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The COA is presently engaged in efforts to represent its membership in the negotiation of an Australian Workplace Agreement, under the Commonwealth's Workplace Relations Act. Before we can provide an appropriate level of representation to our members, we must first overcome the impediments placed in front of us by the Industrial Commission. and the executive management of the ACS
The COA holds the view that the orders handed down by the Commission under the Industrial Relations Act are no longer binding, as they have been superceded by legislative changes and overtaken by events. We have received support in our position from an unlikely source - the office of the Minister for Workplace Relations. In a letter which we received recently, the Minister's office has indicated support for our efforts to represent our members under the Workplace Relations Act.
ACS executive management's attitude
We regard the present attitude of ACS executive management as most unfortunate. Even the Minister for Workplace Relations recognises our right to represent our members and any other Customs Officer who seeks our services but the ACS still hangs on to outdated concepts.
Customs Officers were told after the RACS inquiry that Customs was entering an era of new management. We were told that there was a need to change the 'Customs culture'. There has been a conscious effort to discard 'things Customs' in favour of 'things public service'.
Yet we still see the old attitude towards the COA hanging on in executive management. It certainly appears that while Customs Officers as a whole have shown a remarkable capacity to accept and implement change (in a number of cases to the detriment of the Australian community), their executive management has not shown anywhere near the same capacity. So much for leadership.
Of further concern is the appallingly poor level of communication which presently exists within Customs. Current management theory espouses the 'learning organisation' as the way of the future. But for an organisation to become a learning organisation, it must first become a communicating organisation. Customs has a long way to go if the recent attempts at workplace agreement 'negotiation' are anything by which to judge. Intrigue, cronyism, sponsorship and disaffection seem to be far more easily communicated than morale, management esteem, teamwork and value for individual contributions. We saw a 'divide-and-conquer' strategy by executive management which did nothing to engender trust in the workforce. We saw an indecent haste based upon personal advancement, rather than a considered approach based on trust, sound communication and an equitable outcome for all.
It seems that the way ahead in Customs these days is by having no connection to the Customs of the past. Corporate memory has no currency, while being 'corporate' is everything. It seems that the organisation no longer values alternate views. Some much for becoming a learning organisation of the future. What a shame!
So what does the future hold?
There must be a place for reasoned dissent in the Australian Customs Service. We in the COA are all too well aware that as things currently stand, publishing our views will upset a number in the Customs executive. They will feel these observations as personally stinging criticism. Instead of acknowledging the possibility of value in some of the things we say, they will rail against our right to make the observations that we have made - and they will be wrong! If the people of this country have the right to constructively criticise their elected representatives, why would any of the rest of us who work for the people regard ourselves as 'protected species'?
The COA has made a number of mistakes over the years - but so has the
ACS. Now is the time to acknowledge our mistakes, put the grief of
the past behind us and find some way to build trust and work together for
the benefit of the Australian community and the Customs Officers who so
loyally serve it.