Australian Industrial Relations Commission

           IN THE AUSTRALIAN CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION COMMISSION


                     Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904

In the matter of a notification of an industrial dispute between

    The Australian Building Construction Employees' and Builders Labourers'
                              Federation and others

                                      and

                              Sabemo (WA) Pty Ltd

in relation to a site allowance High School, Armadale

                              (C No. 6298 of 1985)

MR COMMISSIONER COLEMAN                                  PERTH, 9 DECEMBER 1985

                                    DECISION

At proceedings in Perth on 2 December 1985 following an inspection of the
Cecil Andrews High School project at Armadale in Western Australia the
claimant unions submitted that the conditions under which work was being
performed warranted a site allowance to be awarded to compensate employees for
disabilities not adequately covered by award provisions.

    The claims were opposed by the respondent believing that the award
provisions were adequate to cope with any disabilities claim that may arise.

    It was submitted that the nature of the building operation could be
compared with the Warwick High School project and where the Commission refused
an allowance on the grounds that there was no substantive evidence of
conditions being of a nature that could not be adequately catered for by the
existing award provisions.

    If the Commission was moved in this present case to award a site allowance
then it should be at the bottom level of the allowance scale.

    I have now considered the issues and I find that the nature of conditions
on the site concerned warrants some consideration of an allowance.

    The contract valued at $1.45 million concerns building extensions to
existing buildings and the erection of new buildings in the school grounds.

    The conditions such as loose soil caused by trenching around the site,
confined spaces at times, fly nuisance and during the recent winter months
evidence of wet underfoot conditions lead me to believe an allowance is
required to compensate employees for those various disabilities experienced in
the course of construction.

    I have decided the sum of 40 cents per hour shall be paid for each hour
worked and shall be paid in lieu of payments for confined space, dirty work,
fumes, wet underfoot and the handling of secondhand timber.

    The allowance shall operate from 23 May 1985 and shall remain in force for
the duration of the contract.