Family Court Day of Protest

Date: 13 April 2000

Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) will be taking part in a Day of Protest in Family Court Registries around the country today, Thursday 13 April.

The Family Court is implementing a revised work structure, known as Case Management that threatens up to 400 jobs and the level of services to clients.

Current Government policy aims to make Family Law rely more heavily on mediation. Also up to 20% of the Courts operating budget is to be transferred ($200,000 in the current year and $5.9 million each year after) to the newly created Federal Magistracy.

"The level of service to clients and our members' job security in the Family Court now face a very uncertain future", Matthew Reynolds, the CPSU's National President said today.

"Faced with the pressure of budget cuts, Family Court management is seeking to reduce its costs through restructuring and downsizing", Mr.Reynolds said.

CPSU members met recently and determined to hold a day of protest to raise community awareness about these changes. On top of the job losses and associated cost of redundancies, staff are concerned that as new employees will have to be trained, there will be a loss of productivity.

"Our members are fed up. They're being subjected to an intolerable level of insecurity that could drag on for months. They are sending a clear message to their employer that their concerns about client service and job security cannot be ignored."

For Comment:
Matthew Reynolds 02 6273 0055 or 0417 117 349

For Background:
George Petrovic 02 9334 9200 or 0419 169 128

For further information

Contact:	Matthew Reynolds
Union:	CPSU - National Office
Phone:	0417 117 349

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