Re: Referral pursuant to s 140C(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 for a modern award Local Government

[2014] QIRC 89

QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION

CITATION:	Re: Referral pursuant to s 140C(1) of the Industrial
Relations Act 1999 for a modern award - Local
Government [2014] QIRC 089
PARTIES:	Local Government Association of Queensland
Queensland Services Union of Employees
Association Of Professional Engineers, Scientists And Managers, Australia, Queensland Branch, Union Of Employees
Electrical  Trades Union Of Employees,
Queensland
Automotive, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Industrial Union of Employees, Queensland
Queensland Independent Education Union of Employees
Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy, Industrial Union of Employees, Queensland
The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland
United Voice Industrial Union of Employees
CASE NO'S:	MA/2014/88
MA/2014/91 MA/2014/93 MA/2014/94 MA/2014/95 MA/2014/96 MA/2014/97 MA/2014/98
PROCEEDING:	Determination of the number of modern awards in
Local Government
DELIVERED ON:	23 May 2014
HEARING DATE:	21 March 2014
28 March 2014 (Written Submissions) 8 April 2014
MEMBERS:	Deputy President O'Connor
Deputy President Kaufman Industrial Commissioner Neate
ORDERS :	1.  The full bench orders that a single award be

created for Local Government.

CATCHWORDS:	AWARD MODERNISATION - request from Minister to Commission - Local Government as a priority industry/occupation - appropriate number of modern awards in relation to Local Government - coverage of modern awards for Local Government - coverage of Federal modern award for Local Government - one modern award to be made - Industrial Relations Act 1999 ss 140BA, 140BB, 140C
CASES:	Industrial Relations Act 1999 ss 140BA, 140BB, 140C
Re: Referral pursuant to s 140C(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 for a modern award - Health
[2014] QIRC 088
Award Modernisation - Decision - re Stage 4
modern awards [2009] AIRCFB 945
APPEARANCES:	Mr B. Green, for the Queensland Services Union of Employees Mr J. Martin, for the Queensland Council of Unions; Mr B. Watson, for the Australian Workers Union of Queensland Ms K. Inglis, for the Electrical Trades Union of Employees, Queensland, and for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, and (at 21 March 2014 hearing) for Plumbers and Gas Fitters Union Queensland, Union Employees Mr J. Spriggs, for the Queensland Independent Education Union Mr D. Pullen, for the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia Queensland Branch Union of Employees Ms L. Booth, for the Queensland Nurses Union of Employees Ms K. Badke, for the United Voice Industrial Union of Employees, Queensland Mr R. Rule, for Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees Mr A. Cousner, for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy, Industrial Union of Employees, Queensland Mr S. Blaney, for the Local Government Association
of Queensland
Ms K. Allen, for the Automotive Metals Engineering Printing and Kindred Industries Industrial Union of
Employees Queensland (at 21 March 2014 hearing)

Reasons for Decision

[1] In early February 2014, pursuant to s 140C(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (the Act)¸ the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, the Honourable Jarrod Bleijie, requested that the Vice-President of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission undertake award modernisation in accordance with the terms of the Request.

[2]    This decision deals with "Local Government", one of the priority industries/occupations identified in the Request.

[3]     At the conclusion of hearings on 8 April 2014, the full bench announced that it had decided that there should be one award for Local Government in Queensland. These are our reasons for that decision.

[4]     These reasons should be read together with our reasons relating to "Health".[1] In those reasons we set out the nature of the award modernisation process and the role of the Commission in modernising awards.

[1]

How many awards - the options

[5]     Currently, employees of Local Government authorities in Queensland are covered by some 30 awards.

[6]     The Award Modernisation Team (AM Team), after consulting with the major parties, recommended that there be one award.

[7]     The major parties contended for different outcomes.

[8]    The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) supported the AM Team's proposal that there be one award.

[9]     The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia sought the making of three awards:

	one for officers and "indoor staff";
	one for building, engineering, maintenance employees; and
	one for employees currently covered by the Local Government
Employees' (Excluding Brisbane City Council) Award - State 2003.

[10]   The Queensland Services Union, the Automotive, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, the Electrical Trades Union, the Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union, the Queensland Nurses Union and United Voice jointly submitted that there should be three awards:

	one for white collar employees;
	one for building, engineering, maintenance, nursing and children's services employees; and
	one for all other blue collar employees.

[11]     The Australian Workers' Union proposed that there be no fewer than two awards:

	one for white collar employees; and
	at least one award for outdoor employees.

[12]  The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Queensland's proposal was for three awards:

	one for tradespersons;
	one for white collar employees; and
	another for non-trades based staff not employed in a white collar capacity.

[13]   The AM Team's recommended award has its genesis in the Local Government Award 2010, made by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) as part of the federal award modernisation process.

[14]   The AIRC reduced a large number of awards that had operated throughout local government areas across Australia to the one Local Government Award 2010.

[15]  Currently, the federal award operates in the states of Victoria and Tasmania, as well as the Northern Territory. The LGAQ suggested that in Western Australia the greater majority of local governments also operate under or in accordance with that award.

[16]  New South Wales has the one award for local government in that state. It is the

Local Government (State) Award 2010.

[17]  Because of constitutional limitations on the jurisdiction of the federal commission

and uncertainty as to what local government entities are constitutional corporations,

the reach of the Local Government Industry Act 2010 is unclear. We have not

received any submissions on the status of the referral by any states referring power

in respect of local government to the Commonwealth. However, we note that the

2

AIRC in its decision of 4 December 2009, at [135] stated that the major parties appeared to accept that, over time, the practical effect of the making of a modern federal award for local government would be that the terms of the modern award would come to determine the award safety net in a growing proportion of the local government industry in Australia.

[18]  The gravamen of the unions' submissions is that there are significant differences between the awards currently covering "white collar" and "blue collar" employees, and to a lesser, but still significant, extent, insofar as "blue collar" staff are concerned, between building, engineering and maintenance staff on the one hand, and "external/field staff" on the other.

[19]  The unions noted that employers and employees in the local government sector have recognised and bargained along occupational divisions - officers/internal, trades/building, engineering, maintenance, nursing and children, and field staff/external.

[20]  Of major concern to the unions is the potential for a reduction in the terms and conditions of employment of some groups of employees should a single award be made.

[21]  In particular it was noted that white collar employees generally work a 36.25 hour week, whereas blue collar workers generally work a 38 hour week. Differences between, for example, the two groups' entitlement to ordinary hours of work, personal leave, annual leave and long service leave were also noted, as were the differences between the classification methods of the two groups.

Consideration and conclusion

[22]  In our view, the federal approach should be followed unless there are cogent reasons not to do so. The federal award was made in 2010 after a thorough review, during which all interested parties had an opportunity to participate. The apparent problems with the making of one award that have been articulated in these proceedings would no doubt be similar to those that pertained in the states and territories covered by the 2010 federal award.

[23]  Although we invited those who opposed the making of one award to identify any practical difficulties that have arisen since the making of the single federal award for local government, none of them did so.

[24]  We acknowledge that the terms of the federal and Queensland legislation and the terms of the federal and Queensland ministerial requests are not identical. However, we are of the view that, to the extent compatible with the legislation, award coverage for local government in Queensland should be complementary to that for the federal and New South Wales awards; at least insofar as the number of awards for the industry is concerned.

[25]  It will be a matter for the actual award making process to determine if, how, and to what extent, existing entitlements should be disturbed.

[26]  It is for these reasons that we decided that there be one award governing the terms

Re: Referral pursuant to s 140C(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 for a modern award - Health

[2014] QIRC 088
2
Award Modernisation - Decision – re Stage 4 modern awards [2009] AIRCFB 945.