Concerns about the future of CSIRO Property Services remain with a private consultant’s report into the future of the business unit still under wraps.
Grosvenor report: Classified material?
With repeated requests to release the Grosvenor Consulting report in its entirety having been rejected, the Staff Association has lodged formal request for complete disclosure under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.
The date for a decision on the FOI request is now set for 26 April 2012.
Request for Tender
Meanwhile, news that Property Services have issued a Request for Tender for provision of an Information Management System (IMS) have heightened outsourcing concerns.
In response to questions from the Staff Association, management denied that engaging private contractors to provide a managed IMS constitutes outsourcing, claiming the move represents the delivery of a new service rather than an existing function.
Mixed messages
While rejecting a proposal from the Staff Association’s WA Section Delegate’s Council for formal representation on the Property Services Working Group, management have left the door ajar to further consultation, suggesting monthly meetings between the union and senior managers.
However, management’s stated desire to establish a “productive, consultative arrangements” with the Staff Association over the future of Property Services does little to explain their refusal to release the detail of the Grosvenor Consulting report.
Despite assurances that confidentiality concerns could be overcome via a redacted version of the report, management’s refusal to release Grosvenor has only fuelled staff concerns about the future of the business unit.
FOI request
Following a poll of affected union members, the Staff Association initiated a request on 24 February under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 for a complete copy of the report.
CSIRO Legal have advised that some of the material requested covers information that the organisation is formally required to consult under the FOI Act and have extended the processing timeframe by thirty days to allow this consultation to occur.
The date for a decision on the FOI request is now set for 26 April 2012.
I cant see any additional service being of value that cannot already be addressed with existing staff skills and resources. I can only see risky outrsourcing occuring and a significant amount of extra CSIRO $$ being consumed.