The 2012-13 Federal Budget did not deliver any major surprises for CSIRO or science. The application of the Government’s so-called ‘efficiency dividend’ results in a cut of $23M over four years to CSIRO’s appropriation funding. As part of the Community and Public Sector Union, we are extremely concerned about the impact of the ‘efficiency dividend’ across the public sector, including on co-investment in CSIRO. See the media release from the CPSU here.

The ‘efficiency dividend’ in combination with projected falls in external revenue next year, is estimated to result in a reduction of 116 staff across CSIRO in 2012-13. The Staff Association met with Deputy CEO Craig Roy this morning, who indicated that CSIRO will endeavour to use natural attrition to manage the staffing reduction. The Staff Association is absolutely committed to keeping the number of involuntary redundancies in CSIRO to a minimum. We will work will members to ensure redundancy and redeployment processes are followed and all opportunities for voluntary redundancy substitution are identified. Continue reading →