TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

Industrial Relations Act 1984
s.23 application for awards and variation of awards

Federated Clerks Union of Australia
Tasmanian Branch
(T.2678 of 1990)

CLERICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES (PRIVATE SECTOR) AWARD

New award

REASONS FOR DECISION

These proceedings followed the interim decision of 5 September 1990 which established the Title and Scope clauses of the new award. The parties with an interest in the award were determined on 23 October 1990 in Matters T.2749, T.2750 and T.2755 of 1990.

Mr Fry took the Commission through the draft first award which had been circulated to the parties previously. He identified a number of provisions which required some correction or adjustment to remove unnecessary provisions.

Specifically these were in:

Clause 5   Parties and Persons Bound

Clause 7   Wage Rates - at paragraph (c) Additional Payments

Clause 8   Annual Leave - at paragraph (b) Broken Leave
                                 - at paragraph (h) Proportionate Leave on
                                   Termination of Service

Clause 9   Casual Employees - additional proviso to paragraph (c)

Clause 14  Holidays with Pay - paragraph (c)

Clause 22  Resolution of Disputes relating to implementation of
thirty-eight hour week to be deleted.

During the course of proceedings the following additional changes were proposed:

• The insertion of an appropriate Savings Clause.
• The insertion of an appropriate exemption provision in the Superannuation Clause to accommodate those employers who had already obtained an exemption in accordance with the Retail Trades Award.

Mr. Fry explained that in accordance with the Wage Fixing Principles dealing with First Awards and Extensions to Existing Awards, the proposed award simply reflected existing rates and conditions. An operative date of 1 January 1991 was requested.

It was suggested that that part of the Industrial Relations Regulations which, in accordance with Section 40 of the Act, extends the operation of the Retail Trades Award to the work of a clerk, should be rescinded. The responsibility for taking action on this matter of course resides with the Department of Employment, Industrial Relations and Training.

Mr. Abey expressed his support for the proposed new award and he consented to the request for a 1 January 1991 operative date, as did Mr. Rice.

In response to my suggestion that the proposed Enterprise Agreements provision should not be a replica of the clause in the Retail Trades Award, because of developments occurring in other awards, both Mr. Abey and Mr. Fry were reluctant to have the consent proposal altered at this stage.

However, in view of the inherent operational difficulties in the proposed agreement, I consider that it would be preferable to insert the revised version, which has been circulated amongst the parties.

As to the remainder of the proposed new award, I commend the Federated Clerks Union and the other parties for their efforts in bringing the award, which conforms with the Wage Fixing Principles, to fruition. The award will be made effective from 1 January 1991 and the appropriate draft order will issue in due course.

F. D. Westwood
PRESIDENT

Appearances:
Mr. D. J. Fry for the Federated Clerks Union of Australia, Tasmanian Branch
Mr. T. J. Abey for the Tasmanian Confederation of Industries
Mr. K. J. Rice for the TFGA Industrial Association

Date and Place of Hearing:
1990:
Hobart
November 28