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T3013 - 3 June

 

TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

Industrial Relations Act 1984
s.23 application to vary an award

The Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union of Australia
Tasmanian Branch

(T.3013 of 1991)

CLEANING AND PROPERTY SERVICES AWARD

 

COMMISSIONER P A IMLACH

3 June 1991

Amendment - Hours of Work - Travelling Time Expenses

REASONS FOR DECISION

This was an application made under Section 23 of the Act by The Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union of Australia, Tasmanian Branch (the Union) seeking amendments to the Cleaning and Property Services Award.

At the hearing, Mr K O'Brien appeared for the Union and made submissions on the three items in the Union's application as follows:

1. The correction of an omission in the implementation of the recent Structural Efficiency Principle (SEP) exercise for the Award relating to the working of broken shifts. An exhibit was produced in the form of a draft order aimed at remedying the omission.1

2. The correction of an anomaly in the Award which came to light only after the recent SEP amendments. As the Award stands it is permissible for an employer to give notice and re-allocate a shift falling on a public holiday thus avoiding the penalty payment due for work normally done on that day. This opportunity had not been intended by any party to the Award. A proposed correction amendment was set out in an exhibit2 later produced by Mr M Sertori, who appeared for the Tasmanian Confederation of Industries (the Confederation): this was acceptable to the Union.

3. An increase in the cost-related excess fares allowance provided in the Travelling Time and Expenses clause of the Award. The allowance had not been increased for quite some time (since 1986) and Mr O'Brien produced an exhibit3 giving detailed Australian Bureau of Statistics evidence in support of the claimed increase from $1.40 per day to $2.50 per day.

Mr Sertori, in the main, supported the submissions put by the Union and advised agreement to the proposed amendments to the Award.

The only significant variation between the submissions of the parties was as to the operative date for the amendment relating to the change of shifts. The Union sought for that part of the amendment to be applied from the first full pay period commencing on or after 21 December 1990 since the need for change was highlighted by an instance of one employer changing a shift and one employee losing an expected penalty payment as a result: retrospectivity would restore the loss as it were. The Confederation opposed the back-dating saying that the Award provision applied at the time and the employer had availed of it on the basis that it was fairly open to him.

As the Award provision was properly made and hence the one employer's actions at the time in question were legally correct, I am not prepared to make that particular amendment retrospective.

Apart from the one item of disagreement I endorse the matters agreed between the parties: I consider them to be within the current Wage Guidelines. The amendments to the Award will operate from the first full pay period commencing on or after 3 June 1991.

Order and Correction Order

 

P A Imlach
COMMISSIONER

Appearances:
K O'Brien for The Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union of Australia, Tasmanian Branch.
M Sertori with P McLean for the Tasmanian Confederation of Industries.

Date and place of hearing:
1991.
Launceston:
May 7.

1 Exhibit O1
2 Exhibit S2
3 Exhibit O2