Tax workers start industrial campaign
BY CHRIS SLEE
MELBOURNE — Unionists at the Australian Taxation Office have voted in favour of a campaign of industrial action, including bans and a part-pay stoppage on May 11.
Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) at the ATO had previously voted to reject a management pay offer of 4% per year, conditional on achieving a large number of performance targets for revenue collection, service standards, "professionalism" (as measured by surveys of taxpayers) and successful implementation of the GST.
Members rejected the offer because, even if all targets are met (which is very unlikely), the offer fails to guarantee real wage increases given the likely rate of inflation and increased interest rates.
Management has said it will put its offer to a vote of all ATO staff despite the CPSU's rejection of the offer. It is hoping to win the support of the large number of new workers employed to administer the GST, many of whom have little experience of unionism. The CPSU's tax section is making a big effort to reach these workers, explain the issues to them and recruit them to the union.
Management is also counting on the support of the tax office section of the Australian Services Union, whose leaders have already given "in principle support" to management's offer. The ASU has only a small number of members in the ATO, but its support may give management a fig leaf of union endorsement.
CPSU members are confident that they can convince a majority of ATO staff to reject management's offer.