MEDIA RELEASE
10 July, 2003
PSA Settlement with DOC Proves Benefits of Collective Bargaining
“The PSA settlement of special one-off payments for DOC employees is a clear example of the benefits of collective
bargaining,” Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.
“Rodney Hide’s vitriolic attack on the PSA is based on a complete misunderstanding of the law passed by the legislature
of which he is a member,” Ross Wilson said.
Collective bargaining is invariably more successful for the employee than individual bargaining, he said
“It is just sour grapes by employees, who have chosen to negotiate as individuals, to now call on Rodney Hide to try to
make a public and political issue on their behalf.
“They have clearly been expecting to free-load and pick up the PSA settlement, and the PSA members are legally entitled
to take steps to prevent that,” Ross Wilson said.
“There is no doubt that it is legal for the PSA, by agreement with DOC as the employer, to limit benefits to the members
of the collective bargaining unit.”
The CTU view is that such an outcome is not only legal, but part of the intended scheme of the Employment Relations Act.
ENDS