C2003/518, Transcript of Proceedings [2003] AIRCTrans 5495 (10 December 2003)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

O/N F1005

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON

C2003/518

AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNION-NORTHERN
TERRITORY BRANCH

and

EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING,
DEPARTMENT OF and ANOTHER

Notification pursuant to section 99
of the act of a dispute re classification
of positions in Curriculum Services and
Student Services Branches of NT DEET

DARWIN

1.07 PM, TUESDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2003

PN1

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I will take appearances please.

PN2

MR R. LAIRD: May it please the Commission, I appear on behalf of the Australian Education Union, the Northern Territory Branch.

PN3

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr Laird.

PN4

MR B. MAPPAS: May it please the Commission, I am appearing for the Commissioner for Public Employment.

PN5

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr Mappas. Yes, Mr Laird?

PN6

MR LAIRD: Your Honour, we appear before you today on a matter of classification of positions which we have attempted to resolve through the dispute resolution procedures of the current enterprise agreement which is AG824734, and we can certainly hand up a copy of that agreement to your Honour if that is of assistance.

PN7

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, perhaps if you could. Thank you.

PN8

MR LAIRD: We have attempted to resolve within the Department of Education a matter concerning the misclassification of about one dozen positions in Curriculum Services and Student Services, to no avail. We made some contact late last week with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment which, although it is not necessary for dispute resolution procedures, we thought that we should explore that avenue. They suggested that it would not hurt to list it in this way and so we thought we would make the appointment to appear in front of you.

PN9

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, very well. And how do you wish to proceed? By way of conciliation? Conference?

PN10

MR LAIRD: That would be a preference. The Commissioner for Public Employment office has indicated that they need some time to examine the matter and get some answers from the department. We would seek to have some of that time and proceed by conciliation, if that please the Commission.

PN11

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Very well. Is that all you want to put on the record?

PN12

MR LAIRD: Thank you.

PN13

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, very well. Mr Mappas?

PN14

MR MAPPAS: Your Honour, the Commissioner for Public Employment endorses the position taken by the AEU here to simply list the matter for acknowledgment I suppose at this stage, allowing the Commissioner for Public Employment and the AEU to work through with Department of Employment, Education and Training to see whether we can resolve this issue.

PN15

There may be - I noticed that the AEU lodged this dispute under section 99. Mr Laird is now referring to the dispute settling procedures in the enterprise agreement. It might be that perhaps some tidying up needs to be done around that application.

PN16

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Certainly. It may well be an LW application rather than 99. Yes, very well. So effectively the parties want to have some further discussions. Yes, very well, I will adjourn the matter on that basis. It can be re-listed and given, I have not proceeded far it may well be before another member of the Commission. It can be re-listed at the request of either party. Alternatively, if on reflection you think it needs a separate application, Mr Laird, related to the disputes procedure of the agreement, you can take that avenue of having the matter brought back on. Hopefully the parties will resolve the matter without further assistance, but the Commission is available if required. So I will adjourn the matter on that basis.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [13.11pm]