C2003/413, Transcript of Proceedings [2003] AIRCTrans 1358 (15 April 2003)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT POLITES

C2003/413

AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR, HOSPITALITY AND
MISCELLANEOUS WORKERS' UNION

and

AUSTRALASIAN CORRECTIONAL MANAGEMENT

Notification pursuant to Section 99 of the Act
of a dispute re wages and classifications at the
Baxter Detention Centre, South Australia

SYDNEY

12.03 PM, THURSDAY, 27 MARCH 2003

PN1

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. May I have the appearances please?

PN2

MS F. BENNETT: May it please the Commission, my name is Bennett F. I appear on behalf of the Australian Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union.

PN3

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you, Ms Bennett.

PN4

MR J. BRECHT: Good afternoon, your Honour. My name is John Brecht, and with me is MS DEBORAH DIPLOCK, appearing for ACM.

PN5

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you. The purpose of today's mention was to find out from the parties precisely what the matter is about and to see where we go from there. Perhaps I could ask you, Ms Bennett, to outline your position.

PN6

MS BENNETT: Thank you, your Honour. Essentially, your Honour, this is a dispute that the Australian Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union has notified on behalf of its members at Baxter Immigration Detention Centre, and also in a more minor part, at Woomera Detention Centre, both in South Australia. The immigration detention centres are operated by Australasian Correctional Management, the other party to this dispute. This is a dispute about wages and conditions of immigration detention centres, and is confined to those two centres.

PN7

I will concentrate mainly on Baxter, where the issue is probably more major, although as I have said, it is occurring in a minor part at Woomera. Baxter Immigration Detention Centre is located at Port Augusta and currently holds approximately 250 detainees, with the capacity for almost 900. The construction of this new centre was finished last year, and staff were recruited from the local community to fill the positions of immigration detention centre officers.

PN8

At Baxter Immigration Detention Centre, at the moment, there are approximately 95 officers employed to staff the centre. These new employees were employed under the section 170LK ACM Detention Officers Certified Agreement 1999, and were initially employed as pre-service trainee officers for a period of six weeks, and following that are employed as trainee detention centre officers for a period of six months. Your Honour, at this stage, I might just hand up a copy of the agreement so that you can go to the clauses which I am now going to refer to.

PN9

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN10

MS BENNETT: It is in this classification around which the dispute has occurred, your Honour. In the classification descriptive for a trainee, and I will take you to page 11 of the agreement.

PN11

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN12

MS BENNETT: Under trainee detention officer. Approximately mid-way through that paragraph.

PN13

They will be continue to be closely supervised while performing all the duties of a detention officer, and undergo further training.

PN14

The rate of pay, your Honour, for trainees is discounted premised on an assumption that they are in training, and closely supervised, and learning from the experiences of other officers. The union contends that this is not occurring. The union contends that our members do not perform work under close supervision, and are in fact performing the duties of a level 1 detention officer, therefore the union says that the staff should be appropriately re-classified and paid as a detention officer level 1.

PN15

Some employees may be performing the duties of a level 1 officer for only part of their employment only, and the union believes in this case the higher duties clause in the agreement should apply, which I also draw your Honour's attention to, which is at page 13, clause 15 where:

PN16

An employee if called upon to perform work for which a higher rate of pay is fixed in this agreement for a period of one or more full shifts, the employee shall be paid the higher rate whilst so engaged.

PN17

The union seeks the assistance of the Commission to perhaps in the first instance conciliate this dispute. I have had a quick word with ACM before their appearance here today. It may be necessary for us to report back to you in an attempt that we might have a further discussion about this issue. I am aware that the organiser has raised it at a local level at the centres, but in this instance we have not had an opportunity to discuss the matter with ACM, and it might be pertinent for us to perhaps have it listed for a report back within a fairly short period of time if that is possible, your Honour.

PN18

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, thank you, Ms Bennett, we will see what Mr Brecht has to say.

PN19

MR BRECHT: Thank you, your Honour. This is the first opportunity this afternoon for us to have received any great substance, your Honour, regarding the issues that our employees may have with the question of wages and conditions at Baxter. Certainly the company has already taken pro-active action in an attempt to address some concerns that had been brought to our attention, and in particular if I can take you again to the definition in clause 13.1 of a Trainee Detention Officer, which refers to six calendar months of training as a trainee before being elevated to the next level of detention officer level 1.

PN20

The company has actually already acted in this regard and has calculated the actual active number of hours that trainees have performed at Baxter, and have in recent weeks re-classified a number of former trainee detention officers in advance of them reaching the six calendar months of employment to the higher level classification, and also the higher level salary. So the company has certainly been pro-active in attempting to address the concerns that had been brought to our attention.

PN21

The notion though that the trainee detention officers have not been closely supervised, or that the company has not had in place a proper management and supervisory structure within the centre is one that we do strongly disagree with. At all times the centre has been manned in accordance with best practice. There is a rather deep hierarchical structure within the centre involving shift managers, in addition to other senior management that are there on day work arrangements, and as you drill down into that structure, as is evidenced by the remaining classifications that are mentioned there in 13.1, you can see that there are many levels - well, I rephrase that. There are a number of levels above that of the trainee detention officer which have been manned at all times since the facility has been open.

PN22

Having said that though, we are obviously keen ourselves to resolve this matter in an expedient way, and we would certainly agree with the suggestion of the parties having further discussions, and reporting back to you at a suitable time.

PN23

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, I commend that course. It is always better if you can sort these things out yourself rather than have the Commission do it. I am next in Sydney on Wednesday, 23 April, or Thursday, 24 April in the morning. Would either - that's the next time I - I won't be able to get here before then. Which of those dates would suit you?

PN24

MS BENNETT: Your Honour, I am not available on either of those dates.

PN25

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: On either of those dates?

PN26

MS BENNETT: However, the other suggestion that I did have was that we might perhaps list it in Melbourne. The union is quite able to get me down to Melbourne should it be listed there.

PN27

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Well, that makes it a bit easier. Mr Brecht, are you happy to - - -

PN28

MR BRECHT: We would be happy to attend in Melbourne if that help expedite matters, your Honour.

PN29

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Well, then let's pick some date in Melbourne. Wednesday the 9th, Thursday the 10th, Friday the 11th are all available.

PN30

MS BENNETT: Wednesday the 9th is suitable for me, as is the 10th and 11th.

PN31

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thursday the 10th. Did you want to travel that morning, or are you happy to - - -

PN32

MS BENNETT: Any time that is suitable to the Commission.

PN33

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Well, if you wanted to travel that morning I would make it 11 o'clock.

PN34

MS BENNETT: That would be wonderful, thank you.

PN35

MR BRECHT: If I could, your Honour.

PN36

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN37

MR BRECHT: There is one further party that has some background knowledge to this matter that the company would seek to also be present on that occasion. We would request the Commission's indulgence to us confirming their availability, but at this stage we are happy to confirm 11 a.m.

PN38

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Well, we will tentatively list it for 11 o'clock on the 10th, and make sure - if you have a difficulty if you could let my Associate know and we will contact Ms Bennett and - - -

PN39

MR BRECHT: Thank you, your Honour.

PN40

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: - - - re-fix it at a time convenient. Very well, we will adjourn the matter on that basis.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [12.13pm]