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Speaker 1: As we know well, the union representing the public sector

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Speaker 1: employee says that more than two thousand shift workers are

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Speaker 1: being underpaid by the Northern Territory government. The Community and

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Speaker 1: Public Sector Union the CPSU claims that works across departments

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Speaker 1: including NT, health, Corrections and Territory Families. So those workers

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Speaker 1: are being paid for thirty six point seven five hours

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Speaker 1: work per week while being rostered to work thirty eight

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Speaker 1: hours per week. Now joining us on the line to

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Speaker 1: explain this further is the CPSU's NT Secretary David Vilagas.

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Speaker 1: Good morning again, David, Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show, David. Obviously this

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Speaker 1: is quite concerning. If territory workers are being underpaid, what

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Speaker 1: kind of roles are we talking about here?

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Speaker 2: So these are mostly frontline workers on twenty four hour rosters.

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Speaker 2: So we've got people like youth justice officers at Dondale,

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Speaker 2: people working in safe carehouse, central intake hospital workers. I mean,

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Speaker 2: the list just goes on, and how.

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Speaker 1: Much are they being underpied.

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Speaker 2: So we have a situation where just over two thousand

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Speaker 2: people are on thirty eight hours a week and they're

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Speaker 2: making the same as their coworkers at the same level

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Speaker 2: on thirty six point seventy five hours per week, and

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Speaker 2: apparently this has been going on for years, so that

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Speaker 2: basically equates to working around sixty six hours a year extra,

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Speaker 2: or another way to look at it is about three

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Speaker 2: point four percent less per hour. So your average admin

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Speaker 2: officer at the level five year AO five for example,

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Speaker 2: they could be around just over two thousand dollars worth

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Speaker 2: less a year.

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Speaker 1: How did just sort of become a week that this

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Speaker 1: was the case, because I guess you know when you're

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Speaker 1: talking about, well, until you kind of added up across

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Speaker 1: the year, it seems like a small amount, but how

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Speaker 1: did you become away?

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Speaker 2: So really we're standing on the should of the giants

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Speaker 2: here because we have members shift workers who have been

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Speaker 2: prosecuting this for years and it went through their effort

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Speaker 2: at the last bargaining table where they managed to get

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Speaker 2: a commitment to engage in a shift worker review at

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Speaker 2: the Public Service Commission. The shift worker review we've been

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Speaker 2: engaged in since about early last year, and it was

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Speaker 2: through that process that we were able to get the

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Speaker 2: government data which showed the extent of the situation and

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Speaker 2: just how many people were impacted by this, So.

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Speaker 1: We're too now, David, obviously those that are being paid

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Speaker 1: less than you know in their colleagues, I'm assuming you're

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Speaker 1: going to be pretty annoyed. We're to now.

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Speaker 2: At this stage where where this week we have launched

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Speaker 2: a dispute with the Public Service Commission and if that

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Speaker 2: dispute isn't resolved then we'll find ourselves once again in

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Speaker 2: fair work.

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Speaker 1: And I noted I'd read an article on the ABC

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Speaker 1: about this and my understanding is that the Minister, Paul

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Speaker 1: Kirby had said that you know, correct me if I'm wrong,

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Speaker 1: that it had been sorted or that there wasn't an issue.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the response is disappointing. I think it was words

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Speaker 2: to the effect of that no significant underpayments had been

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Speaker 2: uncovered by the review. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 2: our union is prepared to enforce this in fair work,

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Speaker 2: whether the government thinks there's a problem or not.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, So what's the sticking point now? What sort

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Speaker 1: of needs to happen from here? From your perspective, But.

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Speaker 2: We just need the government to push the Public Service

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Speaker 2: Commissions in the right direction. We need them to compensate

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Speaker 2: our shift workers, we need them to compensate our chief

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Speaker 2: correctional officers. We need them to compensate our trade transit

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Speaker 2: safety officers. We just need them to get it done.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you what, hopefully they do get it sorted.

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Speaker 1: What are those workers you know that are being underpaid?

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Speaker 1: What are they sort of saying to you, David? Are

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Speaker 1: they pretty annoyed at the fact that it's you know,

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Speaker 1: that it seems to be lingering on for so long.

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Speaker 2: So there's there's a group of members who have been

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Speaker 2: committed to this issue for years, and of course, of course,

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Speaker 2: I mean they're very frustrated that it's taken this long,

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Speaker 2: and they're very frustrated that things have grounds will hold

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Speaker 2: after we did start to hear some really positive commitments

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Speaker 2: coming through the shift worker review at one point. But

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Speaker 2: the real issue is that a lot of people aren't

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Speaker 2: actually aware that this is happening. A lot of people

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Speaker 2: haven't aren't fully across the sea significance of this issue

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Speaker 2: and just how many people are being impacted. Because again

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Speaker 2: from the union's perspective, we were not work just how

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Speaker 2: many people were impacted until we saw the data ourselves.

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Speaker 1: So some of these workers, some of these some of

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Speaker 1: these frontline workers and others might not even be aware. Correct, Well,

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you what you'd been like. You'd just be annoyed.

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Speaker 1: I think if you've been getting underpaid and there's others

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Speaker 1: you know that aren't bang.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, absolutely, which is why we needed to bring this

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Speaker 2: issue to everyone's attention. So we really appreciate you allowing

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Speaker 2: us to talk about this on your show. But we

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Speaker 2: also that's why we're also going to be pushing this

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Speaker 2: through our dispute, and again we are prepared to go

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Speaker 2: all the way to fair work if necessary. So we

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Speaker 2: really hope that the government will just do the right

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Speaker 2: thing and get disordered for our members.

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Speaker 1: Well, David Viliagas the cps U MT Secretary, I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Mate. If there is anybody

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Speaker 1: out there listening this morning that's thinking to themselves, I

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Speaker 1: wonder if I am part of this group that's potentially

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Speaker 1: being underpaid, do they get in contact with the union,

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Speaker 1: what's their best tact?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely? Absolutely, they should be getting in contact with and

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Speaker 2: sending communications online letting people know that this is happening,

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Speaker 2: and if either they're being impacted directly to let us

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Speaker 2: know or if there are other underpayment issues. To please

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Speaker 2: let us know. We can only work on what we knowed,

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Speaker 2: so we absolutely encourage people to get in touch with

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Speaker 2: their union and we can start working on these things

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Speaker 2: to make the public service the best it can be.

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Speaker 2: That's all we're after. It's not about shaming the public service.

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Speaker 2: It's about making it the best it can be.

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Speaker 1: Well, I really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for having a chat to us and making us

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Speaker 1: aware of the situation.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Katie, Thank you