Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2018) - [2018] QIRC 113

QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION

CITATION:	Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2018) [2018] QIRC 113
PARTIES:	Queensland Council of Unions The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland (Applicants) and The State of Queensland Local Government Association of Queensland Ltd (Respondents)
CASE NOs:	B/2018/12 B/2018/17
PROCEEDING:	Application for Declaration of General Ruling
DELIVERED ON:	29 August 2018
HEARING DATE: HEARD AT:	9 August 2018 Brisbane
MEMBERS:	Deputy President Bloomfield Industrial Commissioner Thompson Industrial Commissioner Black
ORDERS:	1. The wages or salaries for full-time adult employees in all modern awards shall be increased by 3.5 per cent. 2. Junior rates are to be increased in the manner specified in applicable awards. 3. Monetary allowances (other than expense related allowances) in all modern awards that relate to work or to conditions which have not changed, and service increments, are to be increased by 3.5 per cent. 4. Expense related allowances in all modern awards are to be increased in the manner specified in applicable awards. 5. The minimum rate per week for all full-time employees in Queensland, the Queensland Minimum Wage, is $753.00 per week. 6. The above increases operate on and from 1 September 2018. *7. The State Wage Case 2013 Statement of Policy, dated 29 August 2013, issued under s 288 of the Industrial Relations Act* 1999, be rescinded.**
LEGISLATION: CASES:	Industrial Relations Act 1999, s 3, s 129, s 288 Industrial Relations Act 2016, s 3, s 4, s 126, s 141, s 143, s 458, s 459 Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), s 134, s 284, s 286 Annual Wage Review 2017-18 [2018] FWCFC 3500 State Wage Case 2017 [2017] QIRC 081 State Wage Case 2016 [2016] QIRC 088 State Wage Case 2013 Statement of Policy <
APPEARANCES:	Dr J. Martin, on behalf of the Queensland Council of Unions. Mr B. Watson, on behalf of The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland. Mr T. Brauns, with Mr A. James, on behalf of the State of Queensland (Office of Industrial Relations). Mr A. Goode, on behalf of the Local Government Association of Queensland Ltd.

Reasons for Decision

Background

By applications lodged on 21 March 2018 and 10 April 2018, respectively, the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) and The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland (AWUEQ) applied to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (the Commission) for:

· a general ruling pursuant to s 458 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016 (the Act) regarding wage and allowance adjustments for award employees;
· a general ruling in relation to the Queensland Minimum Wage as it applies to all employees; and
· the rescission of the State Wage Case 2013 Statement of Policy issued by the Commission on 29 August 2013.

Each of the QCU and the AWUEQ applied for the following decision:

· a $60.10 per week wage adjustment for workers employed at award classification rates equivalent to or below the Queensland Local Government Industry (Stream C) Award – State 2017 C10 classification;
· a 7.2 per cent wage adjustment for workers…

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: [2018] QIRC 113
Decision Date: 29 August 2018

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Decision of the Industrial Relations Commission of Queensland (the Commission) in the matter of the Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2018) involved the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) as well as other interested parties, such as the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) and the Australian Workers' Union Employees' Queensland (AWUEQ). The dispute centred on the determination of wage increases under the State Wage Case process and the operative date for these increases, as well as the status of a previous Statement of Policy. The Commission was tasked with resolving these issues in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (Qld) (the Act).

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the operative date of the wage increases should be set as the first full pay period beginning on or after 3 September 2018, as requested by the LGAQ, or if it should adhere to the traditional date of 1 September. Additionally, the Commission had to decide on the continued validity of the 2013 Statement of Policy issued under the Act, in light of legislative changes that occurred in 2013.

In addressing these issues, the Commission noted that while the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) allowed for wage increases to be applied from the first full pay period after a specified date, the Act required the Commission to state a specific date for the operation of wage increases. The Commission found that the traditional date of 1 September was appropriate and had been consistently applied in previous State Wage Cases. Consequently, the Commission decided to set the operative date of the wage increases as 1 September 2018. Regarding the 2013 Statement of Policy, the Commission found that it no longer had any force or effect, given the legislative changes, and formally rescinded it.

The Commission issued several orders in relation to the wage increases and the rescission of the 2013 Statement of Policy. Firstly, the wages for full-time adult employees in all modern awards were increased by 3.5 per cent, effective from 1 September 2018. Secondly, junior rates were to be increased as specified in the applicable awards. Thirdly, monetary allowances and service increments were also increased by 3.5 per cent, while expense-related allowances were to be adjusted in accordance with the relevant awards. Fourthly, the Queensland Minimum Wage was set at $753.00 per week for all full-time employees. Finally, the Commission rescinded the 2013 Statement of Policy, clarifying that any party wishing to seek a new Statement of Policy could do so by lodging an application under s 462(1) of the Act.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. The wages or salaries for full-time adult employees in all modern awards shall be increased by

3.5 per cent.

2. Junior rates are to be increased in the manner specified in applicable awards.

3. Monetary allowances (other than expense related allowances) in all modern awards that relate to work or to conditions which have not changed, and service increments, are to be increased by

3.5 per cent.

4. Expense related allowances in all modern awards are to be increased in the manner specified in applicable awards.

5. The minimum rate per week for all full-time employees in Queensland, the Queensland Minimum Wage, is $753.00 per week.

6. The above increases operate on and from 1 September 2018.

7. The State Wage Case 2013 Statement of Policy, dated 29 August 2013, issued under s 288 of the Industrial Relations Act 1999, be rescinded.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

Finally, the LGAQ requested that the operative date of the State Wage Case outcome be the first full pay period beginning on or after Monday 3 September 2018. In requesting this operative date, the LGAQ submitted it was much easier for pay office staff to adjust wage rates from the beginning of a pay cycle rather than from a date which might be part way through a cycle.Decision It is convenient to deal with the matters raised by the LGAQ, immediately above, before turning to other aspects of these proceedings requiring decision. Section 459(1)(a) of the Act requires that a General Ruling of the Commission "must state a date (the stated date) on and from which it has effect". This is to be compared with s 286(4) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) which provides that decisions emanating from the Fair Work Commission through its Annual Wage Review are to apply "from the first full pay period to commence on or after" a given date. Consequently, in light of the requirements imposed on this Commission by the Act, we see no reason to depart from the traditional date of operation of State Wage Case decisions, viz 1 September, and determine accordingly. Indeed, at paragraph [34] of the 2017 State Wage Case decision a table of increases arising from State Wage Case decisions reveals that, apart from one instance, 1 September has been the operative date since 2004. In terms of the LGAQ's submissions concerning the retention of the 2013 Statement of Policy, the Government's submission questioned whether the Statement, which was issued pursuant to the then s 288 of the 1999 Act, had any force and/or effect because there was no savings arrangement inserted when s 288 was removed from the 1999 Act in 2013[5]. Given this submission, and the support by the QCU and the AWUEQ for the rescission of the 2013 Statement of Policy, we are not persuaded by the arguments of the LGAQ that the Statement of Policy should be retained and, to make its status abundantly clear, we formally rescind it. If the LGAQ, or any other party, wishes to seek a new Statement of Policy an application seeking same can be lodged pursuant to s 462(1) of the Act.[5] See Act no. 61 of 2013, s 58. Based upon the submission of the parties, it appears that our decision in this matter will directly affect approximately 6,000 employees within this jurisdiction who are all award-reliant, as follows:· approximately 3,000 employees* of Parents and Citizens' Associations - the majority of whom are thought to be employed on a part-time or casual basis (*Note: the submissions of the Government (at paragraph 45) suggest that there are approximately 3,000 employees of P&C Associations in Queensland. Based on information provided to the Commission during the award modernisation program, this estimate would appear to be more accurate than the estimate of 3,000-4,000 used in previous State Wage Cases and we adopt it.);· approximately 2,000 Auxiliary Firefighters - who appear to work an average of roughly 4 hours per week; · approximately 1,000 employees of local governments who, we suspect, are mainly full-time employees; and · 15 permanent, full-time, employees of the Darling Downs Moreton Rabbit Board.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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