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Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Bill 2006
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Bill 2006
Date introduced:
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Employment and Workplace Relations
Commencement: The day after Royal Assent
To extend the operation of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 in respect of Telstra employees for a period of three years after the day on which the Commonwealth ceases to have a controlling interest in Telstra.
The entitlement of employees who are employed in Commonwealth Government service to long service leave is provided for under the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 (Long Service Leave Act). In general terms, the basic qualification for long service leave is that the person is, (or was), ‘employed in Government service’ and has been continuously employed in one or more forms of ‘qualifying service’ (that is, Commonwealth Government service or recognised prior service) for a period of at least ten years.
Telstra employees currently accrue long service leave entitlements under the Long Service Leave Act. The Telstra (Transition to Full Private Ownership) Act 2005 (Transition Act) inserts transitional and saving provisions in the Telstra Corporation Act 1991 (Telstra Act) that protect employee long service leave entitlements arising from pre-sale service that otherwise would be foregone due to the sale of Telstra. The protection applies generally to those Telstra employees with at least ten years service. However, provisions are also made for employees with less than ten years service to receive benefits commensurate with the Long Service Leave Act standard when they either complete ten years service with Telstra, or cease to be employees in circumstances under which the Long Service Leave Act entitlements would have applied, but for the sale.
The saving provisions for long service leave operate in relation to the ‘designated day’, that is, the day which, in the Minister’s opinion, is the first day on which the majority of the voting shares in Telstra are or were acquired by persons other than the Commonwealth. The ‘designated day’ has been chosen as the day on which various Commonwealth Acts should cease to apply in relation to Telstra and transitional provisions should operate to preserve employee entitlements and benefits. Section 3 of the Transition Act provides a mechanism for public notification of the day on which the Commonwealth ceases to have a controlling interest in Telstra.
The amendments proposed by this Bill would defer the operation of the substantive and saving provisions for a period of three years after the ‘designated day’. This would have the effect of:
Item 2 of the Bill inserts a new Schedule 1 into the Long
Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 in order to make a
collection of technical amendments to the provisions of the Telstra
(Transition to Full Private Ownership) Act
The Minister said in his second reading speech that Telstra supports this proposal.(2) However, the reaction of the relevant unions is unknown.
This paper has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2006
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Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2006.