The Public Service Association (PSA) is New Zealand’s largest state sector union with over 55,000 members. Two thousand of those members work at Corrections, mostly in prisons or probation offices.
On May 23, the PSA signed the third Partnership for Quality agreement (PfQ3) with the Government and the State Services Commission. This agreement is a strategy to improve working life, including pay and working conditions. It aims to create high-trust workplaces where workers are respected, valued and have influence. And the agreement recognises that there is a common interest in developing a modern, innovative and highly successful public service. Previous partnership agreements have resulted in real benefits suc
h as an extra week’s statutory leave and employer-subsidised retirement savings.
Corrections’ newly appointed PSA Organiser Graham Cuffley says the next step is for individual agencies, such as Corrections, to sign the agreement. “And I’ve been very encouraged by Chief Executive Barry Matthews’ reaction to the agreement, so working with Corrections is a challenge I’m looking forward to.”
Graham says that an important part of any developmental PfQ agreement is about encouraging good local initiatives about ways of working. “Say someone’s got a great idea at Wanganui Prison – the Partnership agreement is about sharing that at a national level. It’s about solving problems once, not trying to sort the same thing out twenty times,” he says.
Graham says the PSA is keen to work with anyone to benefit the members. “Whether that’s the Department, other trade unions, or individuals.”
Corrections staff are involved with several different unions, but the PSA works in all areas of the Department. Graham’s quick to point out that he’ll be building on the work of his predecessor, Alan Ware.
Before he became the Corrections PSA organiser, Graham represented Department of Labour PSA members for two years. Before that he lived in the UK, where he spent 15 years with UNISON, the public sector union.
Graham Cuffley, Corrections' new PSA Organiser.
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ISSN 1178-8453