Application for Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2014) - [2014] QIRC 129

QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION

CITATION:	Application for Declaration of General Ruling
(State Wage Case 2014) [2014] QIRC 129
PARTIES:	Queensland Council of Unions
The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland
(Applicants)
and
The State of Queensland
Local Government Association of Queensland Ltd
CASE NO'S:	B/2014/28
B/2014/30
PROCEEDING:	Application for Declaration of a General Ruling
DELIVERED ON:	22 August 2014
HEARING DATE:	1 August 2014
MEMBERS:	Deputy President Kaufman
Industrial Commissioner Fisher Industrial Commissioner Thompson
APPEARANCES:	Mr J. Martin, for the Queensland Council of Unions Mr B. Watson, for Australian Workers Union of Employees, Queensland Mr N. Braid, for Local Government Association Queensland Ltd Mr T. Schostakowski, for the State of Queensland,
Department of Justice and Attorney General.

Reasons for Decision

[1]      On 3 June 2014 the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) lodged an application seeking a general ruling pursuant to s 287 of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (Act) "in regard to wage and allowance adjustments for award employees". The application was for:
(i)       a $22.30 wage adjustment for workers employed at award classification rates equivalent to, or below, the Engineering Award - State 2012 C10 classification;
(ii)      a 3% wage adjustment for workers employed at award classification rates above the Engineering Award - State 2012 C10 classification;
(iii)   an increase in existing award allowances which relate to work or conditions which have not changed [and] service increments by 3%;
(iv)     a $22.30 increase to the Queensland Minimum Wage as it applies to all employees, pursuant to s.287(2) of the Act; and
(v)      an operative date of 1 September 2014.

[2]      On 12 June 2014 The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland (AWU) filed a similar application. The applications were joined with the consent of the parties.
[3]      We heard the matter on 1 August 2014 at which hearing the QCU, the AWU, the Local Government Association Queensland Ltd (LGAQ) and the Queensland Government appeared and made submissions.
Change to the Act
[4]      On 1 December 2013, amendments to s 287 came into operation, the effect of which was that the Commission may make general rulings "about - for employees bound by a pre-modernisation industrial instrument - an industrial matter, to avoid a multiplication of enquiries into the same matter; or a Queensland minimum wage for all employees". Prior to the amendment to s 287(1) the words "pre-modernisation" were not part of the section. Section 287(b), which provided for rulings about a review of a general employment condition under Chapter 2, was repealed.
[5]      As no modern awards had been made at the time of the hearing, and as only limited submissions were made about the effect of the amendments to s 287, it is not desirable that we decide whether the general ruling that we make could apply beyond pre-modernisation awards. Having regard to the operation of ss 140EB and 824 it is unlikely that any modern awards that have been made since the hearing have started operating. However, it is our provisional view that the Commission may not…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2014] QIRC 129
Decision Date: 22 August 2014

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission heard an application by the Queensland Council of Unions and the Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland for a declaration of a general ruling in regard to wage and allowance adjustments for award employees. The Local Government Association Queensland Ltd and the State of Queensland opposed the application. The unions sought a flat wage increase for workers below a certain classification rate, a percentage wage adjustment for workers at or above that classification rate, an increase in existing allowances and service increments, and an increase to the Queensland Minimum Wage. The parties' submissions largely mirrored the decision of the Fair Work Commission, which had awarded a 3% increase for all classifications and increased the national minimum wage to $649.00 per week. The unions argued that their claims were commensurate with those awarded by the Fair Work Commission and that a flat rate increase would benefit lower paid workers, while the Local Government Association opposed the flat rate increase, arguing that it would distort wage relativities and compound the debt pressures of the Queensland Government. The Commission decided to award the flat increase sought by the unions up to but not including the C10 level and 3% beyond that. The Commission noted that the difference between 3% and the flat rate increase is fairly minimal, as is the further compression in relativities. The Commission decided that there will be a $22.30 per week wage increase in award rates for workers employed at award classification rates below the C10 classification in Engineering Award - State 2012, a 3% wage adjustment for workers employed at award classification rates equivalent to, or above, the C10 classification in Engineering Award - State 2012, an increase of 3% in existing award allowances which relate to work or conditions which have not changed and service increments, an increase of $22.30 per week to the Queensland Minimum Wage as it applies to all employees, and an operative date of 1 September 2014. A declaration of General Ruling giving effect to this decision will issue concurrently with this decision.

Orders