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No More Weather Because Bureau of Meteorology Is On Strike

All weather reports have been cancelled after staff at the Bureau of Meteorology across the country have started industrial action following failed negotiations on pay and conditions. At the heart of the issue is a three-year impasse between the Community […]

All weather reports have been cancelled after staff at the Bureau of Meteorology across the country have started industrial action following failed negotiations on pay and conditions. At the heart of the issue is a three-year impasse between the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and government top dogs. It has resulted in staff not answering internal phone calls or emails, not updating the official Twitter page (except in severe weather conditions), and no media requests will be granted as the strike might just bring the Bureau down.

It’ll be like walking into a storm, boys (one that we didn’t see coming). Not that we needed to know that it would be raining today or anything.

Sydney weather tends fluctuate a fair bit. Source.

CPSU deputy secretary Beth Vincent-Pietsch said this strike was taken as a last resort.

“They’ve had massive restructures in the bureau and so many of these staff have had to relocate, their jobs have changed, there is so much job insecurity as they move to automating the services,” she said.

“Our members just want to be able to keep what they’ve got in terms of paying conditions, and just have a fair pay rise put on the table and I don’t that there is anyone that thinks that isn’t a reasonable ask.”

The Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash has labelled the industrial action as “unfortunate”, stating she wants to see bargaining between the Government and the public sector done and dusted.

“The CPSU continue to get in the way of public servants receiving pay rises and public sector union leaders have persisted in urging employees to reject proposed agreements,” she said.

The strike is expected to last two weeks. Looks like we’re all going to have to check the weather ourselves for a while. But it looks be pretty mild, under 20 degrees and partly cloudy so we should all be right.