Tax Office pay dispute looms

Date: 30 April 2000

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU)and Tax Office management will meet on Monday 1 May in a last ditch attempt to head off a major industrial dispute over stalled enterprise bargaining negotiations.

Should this meeting fail to deliver an acceptable pay outcome for tax officers, CPSU members will hold stop work meetings to consider plans for a widespread industrial campaign.

It is expected that the union action will target key areas of the ATO including GST implementation and the Australian Business Numbers.

CPSU Tax Section Secretary, Shane O'Connell, says that the Tax Office's offer of 4% pay offer is inadequate and points out that if the agreement was put to staff in its current form it would be overwhelming rejected.

"The current ATO offer does not reward staff for the huge amount of work they are doing as a result of the introduction of the GST. It also contains too many unacceptable strings and would force ATO employees to undertake late night and interstate travel in their own time."

Also at stake, says the CPSU, is the ability of the ATO to retain skilled staff, many of whom are being lured into private industry by larger pay offers.

"The ATO can't implement tax reform without skilled staff. Skilled tax staff are comparing this offer with what is available in the private sector and then voting with their feet. If the ATO want to deliver a high quality service it has to pay more" says Mr O'Connell.

Tax Section Secretary
Shane O'Connell mob. 0418 304 953
pager 016 372 348

Tax Section Assistant Secretary
Michael Tull mob. 0418 557 380
pager 016 372 348

For further information

Contact:	Michael Tull
Union:	CPSU - National Office
Phone:	mob. 0418 557 380

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