About the PSA

Information on the PSA

for members of the Southern Local Government Officers Union

November 2014

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Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2

The PSA in Local Government ................................................................................................................. 3

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3

The relationship between central and local government ................................................................... 3

Council amalgamations ....................................................................................................................... 3

The Living Wage .................................................................................................................................. 4

Funding ............................................................................................................................................... 4

Staffing and employment relations .................................................................................................... 4

The civil rights of local government workers ...................................................................................... 4

PSA Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Sectors ................................................................................................................................................. 5

Sector membership ............................................................................................................................. 6

Sector committees .............................................................................................................................. 6

Local government sector committee .................................................................................................. 6

Executive board .................................................................................................................................. 7

National Delegates’ Congress ............................................................................................................. 7

PSA Offices .............................................................................................................................................. 8

Access to organisers ................................................................................................................................ 9

Organising practice ............................................................................................................................. 9

How PSA organisers work with members ........................................................................................... 9

Organiser co-ordination ...................................................................................................................... 9

Local government national organising team .................................................................................... 10

Education and delegate development .............................................................................................. 10

The PSA Organising Centre ................................................................................................................... 11

Industrial relations with employers ...................................................................................................... 12

Constructive engagement ................................................................................................................. 12

Auckland Council ............................................................................................................................... 12

Transforming the Workplace ............................................................................................................ 12

Standing up for members ................................................................................................................. 12

Union fees ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Member benefits .................................................................................................................................. 14

Holiday homes .................................................................................................................................. 14

Other member benefits .................................................................................................................... 14

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Introduction The New Zealand Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (the PSA) is the largest

union in New Zealand with over 58,000 members. We are also the largest public sector union and

the largest union in local government with around 6,000 members in that sector. We have had a

presence in local government since the merger of the Northern and Central Local Government

Unions with the PSA in the early 1990s and it is a very important sector for us.

We are excited about the possibility that members of the Southern Local Government Officers’

Union (SLGOU) might decide to merge with us. While we are the largest union in local government

we have not been able to say that we are the national union for local government and that ability to

speak with one voice on behalf of the local government workers in New Zealand will be extremely

important in the current environment where local democracy and local government expenditure is

under threat.

With 2,000 members, Otago and Canterbury local government workers will represent a quarter of

our members in local government and will have a big say in the decisions made by our local

government sector committee, and through that to the executive board of the PSA.

This paper is designed to provide you with the information you need to know about the PSA and

how it works, and our role in local government. We hope it will answer your queries, but if you have

any further questions then do not hesitate to contact us on [email address – Matt, you will need to

set one up on the web page that comes to me]

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The PSA in Local Government

Introduction

With around 6,000 members Local government is an important part of our union and it has a

dedicated sector committee with representation on the executive board and at PSA congress.

Should the merger go ahead the PSA will have around 8,000 members, which will make us a

significant voice on behalf of local government workers. This will give us more weight as we tackle

the important issues affecting the local government sector, such as: the difficult relationship

between central and local government; council amalgamations; sources and levels of local

government funding; staffing and employment conditions; and the Living Wage.

The PSA can progress this agenda through its relationship with Ministers, officials in the Department

of Internal Affairs, and sector stakeholders such as Local Government New Zealand and the Society

of Local Government Managers.

The relationship between central and local government

In constitutional terms central and local government are both creatures of Parliament, one

accountable to the national community and the other accountable to local and/or regional

communities.

The current government has taken an interventionist approach which is aimed at reducing the role

and powers of local government. This is reflected in such initiatives as: the changes to the Local

Government Act in 2012 and 2014; the installation of commissioners in Environment Canterbury; the

over-riding of Auckland’s Unitary Plan to allow more green fields housing development; and changes

to the Resource Management Act to alter the balance of environmental considerations in RMA

decision-making.

We have approached political parties across the spectrum to get them to repeal key aspects of the

2012 amendments to the Local Government Act, develop a new framework for the central-local

government relationship and review the constitutional basis for local government. The Greens,

Labour and New Zealand First have all been receptive to these ideas.

Council amalgamations

Amendments to the Local Government Act 2012 were designed to facilitate the amalgamation of

local authorities at the expense of local democracy. This has created an environment in which a

balanced consideration of amalgamation proposals is difficult. The PSA will therefore subject any

proposal to amalgamate to serious questioning and would need to be sure that real benefits would

accrue to our members and their communities before we could support an amalgamation proposal.

All the issues will be worked through with affected members.

The PSA has already made submissions to the Local Government Commission opposing

amalgamations in Northland and Hawkes Bay, and is awaiting the report from the Commission on

those proposals and the one for Wellington.

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The Living Wage

The PSA is active in the Living Wage coalition and has been instrumental in the campaign in local

government, particularly in Wellington. While we welcome councils committing to paying the living

wage to employees (as Wellington City Council has done), it is crucial that it be extended to

contracted workers. We will continue to be active where opportunities arise at local level.

Funding

The sustainability of local government funding has become an increasingly important policy issue in

the face of rapid demographic, legislative and economic change. There is pressure on rates and the

winding back of development contributions with the passage of the 2014 amendments to the Local

Government Act. At the same time central government has been asking local government to

undertake an increasing range of responsibilities.

Local Government New Zealand is conducting a review of the future adequacy of existing funding

sources available to local government. The PSA will be submitting to this review.

Staffing and employment relations

From a workforce and employment relations perspective, local government is highly-fragmented.

Each local authority chief executive employs and sets the terms and conditions for council staff.

Occupations are common across councils, but there is little or no coordinated workforce

development and planning especially in sector-specific roles such as building inspection and

compliance. Issues such as pay equality and the persistent gender pay gap cannot be addressed in a

coordinated way.

The PSA would like to see great co-ordination on workforce development issues and greater

consistency in employment relations.

The civil rights of local government workers

Local government workers are also citizens and usually residents in the area covered by the council

they work for. They have the right of citizens to become involved in local democracy, such as making

submissions on the annual plan, provided they do not submit on an area they have responsibility for

or are working in, and they do not use information that they have gained in the course of their

employment. The PSA is working with Local Government New Zealand to develop guidelines for local

authorities on this issue.

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PSA Structure

Introduction

The PSA has democratic structures at both an enterprise1 and at a governance level. Members in

each enterprise elect delegates who manage their activities across the organisation through an

enterprise delegate committee.

Māori members also have the opportunity to elect a Māori enterprise delegate (if they want) to

represent Māori interests and sit on the enterprise delegate committee.

An annual members meeting (AMM) is held in each enterprise to consider both PSA and workplace

issues. Delegates’ elections are held as part of the annual members meeting (AMM) process.

A diagram of the PSA’s governance and representative structure is attached as schedule A.

The Rules also set out the current areas of membership coverage (rule 11 (1) (a-e) which include

“local government, including all local authorities and council controlled organisations”. An

amalgamation with SLGOU would not require a change to these areas of coverage.

Sectors

Enterprises are organised into sectors based on the way the public sector is organised:

Community Public Services sector comprising: i) non-governmental, not-for-profit, self-governing, voluntary organisations delivering a range of services in the community, including public services funded fully or partially by the state or local government; ii) private, for-profit organisations delivering community-based public services funded fully or

partially by the state or local government.

DHB sector: District Health Boards and agencies wholly-owned by the DHBs, and any public

organisation established to replace the district health boards

Local Government sector: all local authorities and CCOs

Public Service sector: all public service and non-public service departments, and offices of

parliament

State sector: crown entities; state owned enterprises; Public Finance Act 4th Schedule organisations;

and any private organisation engaging in commercial activities, including those that were previously

provided by the state.

1 ‘Enterprise’ is the term used in the PSA for an organisation where we have members, eg a local authority, a

government department, a crown research institute or a community agency.

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Sector membership

The membership density varies across enterprises and across sectors but our current membership by

sector as at October 2014 is:

Sector No. of members

Community Public Service 5270

District Health Boards 16670

Local Government 5952

Public Service 21973

State Sector 8266

The PSA also has an associate members’ category, mainly for retired members, and staff may also

opt to be members of the PSA.

Sector committees

Each sector is headed by a sector committee. The committees meet three times a year. Members

of the committee are elected by delegates and represent groupings of enterprises. Each committee

has a set of constituencies, suitable to their sector. For example, the local government, DHB and CPS

sectors are on a regional basis. The other 2 sectors group like enterprises, such as Crown research

Institutes, into constituencies.

Each sector is led by an elected committee, whose work is supported by an organiser and an

organising administrator.

Sector committee members receive all executive board papers in advance and provide input to the

board’s discussions via their convenor.

Local government sector committee

Current membership of the local government sector committee is:

Flash Sandham (Convenor), Taupo District Council

Annette Smithard (deputy convenor), Auckland Council

Sara Moylan, Greater Wellington Council

Gary Gabbitas, Far North District Council

Cris Crighton, Invercargill City Council

Richard Foster, Thames Coromandel District Council

Ian Cooper, Palmerston North City Council

Ceinwen Bannister (Women’s rep), Wanganui District Council

Lee Rauhina-August (Runanga rep), Greater Wellington Regional Council

Sophie Williams (Runanga rep), Hutt City Council

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The PSA runs a local government delegates’ national conference not less than once every 2 years.

Maori structure

In addition, Māori members are organised into Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina, which also has a

governing committee and has representation on each of the sector committees. The committee of

the Rūnanga has comparable status to the sector committees.

Executive board

The sector committees, and the committee of the Rūnanga, elect convenors who comprise the

executive board, which manages the affairs of the PSA. The national secretaries are members of the

executive board, as is a staff representative.

The executive board is chaired by the president, who is elected by delegates to our biennial National

Delegates Congress. Mike Tana is the current president and was re-elected unopposed at Congress

in September. The board elects a vice president and treasurer from amongst the sector and runanga

members of the board.

National Delegates’ Congress

The biennial National Delegates’ Congress is the highest policy making body in the union and sectors

are represented there according to the size of their membership. Around 120 delegates attended

Congress in 2014.

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PSA Offices

The PSA has offices at the addresses in the main centres as below:

Auckland

155 New North Road

Eden Terrace

Auckland 1021

Hamilton

31 Harwood St,

Hamilton 3204

Palmerston North

PSA House,

49 King Street,

Palmerston North 4442

Wellington

11 Aurora Terrace,

Wellington 6011

Nelson

Munro State Building

Ground Floor South

190 Bridge Street

Nelson

Christchurch

Unit F, 521 Blenheim Rd

Sockburn

Christchurch 8042

Greymouth

84 Tainui St

Greymouth

Dunedin

30 London Street

Dunedin 9054

In addition we have individual organisers working from home in Whangarei, Tauranga, Gisborne and

Hawkes Bay.

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Access to organisers

The PSA currently employs 78 organisers who are based around the country at the offices listed

above. In addition, there are 5 online organisers working from the PSA’s Organising Centre. Those

organisers are supported by the strategy and support teams that provide policy, legal,

communications and IT support, and manage the union’s finances, membership and member

benefits systems.

Organising practice

The PSA has a well-developed model of organising practice that emphasises building union

organisation in the workplace, strategic engagement with enterprises, and planning and delivering

positive membership outcomes. Effective union organisation in the workplace means that delegates

are active in providing leadership and support to their members but they are well supported by

organisers. Both members and delegates have good access by phone and e-mail and organisers visit

the enterprises they are responsible for on a regular basis.

How PSA organisers work with members

Every workplace and member we cover is allocated to a designated organiser.

Cellphones, vehicles and laptops are allocated to organisers so they can work in the workplaces

where our members are based.

Organisers are responsible for local bargaining, handling grievances, building membership and

supporting delegates, building engagement with the employer and carrying out the union’s policies.

Organiser co-ordination

Organisers are grouped into one of 9 local organiser teams based on geography. In addition

organisers are part of national organising groups depending on the sectors or enterprises they work

in.

Worksites are allocated to organisers so that the number of sectors they work across is

reduced. This is easier in the larger centres where there are greater concentrations of members. An

example is in Auckland where we have 3 organisers working exclusively in Auckland Council and its

CCOs. In Auckland we also have a full-time delegate paid by the Council to support other delegates

to build the union and its engagement with the employer.

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Local government national organising team

There is a national organising group for local government to which around 20 organisers belong. We

have 2 local government organisers who in addition to local organising have a component of their

work based on regional coordination. We have established regional delegate structures within our

local government membership. The PSA negotiates well over 50 collective agreements in local

government and has a bargaining strategy aimed at improving and standardising conditions

wherever we can. We also have a sector plan that is discussed as part of our annual members’

meetings. Local government organisers meet together nationally once a year. Regional meetings

are held 3 times a year.

Education and delegate development

The PSA has an education team that focuses on providing union education to our delegates. A series

of generic courses is run across sectors for all our members and delivered in the local regions. In

addition we run specific training that is tailored to the needs of members in a particular sector or

enterprise. For example, last year at Auckland Council we ran a 2 day workshop that was attended

by 60 delegates.

Education and development opportunities are also provided to organisers.

Leadership development for young workers and emerging leaders takes place through the PSA Youth

network, one of a number of cross-enterprise, cross-sector networks for groups of PSA members.

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The PSA Organising Centre

The PSA Organising Centre is our call centre but, as the title suggests, it is far more than a traditional

call centre. We see it as an important support for members and delegates, providing the first port of

call for member employment and union queries. It is part of our organising effort and is staffed by

five fully trained professionals who are equipped to provide advice and assistance when needed.

The organising centre deals with:

general enquiries

employment relationship problems and personal cases

information about the PSA

information about membership

clarification on members’ employment agreement

clarification of New Zealand employment law

resources e.g. posters and leaflets.

They endeavour to deal with employment relationship issues throughout the process, and have

developed great expertise in this area. However, they ensure that the relevant organiser is kept

informed and may hand cases back where they are particularly complicated or where it becomes

impractical to manage the case by phone.

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Industrial relations with employers

Constructive engagement

Our approach to relationships with our employers is consistent with our model of organising

practice. We seek to have constructive engagement with employers to enable us to work together

on matters of common interest, while ensuring that our relationship is robust enough to enable us

to manage situations where we have different interests and tensions might rise.

While we won’t back down from industrial action where required, we seek to create forums or

environments where a range of issues can be progressed in a constructive way and our members can

be heard. For example, in district health boards we have jointly established the health sector

relationship agreement with other health unions, the DHB employers and the government. The

HSRA provides a forum where we can constructively engage on a range of mainly strategic issues in

the sector, but the structure also provides for Bipartite Advisory Groups within each DHB where

issues specific to that enterprise can be discussed by the employer and the union.

Auckland Council

In local government we have entered into a comprehensive process with Auckland Council,

facilitated by the internationally recognised consultant Tom Schneider. The intention is to build

constructive union-management engagement into a whole range of strategic and operational issues.

While this engagement is at a relatively early stage, it has already led to an interest-based approach

to bargaining at the Council last year in which negotiations were completed and the collective

agreement ratified in a very short space of time, and the move to a new headquarters building is

being managed in a positive way with staff on board.

Transforming the Workplace

The main item on our strategic agenda is a programme called ‘Transforming the Workplace’, in

which we aim to ensure our members have good work and decent workplaces and that they are able

to contribute positively to the delivery of quality public services. We can best advance this agenda

where the employer is willing to engage constructively, but we intend to make progress wherever

opportunities present themselves.

Standing up for members

Notwithstanding our approach, not all employers wish to engage with us in this way. For example,

in 2009/10 we had a bitter dispute with the Ministry of Justice over renewal of the collective

agreement which led to extended industrial action. We are prepared to stand up for members in

whatever way is appropriate for the situation.

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Union fees The PSA reviews its fees every two years. The following PSA fees will be effective from 1 March

2015.

Gross annual salary Fortnightly

fee

Over $39,104 $16.70

Between $18,380 and $39,104 $8.30

Under $18,380 $4.10

The PSA fees are based on gross annual salary whereas the fees of the Southern Local Government

Officers’ Union are based on whether a member is full-time or part time. Some SLGOU members will

receive a reduction in fees while most will have to pay more. The increase with be phased in over 3

transitional steps occurring on 1 July 2015, 1 July 2016 and 1 July 2017. These adjustments will

coincide with pay increases for most local government workers in Canterbury and Otago and the

increase will be spread as evenly as possible over each of the steps.

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Member benefits

The PSA has a programme of member benefits, including our network of holiday homes. We have

recently concluded a contract with Member Advantage, an Australian union-based member benefits

programme that is extending its operations into New Zealand. The PSA is one of several large unions

joining this programme, which will give benefits to member when they visit Australia, and will use its

group purchasing power to gain new benefits in NZ. This was launched at congress in September

2014.

Holiday homes

We have 41 holiday homes in 7 locations: Whitianga, Rotorua, Raumati (north of Wellington),

Nelson, Carters Beach, Otematata and Te Anau.

Members in Otago can access another holiday home in Queenstown, owned and operated by the

Otago Public Service Welfare Society. (Other PSA members can access this holiday home in certain

circumstances.)

Prices range from $46 per unit per night for comfortable, basic accommodation to $125 for

something more luxurious.

A ballot is conducted for the popular summer school holiday period.

Other member benefits

Banking: PSA members are eligible for a special banking package with Kiwibank, which currently

includes 0.25% off Kiwibank’s advertised fixed home loan rates, 0.50% off Kiwibank’s advertised

variable home loan rate, free EFTPOS on everyday accounts and great discounts on credit cards.

Personal insurance: Vero offers a PSA Personal Insurance Plan that can include home and contents,

and car insurance.

Health & risk insurance: Crombie Lockwood offers a PSA Member Health & Risk Plan which can

cover life insurance, protection against the financial impact of illness, injury or redundancy, and

health insurance.

Car rentals: PSA members can compare instant quotes from Avis and Budget and then book the

bets deal online.

Tyres: PSA members receive an exclusive discount at all Beaurepaires stores nationwide.

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Schedule A