The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is facing criticism from the Australian Services Union (ASU).

The ASU has slammed the APSC over its attempt to portray a rejected enterprise bargaining offer as beneficial for public servants. 

The ASU has accused the APSC of misleading workers with its case studies, demanding a public correction.

The specific case in question centres on an example scenario in the APSC's Bargaining News from October 26, 2023. 

This scenario attempts to showcase improvements in flexible working arrangements under the proposed deal. However, the ASU claims that these improvements are already part of existing conditions.

In a letter to APSC's chief negotiator, Peter Riordan, Jeff Lapidos, the ASU Tax Officers' branch secretary, highlights the misleading information related to ‘Tammy’, an employee seeking flexible working hours due to her role as a carer. 

The ASU insists that Tammy can already request such arrangements without waiting for the new agreement to be approved.

The APSC's scenario depicts Tammy, who works in a call centre and has caring responsibilities for her elderly mother. It suggests that under the new agreement, she can request flexible working hours, which would enable her to fulfil her caregiving duties. 

However, the ASU asserts that Tammy already has this right under the National Employment Standards and can make such requests without the new agreement.

The ASU has called for a correction to this misleading information provided by the APSC.

This issue is the latest in a series of challenges faced by the APSC during ongoing wage negotiations with public sector unions. 

Despite broad agreement on common conditions, the government's offer of an 11.2 per cent pay increase has been rejected by all unions involved in the bargaining.

In light of these challenges, the public service minister acknowledged the difficulties in reaching an agreement, signalling ongoing negotiations.

The ASU has previously taken the Australian Taxation Office to Fair Work over contested changes to performance management conditions and is seeking documents related to pay issues affecting recruitment.

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has admitted to providing misleading information to public servants regarding improvements in flexible working conditions. 

The APSC has conceded that the ‘Tammy’ scenario wrongly told public servants they would get a better deal under these arrangements proposed in the current enterprise bargaining offer. In reality, the same workplace right already existed.

The APSC has removed the example of Tammy from its publications.