IN THE TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

Industrial Relations Act 1984

In my interim decision dated 13 September 1989, I outlined an agreed programme of action for the introduction of the 38-hour week for employees falling within the `scope' of the Medical Practitioners (Public Sector) Award.

It was as follows:

"Stage 1 - Parties agreed in January or early February 1989 to pursue a reduction in hours of work for junior medical staff from 45 to 43 with a 43 divisor for all purposes, including penalty payments for senior staff.

Stage 2 - Parties agreed in mid August 1989 to pursue a further reduction in hours of work for junior medical staff from 43 to 40 with a 43 divisor to be maintained with respect to Registrars and Residents and a change to the divisor for penalty payments for senior medical staff from 43 to 38.

Stage 3 - Parties agreed on 1 January 1990 to pursue a further reduction of hours of work for junior medical staff from 40 to 38 and divisor for penalty payments for junior medical staff at that time being reduced to 40.

Stage 4 - Parties agreed in July 1990 divisor for penalty rates for junior medical staff to be reduced to 38."

I went on to say:

"It will be open to the parties to present further submissions on stages 2, 3 and 4 at a later date, at which time, I would expect there to be additional offsets presented along with the value of each to enable them to be tested against the Principles."

The resumption of this hearing is the fourth and final stage for the reduction of hours to 38.

The package of offsets presented by the parties can be summarized as follows:

1. Extend the Scope of the Weekly Hours Calculation

The parties agreed to extend the existing agreement relating to the weekly hours calculation to now include all medical practitioners. Previously this offset applied only to medical practitioners working in the Intensive Care Unit, Paediatric Unit and Department of Emergency Medicine.

2. The Introduction of Rosters for Resident Medical Officers to Work Public Holidays

The parties agreed to introduce rosters to schedule Resident Medical Officers required to work on public holidays. An administrative instruction will be issued to cover this practice.

3. On Call Allowance

The parties agreed that an administrative instruction will be issued to outline the practice to be adopted relating to the payment of the on call allowance.

The parties have also agreed that no on call allowance will be paid when overtime is being worked. An on call allowance will only be paid prior to or following a period of rostered ordinary duty and/or overtime but will not be paid during rostered ordinary duty or overtime.

4. Gazetted Cup Days

The parties agreed to a procedure to be adopted on those public holidays that are gazetted as half day cup days. This procedure relates to those staff who work either for a part of the day or the whole day and will be detailed in an administrative instruction.

5. Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit `On Call' Roster

The parties agreed to an exchange of letters to delete the requirement for Resident Medical Officers employed at the Royal Hobart Hospital to provide primary `on call' cover.

6. Locum Cover and Replacement of Registrars on Leave

The parties agreed that an administrative instruction will be issued to limit the amount of locum replacement for specialists on periods of leave up to 5 weeks to cover essential services only.

Registrars who work in specialty areas will have no locum cover provided for periods of leave up to 5 weeks. As for Registrars not working in specialty areas annual leave may be replaced by any other medical practitioner who is a full time member of the hospital's establishment.

7. Resident Medical Officers and Registrars Saturday Roster

An exchange of letters has occurred between the parties endorsing the implementation of rosters for Resident Medical Officers and Registrars working on Saturdays. A roster has been drafted for each group providing work patterns on alternate Saturdays. This approximately halves the current staffing levels rostered for duty on Saturdays.

The finer detail of the agreed package was presented in Exhibit S2, along with the proposed award variations (Exhibit S4).

It has been noted that a number of the offsets will be implemented by administrative instruction. However, they shall be read in conjunction with the Salaried Medical Practitioners' Conditions of Employment Agreement 1988 and the Medical Practitioners' (Public Sector) Award.

The negotiated package of offsets for the introduction of Stage 4 of the agreed programme to reduce ordinary hours in this award fulfils the spirit and intent of the Wage Fixation Principles, and as such, will be endorsed by the Commission along with the agreed operative date of the first full pay period to commence on or after 5 July 1990.

This decision now brings the application to a close.

The Order giving effect to the finalisation of this matter is attached.

R.J. Watling
COMMISSIONER