CANZ has raised the issue of the Tasmanian secondments with Harry Hawthorn General Manager PPS. We are disappointed that we were not consulted about this opportunity for our members to assist our comrades in the land of Oz.

CANZ have been in contact with the Union in Tasmania (CPSU) and they have shed a little light on this subject. It is CANZ understanding that PPS NZ will be paying you your NZ salary plus allowances. This sounds fair?

What you don’t know is that in Tasmania a CO starts on the floor at $42,199 Ozzy dollars. Sounds like we are getting a great deal here. But on further investigation it turns out that on top of that $42,199 you also get a 28% loading for shifts. That means $54,014 Ozzy dollars.

And this is for someone straight out of the probation period.

Here is a list of the salaries in Ozzy dollars.

So you know shifts over there, means 12 or 10 hour shifts.

This is really a reminder that you pay fees to the union to look after your best interests. You give us $13.50 a fortnight to best represent your wants and needs. You have the absolute right to ask for union support and/or representation when dealing with any issue and a PPS manager.

We would prefer that your employer approached us so that we could get the best we could for every one of our members, but sadly we are not at this stage yet.

The good news is that we have secured full union coverage for you with the CPSU, whilst you are away. All we require is a list of your names so that we can tell the CPSU who you are and to look after you whilst away.

Beven Hanlon
On behalf of the National Officers