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Tasmanian Industrial Commission

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T5264 and T5476

 

TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

Industrial Relations Act 1984
s23 application for an award or variation of an award

State Public Services Federation Tasmania
(T5264 of 1994)

NOMINATED PUBLIC SECTOR AWARDS
AND AGREEMENTS

Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers
Australia

(T5476 of 1995)

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AWARD

 

FULL BENCH:
PRESIDENT F D WESTWOOD
COMMISSIONER R J WATLING
COMMISSIONER R K GOZZI

4 MAY 1995

Award variation - variation of nominated public sector awards and agreements by 1.5% or $8 per week, whichever is the greater, effective from the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 August 1993;
a further 1.5% or $8 per week, whichever is the greater effective on and from 1 April 1994; a further 1% effective on and from 1 January 1995; and a further 1% effective on and from 1 October 1995

Award variation - variation of the Professional Engineers Award by incorporating into Clause 8 - Salaries, the salary increases available under the State Service Wages Arrangements Agreement

REASONS FOR DECISION

In this matter the State Public Services Federation Tasmania (SPSFT) made application to vary the awards and agreements in the attached schedule, and the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA) made application to vary the Professional Engineers Award, to reflect the outcome of the State Service Wages Arrangements set out in the following agreements registered in the Commission.

 

T4645

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Treasury and Finance Agreement 1993

   

T4646

State Service Wages Arrangements Egg Marketing Board Agreement 1993

   

T4647

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Justice Agreement 1993

   

T4648

State Service Wages Arrangements Schools Board of Tasmania Agreement 1993

   

T4649

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation Agreement 1993

   

T4650

State Service Wages Arrangements Tasmanian Fire Service Agreement 1993

   

T4651

State Service Wages Arrangements Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority Agreement 1993

   

T4652

State Service Wages Arrangements Tasmanian Audit Office Agreement 1993

   

T4653

State Service Wages Arrangements Public Sector Management Office Agreement 1993

   

T4699

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Police Agreement 1993

   

T4703

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of State Development and Resources Agreement 1993

   

T4704

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Premier and Cabinet Agreement 1993

   

T4705

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Environment and Land Management Agreement 1993

   

T4706

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Community and Health Services (Tasmanian Ambulance Service and Professional Engineers) Agreement 1993

   

T4707

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Transport and Works Agreement 1993

   

T4708

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries Agreement 1993

   

T4935

State Service Wages Arrangements Department of Employment, Industrial Relations and Training Agreement 1994

Essentially the variations sought were to include in the awards and agreements in the schedule the wage increases arising from those agreements on the following basis:

1.5% or $8 per week, whichever is the greater, payable on and from the first full pay period to commence on or after 1 August 1993;

1.5% or $8 per week payable on and from 1 April 1994;

1.0% payable on and from 1 January 1995; and

1.0% payable on and from 1 October 1995.

Given that the State Service Wages Arrangements contained in the various agreements referred to above over-ride the awards requested to be varied, the parties informed the Commission that no award should be varied until a proposed State Service Wages Arrangements Amendment Agreement 1995, which was tendered in draft form, was approved and registered by the Commission. The effect of this would be to ensure that once a nominated award was varied to include the wage increases identified above, the relevant State Service Wages Agreement would no longer apply so far as actual wage rates were concerned. The State Service Wages Arrangements Amendment Agreement 1995 would stay in operation until 30 June 1996, the same expiry date as the various State Service Wages Agreements. The reason for this was said to be that apart from extinguishing the wage rates contained in the various agreements as the awards are varied, the other parts of the agreements relating to, among other things, productivity and efficiency measures, needed to stay on foot.

In addition, the draft example award tendered and marked Exhibit SPSFT.2, contained a proviso which was designed to make it clear that the increases referred to above, to be inserted in the awards, were the State Service Wages Arrangements increases and were not in addition to those increases.

A further amendment to the Parties and Persons Bound clause, and the Definitions clause changed the name of the controlling authority from the Minister Administering the Tasmanian State Service Act to the Minister for Public Sector Management.

Mr Evans, appearing for the Australian Education Union, Tasmanian Branch (AEU), requested an adjournment to allow his organisation to consider the implications of the proposed award changes on his organisation as the AEU had not been involved in discussions with any of the parties in relation to either the award changes or the proposed agreement. Whilst recognising the AEU's concern that it may not have been consulted, the Bench considered the union's members would not be disadvantaged vis-a-vis other public sector employees by any resulting Commission decision. In the circumstances the adjournment application was rejected and the parties to the proposed new agreement were urged to include the AEU in their negotiations.

Having regard to the foregoing, the variations to the awards in the attached schedule are endorsed subject to the approval and registration of the State Service Wages Arrangements Amendment Agreement 1995. The operative date of the variations will be the beginning of the first full pay period to commence on or after 13 June 1995. However if the agreement has not been approved by then the date of operation will be from the date of the Commission's approval of the document. In the interim, the parties are requested to provide the necessary draft orders to the Commission. These will be forwarded to members, as appropriate, to give effect to the variations.

It is to be noted that the draft orders do not require the current salary rates to be shown as they are already in the award. Accordingly only columns A, B C and D are necessary to give effect to the variations.

If the parties wish to vary other public sector awards, other than those in the schedule, to reflect the State Service Wages Arrangements, then separate applications will be required. These will be dealt with on merit at that time.

The agreements listed in Attachment B cannot be dealt with in an application made in accordance with section 23 of the Act, and accordingly no finding can be made other than to dismiss that part of the application.

 

Appearances:
Mr R Clegg for the State Public Services Federation Tasmania
Mr N Evans for the Australian Education Union, Tasmanian Branch
Mr T Kleyn for the Health Services Union of Australia, Tasmania No. 1 Branch
Mr D Pyrke for the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia
Mr T Harding for the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union
Ms L Lawrence with Mr D Hanlon for the Minister for Public Sector Management

Date and place of hearing:
1995
Hobart:
May 3

ATTACHMENT A

Agricultural Officers Award
Architects Award
Clerical Employees Award
Dental Employees Award
Drafting Officers Award
Foresters Award
General Officers Award
Grain Elevators Board Staff Award
Herd Improvement Board of Tasmania Staff Award
Hobart Regional Water Board Staff Award
Inland Fisheries Commission Staff Award
Junior Employees (Public & Mental Health Services) Award
Keyboard Employees & Office Assistants Award
Legal Practitioners and Apprentice-at-Law Award
Librarians and Archivists Award
Officers of the State Fire Commission Award
Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists & Speech Pathologists Award
Police Departmental Employees & Road Safety Officers Award
Professional Engineers Award
Psychologists Award
Quantity Surveyors Award
Schools Board of Tasmania Staff Award
Scientific Officers Award
Sea Fisheries Staff Award
Social Trainers Award
Sport and Recreation Officers Award
Survey Officers Award
Tasmanian Ambulance Service Award
Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority Staff Award
Tasmanian Gaming Commission Staff Award
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Employees Award
Teaching Service (Non Teaching Staff) Award
Technical Employees Award
Technical Foresters Award
Tourism Tasmania Staff Award
Valuers Award
Veterinary Officers Award
Welfare Workers Award

ATTACHMENT B

Mines Department Drilling Section Agreement
Ministerial Drivers - Conditions of Employment Agreement