Public servants “concerned” over fate of their superannuation

Recent internal documents have shown that a number of public sector employees are worried about the decisions that their employers might make in the near future.

According to a recent report, public servants working in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) do not trust their employers with their superannuation savings.

Internal documents from the department have shown that there is “significant concern” amongst its workforce when it comes to their 15.4% guaranteed annual superannuation contributions.

The documents – compiled earlier this month – revealed that the government has a long way to go to convince its 160,000 public servants that their savings are safe, The Canberra Times reported.

Like many other government departments, DPMC is currently attempting to convince its 2400 employees to accept the new three-year enterprise bargaining deal on offer.

The government wants to strip the 15.4% superannuation guarantee out of its departmental agreements, arguing that it creates unnecessary red tape and remains protected by legislation.

However, the Community and Public Service Union has sparked fears with its insistence that the government might use this to try to reduce the superannuation payment to 9.5%.

In January, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) backed the government’s movement, claiming that it was unnecessary to include the guarantee in the new modern award for federal public servants due to the legislation protecting their supers.

The DPMC documents said that there was “significant concern” over “the removal of the reference to 15.4 per cent contribution rate from the draft agreement”.

It was also noted that there were worries surrounding the loss of allowances and entitlements, much of which stemmed from the Indigenous affairs bureaucrats recruited over the past two years and who were more poorly paid than their new colleagues.

There was also concern around the 0.7% pay rise being offered, which the documents revealed were widely regarded as a moot point due to the extra working hours being demanded and the offer failing to “adequately compensate for loss of conditions”.

DPMC bosses have said they are willing to compromise but are limited by the government’s tough bargaining framework, The Canberra Times reported. 
 

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