Public Service Association of NSW

Australian public sector trade union

"Stewart Little" redirects here. For the children's book, see Stuart Little.

PSA of NSW

Public Service Association of NSW

Founded| 1899
Headquarters| 160 Clarence Street, Sydney
Location|

* Australia

Members| 40,000

Key people

| Stewart Little, General Secretary,
Troy Wright, Assistant General Secretary and
Nicole Jess, President
Affiliations| UnionsNSW
Website| psa.asn.au

The Public Service Association of NSW (PSA) is a union which covers employees in the government, university and related public sector in New South Wales. The union is registered under New South Wales state legislation and is affiliated with the Labor Council of New South Wales.

For constitutional and legal reasons, the union has not fully integrated with the Community and Public Sector Union, which is a national union registered under Commonwealth legislation, of which it is classified as an "Associated Body". Members of the PSA are also members of the CPSU. The Association is also a member of the State Public Service Federation Group of the CPSU.

## History

[edit]

The first attempt to form the Association was made in April 1886 by Arthur Josling and P.H. Somerville. Their actions may have been prompted by similar moves in Victoria and by growing concerns of political patronage within the service.

The Provisional Committee set up to establish the organisation stated that the Association would not have a political character nor would it be a trade union. Thirteen years passed before the union was established in 1899.

The first edition of the Association's newspaper, The Public Service Journal, appeared on 4 January 1900 and carried the historic story of public servants meeting to consider the union's draft constitution. The Chairman, Mr. Beauer, Clerk of the Peace, in addressing the meeting said,

> "... though we have a loyal and faithful service, we must have a fearless service. I mean a service which will not be spineless, or a cringing, craving service, which is always indicative of that which is wrong, because ultimately they would find that a service which dare not express its views in a reasonable and proper manner, and dare not ask for what was legitimately its rights, was bound, more or less, to be a menace to the State."[1][2]

The constitution was then submitted to the Premier, George Reid and the Public Service Board. Both parties approved its contents. The Association's first Chairman was Mr. Cornelius Delohery with Mr. W.A. Thomson elected Secretary.

In October 1900, the first country branch was formed at Moree. Others quickly followed in Armidale, Goulburn, Hay, Newcastle, Forbes and Orange. In November of the same year, Mr. John Osbourne was appointed as the first permanent Secretary and the first Council was elected to conduct the business of the PSA.

In 1908, the industrial arbitration system was established in NSW. The PSA was not only excluded from that system but had its membership of approximately 3,300 fragmented by the creation of other unions such as the railways and teachers.

In 1910, the PSA conducted its first major campaign covering equal pay, superannuation and conditions.

In 1915, it had to be decided whether to register as a trade union under the Industrial Arbitration and Trade Union Acts. The proposal fired spirited debate but a referendum resulted in 670 members supporting registration with 538 votes cast in opposition. The PSA subsequently became registered as a trade union under the Trade Union Act and an industrial union under the Industrial Arbitration Act. Four internal divisions were established – Clerical, General, Professional and Education.

By 1920, a vocational structure was emerging – the division and representation of members by the jobs they did. The women's clerical sub-section had been formed the year before by Dorothy Beveridge who would later serve as its secretary and President.[3]

The PSA's first awards were lodged in 1920.

In 1922, new legislation again excluded the PSA from the arbitration system. In an attempt to correct this situation the PSA waged a major political campaign between 1925 and 1930 to regain access to the system. The Lang Labor Government eventually amended the legislation. Four sections then emerged – Clerical, General, Professional and Government Agencies – plus a Women's Auxiliary.

In 1927 the PSA negotiated the first clerical award for women employees of the New South Wales government.[4] In the same year the Association changed the name of its newspaper from The Public Service Journal to Red Tape in July.

The first woman to serve on the association's executive was Kathleen Clare O'Keefe was appointed in 1929. She had assisted with the 1927 women's award; served on the clerical management and arbitration committees and she chaired the PSA's women's auxiliary. Two years later she campaigned for amendments to the 1902 Public Service Act to include equal pay for women.[4]

During the Great Depression years – 1930 to 1945 – the Association fought a rearguard action to protect members and conducted campaigns to maintain jobs. In October 1937 the Industrial Arbitration (Amendment) Act increased the basic salary to £3 16s per week. However this was only for men and the act actually cut the wages of women by two shillings to just a shilling over two pounds a week.[3][5] O'Keefe, Dorothy Beveridge and others lobbied to have women who were qualified public servants to be given permanent and not temporary contracts.[4] While job losses were minimised, the State Government slashed public servant salaries and raided the resources of the State Superannuation Fund.

It was years before the Association was able to restore pre-depression salaries and it was not until 1944 that the State Government repaid the money taken from the Superannuation Fund.

In 1944, the Crown Employees' Appeal Board was established. The creation of the body was one of the PSA's earliest objectives.

Somewhere between 1948 and 1953, the PSA affiliated with the Labor Council of New South Wales, now known as UnionsNSW.[citation needed]

## Presidents

[edit]

Year  | Name  | Department

|
|

1899  | Delohery, Cornelius J  | Justice
1900  | Turner, J W  | Education
1901  | Turner, J W (to May 1902)  | Education
1902  | McKay, G A (to Sept 1902)  | Lands
1902–1903  | Vautin, Ernest Stafford  | Lands
1904  | Williams, Percy E  | Chief Secretary
1905  | Brownlow, Frederick Hugh  | Mines
1906  | Kilminster, George  | Education
1907  | D'Arcy, John Synott BA  | Navigation
1908  | Paton, Alfred  | Lands
1909–1912  | D'Arcy, John Synott BA  | Navigation
1913–1914  | Beavis, Walter William Keen  | Education
1915–1916  | D'Arcy, John Synott BA  | Navigation
1916–1918  | Watson, Albert Alexander  | Lands
1919–1920  | Kilminster, George  | Education
1920–1921  | Watson, Albert Alexander  | Lands
1922  | Greig, William Arthur  | Mines
1923  | McCulloch, J E (resigned Dec 1923)  | Justice
1924  | Trollope, Arthur John  | Public Works
1925–1927  | Watson, Albert Alexander  | Lands
1928–1932  | Flynn, William Augustus  | Justice
1933–1935  | Hodge-Smith, Thomas  | Education
1936–1938  | Weir, George LB  | Justice
1939–1941  | Drummond, C (Barrister-at-Law)  | Lands
1942–1945  | Trout, Albert John  | Public trust
1946–1949  | Hedges, Frederick, L  | Agriculture
1950–1951  | Johnstone, N P S  | Lands
1952–1963  | Hook, F A  | Public Works
1964–1966  | Solomans, L W  | Housing
1967–1975  | Hillyard, A G (Bert)  | Meat Board
1975–1979  | Finnane, T J MBE ED  | Electricity Commission
1979–1981  | Jardine, Brian S, PhD BA  | Egg Marketing Board
1981–1985  | Brown, E John  | Health Commission
1985–1987  | Naylor, Paul E  | Central Mapping Authority
1987–1989  | Good, Janet P, BBus.ALA.  | TAFE
1989–1991  | Armstrong Patrick  | Corrective Services
1991–1993  | Good, Janet P, BBus.ALA  | TAFE
1993–2000  | O'Sullivan, Maurie  | Community Services
2000–2016  | Walsh, Suzanne  | Education
2016–2021  | McKelvie, Kylie  | Corrective Services
2021–present  | Jess, Nicole  | Corrective Services

## Secretaries and General Secretaries

[edit]

Year  | Name

|

1900–1908  | Osborne, John
1909–1912  | Hill, E.J.
1912–1914  | Peek, R
1914–1931  | Wills, F
1931–1932  | Irving, C.C
1932–1945  | O'Sullivan, E
1945–1959  | O'Neile, R.J
1959–1966  | Sutherland, R.J
1966–1971  | Nicholls, Eric J
1971–1985  | Hammond, Geoffrey B
1986–1989  | Twohill, Helen
1989–1993  | Gibson, Allan
1993–2000  | Good, Janet, BBUS, ALA
2000–2003  | O'Sullivan, Maurie, BA
2003–2012  | Cahill, John
2012–2016  | Gardiner, Anne
2016–present  | Little, Stewart

## Assistant General Secretaries

[edit]

Year  | Name

|

2012–2014  | Turner, Steve
2016–present  | Wright, Troy

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The Public Service Journal, January 4, 1900 (predecessor to Red Tape)
2. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 10 June 1899.
3. ^ a b Chappell, Louise; Coltheart, Lenore, "Dorothy Christina Beveridge (1894–1978)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 21 August 2024
4. ^ a b c Chappell, Louise, "Kathleen Clare O'Keeffe (1883–1949)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 14 February 2024
5. ^ Chappell, Louise; Coltheart, Lenore, "Dorothy Christina Beveridge (1894–1978)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 14 February 2024

## External links

[edit]

* Organized labour portal

* Australian Council of Trade Unions
* UnionsNSW
* PSA website
* Old PSA website
* CPSU (SPSF Group) NSW Branch

Authority control databases |

* ISNI

|