TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

Industrial Relations Act 1984
s.23 application for award or variation of award

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Limited
(T10597 of 2002)

METAL AND ENGINEERING INDUSTRY AWARD

Award variation - application amended - wage rates - restoration of calculation for junior clerical employees - application approved - award varied - operative date ffpp 1 August 2002

REASONS FOR DECISION

[1] This is an application pursuant to s.23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1984, made by the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Limited (TCCI) and lodged on 9 December 2001.

[2] The application sought to vary the Metal and Engineering Industry Award; and, in particular to restore the method for calculating the wage rates for junior clerical employees to that which applied at the time the award was restructured and consolidated1.

[3] The application claimed that:

"When the award was issued on 22 July 20022 the base rate and supplementary payment columns were combined which resulted in significant weekly increases for junior clerical employees. This was never the intention of the parties during the award review process and has occurred inadvertently by an oversight."

[4] Mr M Watson, for the TCCI, presented extensive submissions in order to establish how the error occurred.

Mr P Baker for the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing & Kindred Industries Union and Mr I Paterson for the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union supported the submissions of Mr Watson but they expressed some concern about the retrospective nature of the application.

The parties undertook further discussions in order to clarify that issue. The Commission was later advised of an agreed provision in respect to the operative date of the variation.

Given the submissions of the parties and the degree of consent, I approve the variation to the award in the manner sought by Mr Watson along with the agreed proviso.

The Order [Correction Order] giving effect to this decision is attached.

R J Watling
DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Appearances:
Mr M Watson for the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Limited
Mr P Baker for the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing & Kindred Industries Union
Mr I Paterson for the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union

Date and place of hearing:
2002
December 17
Hobart

1 T5998 & 6275 & 6278 of 1996; T7268 of 1997; T9626 of 2001; T10095 & 10130 & 10163 of 2002
2 T10230, T10288 and T10289 of 2002