AG2004/3396, Transcript of Proceedings [2004] AIRCTrans 4982 (20 December 2004)

AUSCRIPT AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD
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Unit 13-14, Westlane Arcade, Darwin City Mall DARWIN NT 0800
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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

O/N 1085

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

DEPUTY PRESIDENT LEARY

AG2004/3396

APPLICATION FOR AGREEMENT ABOUT
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE (DIVISION 3)

Application under section 170LS of the Act
by Australian Municipal, Administrative,
Clerical and Services Union-South Australian
and Northern Territory Branch and Another
for certification of Dawn House Incorporated
Certified Agreement 2004

DARWIN

9.15AM, THURSDAY, 09 DECEMBER 2004

PN1

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you. Could I take appearances please.

PN2

MR L. MATARAZZO: May it please the Commission. I appear on behalf of the Australian Services Union.

PN3

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you.

PN4

MS L. BROWNLEE: I appear on behalf of Dawn House Incorporated.

PN5

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Will I ask you questions before you start talking?

PN6

MR MATARAZZO: That might save us a bit of time.

PN7

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, I do have a query, a clarification and you will know why. Can you just explain to me what clause 9 means and can you tell me whether the rates in the agreement include the 2004 - - -

PN8

MR MATARAZZO: Thank you, your Honour, and yes, for the purposes of clarification I am happy to put on transcript that the rates in the appendix in this agreement are inclusive of the year 2004 safety net which was the $19 safety that was introduced.

PN9

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN10

MR MATARAZZO: And what is being sought in this agreement is that future safetynets from next year onwards flow onto the actual rates in the appendix A.

PN11

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: All right, so the rates in appendix A will be varied by whatever is the safetynet adjustment, presuming there will be one or more.

PN12

MR MATARAZZO: Yes, from time to time.

PN13

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN14

MR MATARAZZO: And for the record if there are any changes to the SACS Award in regards to pay points or increments or any stripping back of the actual pay points and increments and otherwise, the levels in this appendix will override those.

PN15

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: So the agreement overrides whatever happens in the award but the intent is that the rates that are in there now will be increased by whatever safetynet adjustment during the duration.

PN16

MR MATARAZZO: From the middle of the year 2005, next year.

PN17

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: All right. The only other thing, clause 23 which is union training leave, in respect to Electrolux I take it that pertains to the relationship between employer and employee?

PN18

MR MATARAZZO: Yes, your Honour. We submit that - there was a decision by Vice President Ross, I am just trying to think - - -

PN19

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: In Ballantyne?

PN20

MR MATARAZZO: Yes, in Ballantyne. We say that the provisions are ancillary or incidental to the matters pertaining to the prerequisite of the employee employer relationship.

PN21

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Good.

PN22

MR MATARAZZO: And we submit all clauses in this agreement comply with that. We submit that furthermore as has been stated in the relevant statutory declarations this agreement was provided to the staff and Australian Services Union at Dawn House, a full copy of it and they were provided with it on or around 10 November 2004. They have 14 days or more before being asked to consider it and endorse it. There was an absolutely majority to endorse it and that has been submitted in the statutory declaration. The rates of pay in this agreement actually reflect what the Social and Community Services award rates would have been had they have not been stripped back in the famous year 2002.

PN23

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: You mean simplified.

PN24

MR MATARAZZO: Yes, simplified. I will use the word simplified. In our union circles we use the word stripped back, and we also have re-included some of the pre-simplified clauses that were in the award including but not limited to the disciplinary clause in 11, the introduction of change and a number of other clauses at the back which include the blood donors leave, in clause 22 and 23. The other provisions worth noting in this agreement are that at clause 20 the long service leave clause provides employees with pro-rata long service leave after 5 years which is more generous than the Long Service Leave Act.

PN25

Furthermore, at clause 19, the recreation leave provides for six weeks annual leave which is far in excess of the award and the rates of pay in appendix A of the agreement are greater that the rates of pay in the award. So in a global, overall sense we submit that this agreement passes the no disadvantage test and the Australian Services Union submits that our members will be better off as a result of this enterprise agreement. The Australian Services Union requests that this agreement be certified from the first pay period commencing on or after today's date.

PN26

There is the pre-requisite requirement of the disputes resolution procedure in clause 8 and all parties have agreed that in accordance with section 111(A)(A) of the Work Place Relations Act we are giving all parties' consent to the Industrial Relations Commission, having the power to consider and/or arbitrate in any matters. To clarify that, for the Commission to determine matters, for clarification purposes, to arbitrate and hand down the decision pertaining to matters.

PN27

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: So it is a private arbitration basically?

PN28

MR MATARAZZO: Yes, your Honour. That is the basis of our submission, may it please the Commission.

PN29

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you. Ms Brownlee do you wish to add anything?

PN30

MS BROWNLEE: I have nothing to add.

PN31

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: You agree with what has been put by Mr Matarazzo?

PN32

MS BROWNLEE: I do.

PN33

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: And do you agree with the clarification as to the rates of pay?

PN34

MS BROWNLEE: Yes, we do.

PN35

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: That is a very important issue. All right, I am satisfied that I now understand what the agreement means and it is on the record for the future in case there is any further disagreement.

PN36

This is an application pursuant to section 170(L)(S) of the Workplace Relations Act, the certification of an agreement to be known as the Dawn House Inc Certified Agreement 2004. Parties to the agreement will be the Australian Municipal Administrative, Clerical and Services Union and Dawn House Incorporated. The agreement settles a dispute found in matter C1995/11134. The application has been lodged within the prescribed time limit. The parties have provided the necessary statutory declarations and I am satisfied that the agreement meets the requirements of the act.

PN37

Accordingly the agreement will be certified and an order will issue to take effect from the first full pay period on or after today and remain in force until 8 December 2007. That agreement is certified. Thank you.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [9.24AM]