T1251, T1533 and T1658
IN THE TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION Industrial Relations Act 1984
Following earlier hearings and conferences between the parties, I was advised on 4 October 1988, that agreement in principle had been reached going to the 4% second tier wage increase. With one exception, that agreement is reflected in exhibit A. Exhibit A details changes in award provisions under the following headings: Overtime; Sick Leave; Payment of Wages; Settlement of Disputes; Part-time Employees. Only subclause (a) of the proposed new Part-time Employees clause is disputed. Subclause (a) reads: "The rate shall be equal to the appropriate weekly rate divided by 40." The employee organisations maintained that the divisor should be 38, as that is now the standard so far as working hours generally are concerned. However, the Tasmanian Confederation of Industry (T.C.I.) maintained that the Fuel Merchants Award (the Award) had not been varied to provide for a 38 hour week and therefore the divisor should remain at 40. The agreed date of operation of the 4% increase is the first pay period commencing on or after 1 November 1988. I endorse the agreement reached between the parties, including the date of operation. However, my conclusions on the disputed divisor for part-time employees are detailed later in this decision. On 14 November 1988, I was advised that a similar situation had been achieved going to the reduced working hours claim. Exhibit B1 detailed six matters that are agreed between the parties. However, a seventh, Hours of Work and in particular the method of implementation of the 38 hour week is not agreed. Exhibit B1 detailed five options which could be used to implement reduced working hours, including the working of seven hours thirty six minutes per day over five days. The Federated Clerks Union (F.C.U.) submitted a further Exhibit F1 which provided three options excluding the above. It was submitted by the applicants that the prime purpose of reduced working hours was to achieve increased leisure time. A reduction in daily working hours did not provide maximum benefits to employees. The T.C.I. maintained that their option contained in Exhibit B1, allows for all the usual alternatives for the working of reduced hours. Importantly it allows for the most efficient working patterns to be adopted where alternatives prove costly. It also provides for a means of settling a dispute, particularly where either party may be adopting an unreasonable position. Having carefully considered the options, it is my decision that the T.C.I. provision contained in Exhibit B1 will be included in the Award. The provision encompasses all of the generally accepted work patterns and allows for any unreasonable attitude to be tested before the Commission. The agreed date of operation of the introduction of a 38 hour week is 1 February 1989. Again I endorse the agreement of the parties and include the part-time provisions as qualified above. The endorsement also goes to the date of operation. A logical consequence of the above decision is that the new part-time provisions to go into the Award as part of the second tier variation will, initially contain a divisor of 40. That divisor will reduce to 38 from 1 February 1989. The Commission's 4% second tier order is attached. An order reflecting the necessary variations to implement the 38 hour week will be issued in due course.
J G King
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