Staff at CSIRO are continuing a series of rolling strikes in support of their demands for a 4.6 per cent pay increase and changes to employment conditions.

 

Following initial strikes in Victoria and New South Wales last week involving around 500 staff, further strikes this week are expected to see more than 2000 at 43 sites around the country stop work.

 

In negotiations over a new enterprise  agreement over the past six months, the Staff Association has rejected the management’s offer of consecutive pay rises of three per cent rise over the next three to four years.  Other issues of contention include redundancy entitlements, staff redeployment, parental leave and the right to make public comment on organisational and staffing decisions. The union also claims that CSIRO is denying staff the opportunity to have input to major organisational decisions.

 

Staff Association spokesman Sam Popovski said CSIRO’s offer of three per cent per annum over the next three to four years “does not cover rising living costs and means that CSIRO will struggle to retain and attract world-class staff." He also said that management’s top down approach had led to poor decisions on science and research directions.

 

The last enterprise agreement ended on February 14, and the negotiations have been over the terms of a new agreement that will run to 2014.