Union takes department to Industrial Commission over Minns’ RTO policy

The standoff over Chris Minns’ workplace presence policy continues, with the PSA taking the Department of Communities and Justice to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

It was way back in August 2024 when NSW Premier Chris Minns first introduced his workplace presence policy, yet PSA-aligned public sector workers for the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) still refuse to comply with the sweeping directive and its interpretation.

The Public Service Association (PSA) and DCJ have had previous squabbles over the workplace presence policy, with the union seeking clarity on whether those with family responsibilities, significant commute times (regardless of whether the employee is regional or metro), and injury or illness would be granted the approval of flexible work under the new policy.

Although PSA industrial manager Nathan Bradshaw had previously commended the department for amending its policy after receiving union feedback, a new dispute has arisen over its expectation that Helpline and DV Line workers also return to the office “principally”.

For workers in the Helpline and DV Line, the union claims it would need to attend the office for at least 50 per cent of their shifts.

Minns’ circular does not strictly “prescribe patterns of attendance and allows for ad hoc variations for the needs of employees and organisations”, according to the PSA, leading to the union negotiating with the DCJ for such exemptions.

However, although the PSA met with the DCJ and requested feedback on why such exemptions weren’t to be given, no formal response was made available by the DCJ.

This has spurred the PSA to seek the assistance of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, requesting that the DCJ provide the “specific operational grounds” it is relying on to deny ad hoc exemptions.

According to the union, there are no operational requirements in place other than Premier Chris Minns’ original circular.

“Your delegates and the PSA do not believe there is any valid operational requirement for an increase in office attendance, as the work you perform has been structured around remote working for the past four years or longer. You work in the same manner in the office as you do from home, with the same processes, practices, and structures,” said the PSA in a statement.

Previously, the PSA was in a dispute with the Transport for NSW (TfNSW) over the same policy – which included a large cohort of union members attending the Sydney CBD’s Elizabeth Street hub in protest, claiming there weren’t enough desks at these hubs to accompany returning staff.

“The default arrangement in the TfNSW policy is that staff are to attend the workplace five days a week, with ad hoc requests to work from home considered,” said PSA acting general secretary Troy Wright.

“One major concern with the policy as it stands is that our members are going back to the office and finding there isn’t a desk for them to sit at.”

“We’ve had members travelling across Sydney in peak hour, adding to traffic congestion, merely to sit in a cafe downstairs on a laptop because there’s no room in the office – that serves no one.”