THE VPS 2024 ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT
A rotten deal for public servants
The VPS 2024 Enterprise Agreement (EA) may have seen a massive 70% turnout and a thumping 93% yes vote, but five months in it’s clear that the deal is a disservice to public servants.
Life hasn’t improved, and many of us are feeling the pinch. So how did we end up with such a lousy deal? And why did so many of us support it?
The government’s wage policy: a stranglehold on public sector workers
In April 2023, the Victorian Treasurer announced a new Public Sector Wages Policy—an iron lid on pay rises across the public service. This policy set the benchmark for union negotiations, limiting wage increases to 12% over four years (just 3% per year) and throwing in one-off lump sum payments as a sweetener.
Unions like the ANMF, AEU, Police Association, and Victorian Ambulance Union didn’t take this lying down. They organised industrial action and fought for better deals. But where was the CPSU? Nowhere to be found.
A lame-duck union that refused to fight
While other unions hit the streets, our union leadership refused to organise any industrial action. They caved to the government’s terms and failed to secure alternatives to the wage policy. The CPSU’s Log of Claims initially demanded a 4-day work week trial and a 20% pay rise over four years, but 80% of all CPSU demands were left on the cutting room floor. The biggest “win”? A vague promise to “investigate alternative ways of working.”
Worse still, CPSU members were shut out of the process. Engagement was limited to a single online survey to develop the Log of Claims. Decisions were made behind closed doors, with the union executive deciding what “good enough” looked like—without giving members any say.
A deal that failed to deliver
The EA didn’t address the cost-of-living crisis or secure meaningful improvements to wages and conditions. The one-off lump sum payment, available only to those employed on 28 June 2024, was a sugar hit designed to appease current staff while selling out future workers.
Meanwhile, VPS executives walked away with a 3.5-4.3% pay rise in 2024.
The numbers speak for themselves. Over the past five years, real wages for VPS staff have fallen behind the Consumer Price Index, leaving us with less purchasing power. And while other unions fought for—and won—significant pay increases, the CPSU left its members out to dry. Paramedics secured pay increases of 17-30% over four years through robust industrial action.
Nurses, after rejecting their union leadership’s initial offer in a spirited democratic debate, won a 28.4% pay rise over four years.
The Police Association, making headlines for walking off the job for the first time in 25 years, is on track to secure a 13.5-15% pay rise.
These victories were driven by active, engaged members who refused to accept subpar deals. They used industrial action to leverage their collective power, forcing the government’s hand.
Missed opportunities, weakened power
EBA negotiations should be a time for unions to grow stronger. They’re a chance to rally members, build solidarity, and fight for tangible improvements. But the CPSU executive squandered this opportunity. By avoiding conflict and suppressing debate, they failed to secure better outcomes and left members feeling disillusioned and powerless.
We’ll never know if we could have won a better deal, but one thing is clear: the CPSU needs to change. We need a union that fights for its members, builds democratic structures, and refuses to accept scraps from the table.
It’s Time to Fight Back
The next EBA doesn’t have to be more of the same. We, the members, have the power to rebuild the CPSU as a democratic, fighting union. We can’t rely on bureaucrats to deliver the wins we need. Change will only come when we dare to struggle—and dare to win.
Join us. Let’s create a union worth fighting for.
MEMBER PROFILE – KATRINA
What’s your name?
Katrina Kiernan-Walker
How long have you been in the union?
Since February 2020.
Where do you work and what do you do?
I work in digital comms at the Victorian Electoral Commission
Why did you join AVFM?
I was really disappointed with the lack of engagement with members throughout the agreement bargaining period last year. It feels like a lot of crucial steps were missed, like voting to approve the log of claims and voting over any potential industrial action.
What’s your vision for the CPSU?
A CPSU where members are interested and involved in how their union runs, one where everything isn’t happening behind closed doors.
WHAT’S ON
INAUGURAL A VOICE FOR MEMBERS MEETING
THURSDAY 30 JANUARY 2025
6PM – 8PM
FOLLOWED BY SOCIAL DRINKS
BAGUNG MAGALI – COMMUNITY ROOM
BARGOONGA NGANJIN, NORTH FITZROY LIBRARY, 182 SAINT GEORGES ROAD, FITZROY NORTH
MCED BY PURPLE PINGERS (AKA JORDAN VAN DEN LAMB)
ANNOUNCING!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER – ELLEN DAVID FRIEDMAN
AUTHOR OF “WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR UNION BREAKS YOUR HEART”
This event has been held, thank you all for attending!
You can listen to a recording from the meeting thanks to our friends at 3CR.