW disability sector who change employer, but remain within the sector, will hold on to their entitlements. To discuss more is Senior Industrial Manager Thane Pearce.

On the Podcast today - we look at the NSW Government's obsession with temporary contracts for public servants and the ways this process undermines  NSW Public Service's need for confidence and assurance in their vocation.

On the podcast this week is NSW Labor MP Sophie Cotsis - Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations. Ms Cotsis outlines NSW Labor's plans to scrap the wages cap should they be elected to government at the State election in March 2023.

PSA/CPSU NSW Women's Conference 2022 Chair Leanne Smith talks about some of the issues currently faced by women in the workplace.

On the podcast this week, Senior Vice President Juliette Sizer celebrates Recognition week 2022 and talks about the need for permanency in our schools.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean seems to have decided that demonising unions is a winning formula - but he is out of touch with the view of a majority of Australians who understand how important unions are in protecting employees' wages and conditions at work.

This week NSW skills minister Alister Henskins was asked in budget estimates about his government's support for an increase in immigration to fill the skills crisis gripping NSW. However, the PSA presents the case that the skills crisis has been there for the better part of a decade and in fact, it is the policies of the NSW government that have exacerbated the problems. On the podcast today is Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright.

A report into the response to the flood crisis of Northern NSW was released last week.  The report, co-authored by former police commissioner Mick Fuller was critical of a number of agencies that fall under the PSA's representation. In response, General Secretary Stewart Little gives insight into why some of the PSAs submissions were not adhered to and some practical measures that could have been implemented that stand in contrast to some of the reports recommendations.

With the focus on the NDIS rorts that have occurred since the introduction of the scheme, on the podcast this week we look at the history of the NSW Government's privatisation of the state's disability services and the detrimental impact that has had on clients and support workers.

PSA Members in Schools are currently in arbitration with the NSW Government regarding the pay rise that they are entitled to. Our guest this week is Industrial Manager Siobhan Callinan.

Two years ago, the NSW government made a major anouncement that the Powerhouse Museum was saved. But is that true?

August 1 - 7 is Homelessness week. On the podcast, we speak to Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness - Rose Jackson MLC to hear about the situation facing NSW regarding its drastically high homelessness rate and what the state government and state opposition are doing to engage the situation.

Pork-barrelling – defined as the practice of allocating government grants to curry political favor within certain electorates - can constitute corrupt conduct according to a new New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption report.On the podcast today we speak to Barrister Stephen Lawrence about the findings and whether or not the process of pork barreling can be legislated against.

This week the Federal Government introduced a Bill to parliament granting access to workers who have experienced domestic violence to 10 days of paid leave to get the safety they need as well as their affairs in order.PSA Vice President Shelley Odewahn was amongst a delegation of unionists who attended a vigil marking the historic occasion.

On this episode, we're joined by Lauchlan and Issy - two participants of Unions NSW's Winter Internship program. 

She's Price(d)less is the name of the economics gender pay gap report compiled by the Diversity Council of Australia and the workplace gender equality agency. On the podcast today, PSA President Nicole Jess explains what cultural changes can be utilised to bridge the discrepancies in gender pay and workplace roles.

Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright talks to us about Johnn Barilaro and his "Jobs for the boys" scandal, which is fast embroiling Dominic Perrottet and his ministry.

National Parks and Wildlife Service 40-Year Veteran Kim De Govrik is today's guest on the podcast - discussing the threat to the Blue Mountains National Park that would be posed by a rasing of the Warragamba Dam Wall.

This week saw Rail workers, Nurses and Teachers all exercising industrial action. Coming off the back of the PSA's own industrial action less than a month ago along with notable disputes that have already occurred against the NSW government - A question that has to be asked - How are we in this position? How is it that so many public sector workers feel mistreated and unfairly dealt with by the NSW government that they are prepared to hold industrial action on a routine basis? To find out more - we talk to our own General Secretary Stewart Little.- at the time of recording this podcast, it appears on social media that the NSW Government and the RTBU have reached an agreement that may have consequences on planned industrial action.  

How well did the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service do in this year's budget? We ask former NPWS Senior Ranger, and PSA Organiser, Kim de Govrik for his view on the funding announced this week. We also ask the PSA's Journalist, Jason Mountney, for his initial thoughts about the budget. 

It was revealed this week that former Deputy Premier John Barilaro secured a plum trade role for the NSW government based in New York City. What was more surprising, Mr. Barilaro himself created the role prior to leaving office. Now he's the ideal candidate after a global search. On the podcast, Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright weighs in on the controversy.

A week after the PSA went on a succesful 24 -hour day of action, we chat to General Secretary Stewart Little about the state of the current fight towards the scrapping of the NSW public sector wages cap.

At the 2022 PSA Annual Conference, Master of Public Policy Student Peter Harris presented to the delegates evidence of the Perrottet and consecutive coalition governments obsession with the sale of public assets. What you will hear in this episode is the destruction that such an agenda can have for the people of NSW. 

June 8th, 2022 marks the day the Public Service Association of NSW went on strike for 24 hours to send a message to the Perrottet Government about its unfair wages policy. 

On the eve of the Federal Election, our guest this Episode is Michelle O'neill, President of the ACTU to discuss with us the importance of the next federal government legislating with an emphasis on the needs and concerns of working Australians.

This coming Saturday, May 21st is election dayThe entire country will hit the polls and vote for who they believe is best to form the next government.On the podcast today, we have a roundtable discussion about the issues are that are facing voters, looking through a prism of emphasis on the public sector.Our guests are PSA President Nicole Jess, PSA General Secretary Stewart Little, Campaigns and Communications Manager Marianne Ledic, Senior Communications Officer Jason Mountney and Communications Production Assistant Aaron Hewitt.

The PSA, CPSU NSW believes wages should keep track with inflation in order to remove the risk of our lowest-paid members of society from being destitute when it comes to the cost of living.Recently, Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has adopted this as a policy commitment.

Upon the release of the NSW Report into misuse of grants allocations in the wake of former Premier Gladys Berejiklian's comments that Pork Barrelling was acceptable conduct - On the podcast today, we speak to Dr. Catherine Williams. Dr. Williams is one of the authors of the new book - Keeping Them Honest: The Case for a Genuine National Integrity Commission and Other Vital Democratic Reforms. 

In the wake of continued calls for a federal corruption commission, on the podcast today, we debunk the myth expressed by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison that ICAC is a kangaroo court.

General Secretary Stewart Little tells the podcast of a revision in our wage claim to be in line with inflation. Our current request is 5.2%.

On the podcast today, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute Richard Denniss explains the housing affordability crisis impacting young Australians and the flow-on effects these and other issues cause on society.

On the podcast today we talk to members in Wollongong talking about the public sector wages cap and the impact it is having on their ability to earn a living wage above inflation.

On the podcast today we speak to PSA Organisers Susan Chee Quee and Marisa Bosco about the problem of work insecurity and lack of permanent staff who work in NSW schools and what members can do to address this issue.

Workers have been shut out of any negotiations, changes to workplace relations, indeed anything to do with their jobs in the last 10 years of a coalition government.On the podcast today, we speak to CPSU NSW Assistant Branch Secretary Troy Wright about why it's refreshing to hear from one side of politics in the election recognising the role of unions in advocating for workers entitlements.

The Public Sector Needs A Pay Rise - this is the name of the new campaign launched this week by the PSA to lift the wages of public sector employees.On the podcast today we talk to General Secretary Stewart Little about the launch of the campaign, why now is the time to demand action on wages, and the union's response to the statements made by the premier that rebuke the union's demands.

Last Friday in New Jersey, Amazon Warehouse Workers in Staten Island voted to form a union. The first Amazon Labor Union in the United States.Their leader and interim President - Chris Smalls - was able to organise employees around issues such as low wages, lack of job security, absence of sufficient air conditioning in the summer, constant monitoring of productivity and short breaks - and he is our special guest on the podcast today.

With the release of the federal budget on Tuesday night, it was noticed by many that one key area of concern was missing - wages. On the podcast today, we talk to Angela Jackson from Impact Economics.

Today's podcast is brought to you from the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, where the PSA Executive is visiting members and staff in the flood-affected area.

On the ground in Lismore -  gaining a first-hand account of the devastation was our guest on the podcast today - the NSW Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib.Fortuitously, Jihad also holds the state Shadow Climate Change portfolio. In our discussion, we talk about how his two areas have overlapped to produce such a crisis and what we can expect going forward.

Permanent funding for first responders' mental health is needed now - it is a vital mental health service for first responders. However, the Black Dog Institute's Traumatic Stress Clinic funding hasn't been renewed by the Federal Government, meaning the vital mental health support for first responders to bushfires, floods and other natural disasters will end on June 30.The  NSW Government should step in if the Commonwealth won't, says the Public Service Association General Secretary Stewart Little. 

The catastrophes of the 2019-2020 bushfires and the floods of northern New South Wales have amalgamated into one of the most urgent crises facing New South Wales and Australia in recent times. That is the great housing crisis.As thousands of homes remain unliveable across New South Wales, on the podcast today we hear from Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness - Rose Jackson MLC about what exactly the government is doing, or not doing to address this urgent issue.

On the podcast today, we find out why the PSA's Executive decided to create a permanent Emergency Relief Fund for members.

On the podcast today we speak to the PSA's New Women's Officer Jodie Haydon about why the themes of Safety, Respect and Equity are important and what the future brings for Women in the Public Service and the Federal system.We also use this as an opportunity to introduce Jodie to our broader union movement and, as you will hear, she has an open-door policy when it comes to hearing the issues of the women of our union.

Your wages are under attack, your ability to purchase household basics along with luxury items whilst maintaining a comfortable buffer for your hip pocket is shrinking by the day.What is the government doing about it?Not a whole lot - that's according to our guest Greg Jericho  - Columnist with The Guardian Australia and Policy Director for the Centre for Future Work.

An unmitigated disaster is occurring in Northern NSW with some parts of the state, including the town of Lismore experiencing the worst flooding ever.