Marc Williamson wins Delegate Achievement Award
The Delegate Achievement Award is awarded to exemplary delegates who demonstrate leadership and work above and beyond the expected duties of the delegate role.
Recent recipient Marc Williamson has made significant contributions to PSA members at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
Marc has been a local, regional, and national delegate, and is co-convenor for the National Delegates at MOJ. In nominating Marc for the award, his MOJ Southern delegate team said Marc’s leadership and experience during the 2022/23 bargaining were significant, and he contributed beyond what is expected of national delegates. His invaluable contribution ensured PSA members understood and voted on their 2023 settlement meaningfully.
Marc provides support for members around the region, especially where delegate coverage is light.
“Marc has been instrumental in growing our membership in Christchurch and supporting the growth of new delegates. He’s a wealth of knowledge with all things PSA and MOJ-related and carries the best interests of his collective at heart,” says PSA delegate Charlotte Thompson.
“Marc is a leader by example, an amazing mentor, and a friend to all,” Charlotte says.
Celebrating Public Service Day
In Wellington and Auckland PSA organisers were out and about visiting members and celebrating Public Service Day on 7 November with some kai and kōrero.
Started in 2018, Public Service Day celebrates the day the Public Service Act 1912 became law. The law established a professional, politically neutral public service.
Now we celebrate it as an acknowledgement of the critical and important work our public service workers do. We also used the day as an opportunity to remind the incoming government of the valuable work public service workers do.
Public service leads way in closing pay gaps and promoting women leaders
New data shows the public service is continuing to lead the private sector in closing gender and ethnic pay gaps and promoting women to leadership positions.
The 2023 Public Service Workforce Data recently released by Te Kawa Mataaho (Public Service Commission) also underlines efforts to the lift the pay of low-income workers.
The latest data at 30 June 2023 shows:
- The public service gender pay gap fell to a record low of 7.1%, compared with 8.6% generally
- The Māori pay gap is 5.4%, down from 6.5% in 2022
- The Pacific pay gap is 16.6%, down from 17.7% in 2022
- Women now occupy 55.9% of senior management roles – up slightly from 55.8% last year and 39.8% in 2010.
There was also progress in lifting low-income workers pay reflecting the outgoing Government’s priorities and settlements under the Public Service Pay Adjustment process.
The biggest increases in pay were for the lowest paid and non-managerial staff. Those earning less than $60,000 now comprise 9.1% of the public service workforce, down from 16.8% in 2022 and 38.6% in 2018.
Your right to protest and be politically active
You have same rights of political expression outside of the
workplace as others over issues such as the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza when you work in public and community services.
At the same time people working in public services, including local government, have an obligation of political neutrality in their work.
This obligation shouldn’t stifle legitimate political activity in your own time.
The principle is to keep politics out of your work and your work out of political activity.
In practice, this means that in your political activity you do not identify yourself with your work, give the impression you’re giving the view of your agency when it’s your own view, reveal advice given to Ministers/Councillors that is not
public, disclose information from your work you are not authorised to disclose, or use your employer’s resources.
With social media, we recommend that your personal accounts are not associated with your work– so that, for instance, you don’t describe yourself as working for your agency, etc. If you need advice, contact your PSA delegate or organiser.
Youth on agenda at USU conference
Attracting younger members to unions was on the agenda when PSA President Benedict Ferguson and National Secretary Duane Leo attended the United Services Union
(USU) Conference in Penrith, Sydney in late August.
The United Services Union represents 30,000 members who work in local government, utilities, aviation and the private sector in in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Benedict says the USU was grappling with an aging membership and the interested in the PSA’s approach to recruiting younger members and the role of PSA Youth.
The PSA Youth network for those aged 35 or under has more than 26,000 members, which is about 29% of our membership.
The USU conference was attended by more than 250 delegates, and other attendees included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Christopher Minns.
