C2004/4183, Transcript of Proceedings [2004] AIRCTrans 2600 (12 July 2004)

AUSCRIPT PTY LTD
(Administrator Appointed)
ABN 76 082 664 220

Level 4, 179 Queen St MELBOURNE Vic 3000
(GPO Box 1114 MELBOURNE Vic 3001)
Tel:[phone] Fax:[phone]

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N 7661

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER DEEGAN

C2004/4183

APPLICATION FOR AN AWARD

Application under section 111(1)(b) of
the Act by Australian Nursing Federation
for a roping in award

MELBOURNE

9.59 AM, WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE 2004

PN1

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes, Mr Black? No appearance it would appear from any employer involved in this award?

PN2

MR BLACK: No, Commissioner. Can I make the copy available to the Commissioner?

EXHIBIT #ANF1 DRAFT AWARD

PN3

MR BLACK: Commissioner, this award that we seek to be made today is in relation to employers of nurses who operate establishments in Tasmania. We provided a copy of the draft award and notice of listing to all the employers in this schedule, we also provided a copy of the award and the notice of listing to the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the assumption that they would most likely represent some of the - we know they represent some of the employers we have sought to be bound.

PN4

We have also through your office had correspondence from the Family Planning Tasmania, seeking some further details as to what we are seeking through the application. We responded to their queries and provided a copy of that response to your associate. So we have had no objection to the making of this award from those parties. This is in some respects different to the other applications. The draft roping in award is in similar terms, Commissioner, to the others, it is in part settlement of the dispute as I have indicated. It is to cover those employers of registered and enrolled nurses employed by employers bound by the schedule.

PN5

The one issue that I seek to raise with the Commission is that in this application the parent award is not an award that has been simplified by this Commission, and we understand that that is an immutable barrier to granting the application. Now, the union is between a rock and a hard place. We have been in negotiation, or in discussion with the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who has indicated to the Commission that they are the organisation that is going to have carriage of the matter in relation to the respondency to the parent award.

PN6

They have not given the matter what I would say would be high priority at all. We have put on a number of occasions our position in relation to the terms of the simplified award. The matter has been before Deputy President Leary on at least two occasions where the employer organisation has indicated that they will get back to us and the Commission as to what their position is. That hasn't occurred, the matter hasn't progressed.

PN7

THE COMMISSIONER: Is there a major problem with the award? I mean, is there something - is it different to any other nurses private sector award in any other state?

PN8

MR BLACK: No, Commissioner, there are no issues that we would say jump out at you as being, you know, an issue in that award.

PN9

THE COMMISSIONER: Matters of any difficulty or anything?

PN10

MR BLACK: No. The difficulty we have got, Commissioner, is that whilst it hasn't been a problem, a practical problem to date, and people have been going off negotiating agreements and doing other things, we are now in a situation, of course, where our members are denied the coverage of an award.

PN11

THE COMMISSIONER: Is anybody actually covered by the wage rates?

PN12

MR BLACK: Yes, I think there would be. I think there would be employers - there would not be agreements in employers of nurses in Tasmania.

PN13

THE COMMISSIONER: They must be a little bit behind, aren't they, Mr Black?

PN14

MR BLACK: Yes, they are. But we could check, but I would assume that there would be employers.

PN15

THE COMMISSIONER: There would be people who - you wouldn't think they would have any nurses, Mr Black, if they were paying these sorts of rates.

PN16

MR BLACK: I am not even sure to say that definitely today, Commissioner, but I think that there would be perhaps non union members in certain settings that would rely on the award for their terms and conditions of employment, and I would be surprised if the whole of Tasmania, the nursing population of Tasmania is covered by certified agreements or other instruments. Commissioner, we note that you are not the relevant officer with the carriage of the simplification exercise, and we are not sure how to progress this.

PN17

I have sought, and we have written to the TCCI again asking for them to advise us what their view is about our draft award. Those copies of those pieces of correspondence have been made available to the Commission, and that has happened as recently as last week, we sought to have further discussions, but they have not responded. We know that you are unable to make the award today, Commissioner, but we simply put those matters on the record. Thank you.

PN18

THE COMMISSIONER: All right. I see the difficulty, Mr Black. I will have to adjourn the matter sine die because I obviously can't make a roping in award to an unsimplified award. However, I will make some inquiries to see when we can expect the parent award to be simplified, in which case the matter will be relisted in plenty of time for you to notify the parties. It won't slip off the agenda. The matter will be relisted. If there are no other matters, I will adjourn.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [10.05am]

INDEX

LIST OF WITNESSES, EXHIBITS AND MFIs

EXHIBIT #ANF1 DRAFT AWARD PN3