C2003/6497, Transcript of Proceedings [2004] AIRCTrans 41 (8 January 2004)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N 5705
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

DEPUTY PRESIDENT IVES

C2003/6497

APPLICATION FOR AN AWARD

Application pursuant to section 111(1)(b)
of the Act by the National Tertiary Education
Industry Union re application for making a
Consent Interim Award

MELBOURNE

11.02 AM, FRIDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2003

PN1

MS E. FLOYD: I appear on behalf of the National Tertiary Education Industry Union, and with me I have MR R. HUTCHINS.

PN2

MR J. GORDON: I appear in this matter for Monyx Services Pty Limited, Monyx Pty Limited and Monyx Educational Services Pty Limited.

PN3

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. Go ahead, Ms Floyd.

PN4

MS FLOYD: Thank you, your Honour. This is an application for an award to be known as the Monyx Group of Companies Interim Award 2003. We seek the making of this award in part-settlement of a dispute which was found in C2002/2045 on 6 February, 2003, and that was a dispute-finding between the NTEU and the three employers who are named as respondents in schedule 3. I will hand up a copy of that for the record.

PN5

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you.

PN6

MS FLOYD: The proposed award provides for salaries and classifications and a comprehensive set of conditions for the employees whose occupations are set out in clause 3, application, and they are:

PN7

Employees engaged in professional, administrative, clerical, computing, managerial and technical classifications.

PN8

And then clause 3, consistent with the record findings has a number of exceptions. The salaries and classifications that are set out in schedules 1 and 2 are derived from those that are contained in the Higher Education Workers Victoria (Interim) Award 1993. That award is currently the subject of an item 51 review and is some way off being completed, your Honour, so hence we seek this award as an interim award until those matters in the Higher Education Workers Victoria (Interim) Award are finally settled with regard to salaries and classifications.

PN9

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN10

MS FLOYD: And it has been agreed by the parties that whatever is settled in that matter will flow on to this matter if there are any variations to what has been proposed, which is why we are seeking it as an interim award. Clause 30 sets out a process for movement between the salary levels, or within the salary levels based on work value considerations, and that clause is identical to one that has already been accepted by the Commission in several awards that have been made, including the Higher Education General Staff Award 2001 which was made by Senior Deputy President Duncan in PR717810, and that is where that clause comes from.

PN11

It is our submission, your Honour, that the proposed award meets all the objects of the Act and all of the requirements set up in 89A in that all matters are allowable award matters. I would like to hand up a consent of the NTEU in accordance with rule 20 and a draft order, and if I can just note, there is a mistake in the draft order which when it is handed up I will explain to you.

PN12

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN13

MS FLOYD: Thanks. Unless you have any questions, your Honour?

PN14

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: No. I will wait, because it might relate to the mistake that you are about to address me on, Ms Floyd.

PN15

MS FLOYD: Yes. And it was your associate who pointed out that mistake. In clause 4, parties bound, it says:

PN16

This award shall be binding according to its terms upon the employers listed at schedule 4.

PN17

That should say: schedule 3.

PN18

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN19

MS FLOYD: And I will certainly make that change and email a complete copy of the draft order to your associate, thank you.

PN20

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. I might just mark the consent letter, Ms Floyd, and I will mark it NTEU1.

EXHIBIT #NTEU1 CONSENT LETTER

PN21

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, Mr Gordon.

PN22

MR GORDON: Thank you, your Honour. Your Honour, I support the remarks made by the NTEU. I would reiterate that one of the reasons we have sought for this to be an interim award is that as this is effectively a spin-off from the universities into the private sector there are a number of elements of the classification structure and classification definitions that are now inappropriate, and the agreement between the parties is that we will resolve those classification descriptors and classification matters prior to any disputes about classification of existing staff. I have handed to your associate under rule 20 our document relating to consent which I believe is now on your file.

PN23

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, I have it here. I will just read that into the record, Mr Gordon:

PN24

In relation to the above matter I advise the Commission on behalf of Monyx Services Pty Limited, Monyx Education Services Pty Limited and Monyx Pty Limited that I am authorised to consent to the making of an interim award in the terms submitted by the NTEU on behalf of the parties.

PN25

That is signed by a Mr Andrew O'Brien, CEO, and dated 10 December. I will mark that letter M1.

EXHIBIT #M1 LETTER OF CONSENT SIGNED BY A. O'BRIEN DATED 10/12/03

PN26

MR GORDON: On that point I - unless the Commission has any questions, I have no further submissions, your Honour.

PN27

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: No, that is fine, thanks, Mr Gordon. An award will be made. The award will be known as the Monyx Group of Companies Interim Award 2003 and will be in accordance with the draft provided by the union as amended in respect of the - well, it has been amended, in fact, hasn't it, in terms of the application - the clause, which was the one you referred to, Ms Floyd?

PN28

MS FLOYD: That is correct.

PN29

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. Thank you. The parties bound by the award will be the National Tertiary Education Industry union in respect of employees who are eligible to be members of the union, whether they are members or not, and the companies listed in the schedule of the award, and those companies are Monyx Services Pty Limited, Monyx Education Services Pty Limited, and Monyx Pty Limited. The award will come into operation from today's date, 12 December 2003, and will remain in force for a period of 12 months, and that award is made pursuant to section 111(1)(b) of the Act. The matter is adjourned.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [11.10pm]

INDEX

LIST OF WITNESSES, EXHIBITS AND MFIs

EXHIBIT #NTEU1 CONSENT LETTER PN21
EXHIBIT #M1 LETTER OF CONSENT SIGNED BY A. O'BRIEN DATED 10/12/03 PN26