The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia v Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd T/A Tasnetworks
[2024] FWC 2282
•27 AUGUST 2024
| [2024] FWC 2282 |
| FAIR WORK COMMISSION |
| DECISION |
Fair Work Act 2009
s.437 - Application for a protected action ballot order
The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia
v
Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd T/A Tasnetworks
(B2024/1077)
| COMMISSIONER WILSON | MELBOURNE, 27 AUGUST 2024 |
Proposed protected action ballot of employees of Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd Trading As TasNetworks
This is an application by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (Professionals Australia or Applicant) made under s.437 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act) for a protected action ballot order in relation to certain employees of Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd (TasNetworks or Employer).
The application was filed with the Commission on 25 August 2024. On the same day, the Commission was advised that the TasNetworks did not object to the Application but sought an extended notification period under s.443(5) for the taking of protected industrial action once approved by a ballot. A Hearing for this matter was held on 26 August 2024. The Hearing was briefly adjourned to allow the Parties to continue negotiations. Following this adjournment, TasNetworks agreed to withdraw its claim for an extended notification period provided the Applicant agreed to a documented Safety Commitment, which it did. In return for consent to this application, the parties each agree to be bound to the attached Safety Commitment. (Appendix A).
On the basis of the material before me, including the declaration of Luke Crowley, Tasmanian Director of Professionals Australia, setting out the steps taken by the union in bargaining with the TasNetworks and that it has been, and is, genuinely trying to reach agreement with it, I am satisfied that there is a notification time in relation to the proposed agreement and that all of the requirements in s.443(1) of the Act have been met.
The ballot is to be conducted by Democratic Outcomes Pty Ltd.
For the purposes of s.443(3)(c) of the Act, the Commission has determined that the date by which voting is to close is Tuesday 10 September 2024.[1] This also establishes the ballot period for the purpose of s.448A(2) of the Act.
An order has been separately issued in PR778650.
This matter will be listed for a s.448A compulsory conciliation conference before me at 2:00PM Friday, 6 September 2024. An Order will be issued, requiring the attendance of all bargaining representatives in the proposed enterprise agreement at the conference. It is likely that Directions will also be issued, to ensure that the parties attend the conference ready to conduct meaningful negotiations.
COMMISSIONER
Appearances:
Mr L. Crowley, for the Applicant.
Ms L. Wilkins, for the Respondent.
Hearing details:
26 August.
2024.
Appendix A
The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia – Safety Commitment.
1.An employee will temporarily suspend industrial action to perform:
a.Emergency Work, where employees are directed by TasNetworks to perform Emergency Work (Emergency Work Direction); or
b.work necessary to respond to the impacts of a Declared Incident or to facilitate Emergency Work during a Declared Incident, at the direction of TasNetworks; (Declared Incident Direction)
subject to the conditions outlined below.
2.“Emergency Work” is work that if not performed imminently, would create a serious and imminent threat to human life or a serious and imminent risk of personal illness or injury.
3.A “Declared Incident” will be declared by the Chief Executive Officer of TasNetworks in consultation with the Distribution Control Room Operators and covers major emergency situations such as storms, bushfires, and IT breakdown in a given region or part thereof.
Where the Chief Executive Officer of TasNetworks declares a Declared Incident in relation to a storm, employees will temporarily suspend employee claim action to comply with any Declared Incident Direction given within 12 hours before of the expected impact of the storm, and throughout the duration of the storm, until the relevant storm warning is ended in the region and all jobs commenced during the storm are restore all residential customers (and those listed in 4.c. and d.) to normal operation.
4.An employee who receives a Declared Incident Direction will attend the relevant site(s) to which they are directed as soon as practicable and by the most direct route practicable. In such circumstances the employee will temporarily suspend employee claim action only to the extent necessary to comply with a direction to:
a.avert serious and imminent threat to human life or a serious and imminent risk of personal illness or injury;
b.facilitate the work of another person that is necessary to avert serious and imminent threat to human life or a serious and imminent risk of personal illness or injury;
c.restore power to any critical care customer that TasNetworks considers vulnerable, including but not limited to life support customers, hospital or nursing home impacted by the Declared Incident; and
restore power to telecommunications infrastructure and to emergency services servicing a region affected by the Declared Incident.
5.An employee who is rostered to be on-call and who is engaged in employee claim action will remain within 30 minutes’ drive of their area of responsibility for the duration of the shift for which they are rostered.
6.For the duration of a Declared Incident, employees who are rostered to work in the region affected by the Declared Incident and who are engaged in a stoppage of work will remain within 30 minutes’ drive of their area of responsibility and available to receive directions for the duration of the shift for which they are rostered.
Continuity of coverage
7.An Employee who is ordinarily rostered to perform work will keep the mobile device they ordinarily use for communicating with the Employer on their person for the purpose of being notified of Emergency Work and/or a Declared Incident and will answer their phone if contacted by the employer.
8.An employee who is engaged in a ban on call-outs will, if directed to perform Emergency Work or work responsive to a Declared Incident, attend the site and perform only such work as is necessary to avert imminent risks to health and safety.
Control Room and Fault Centre
9.A minimum of:
a.two Power Systems Coordinators, two Distribution Systems Coordinators, and two Fault Dispatchers during day-shift; and
b.two Power Systems Coordinators, one Distribution Systems Coordinator, and two Fault Dispatchers during night-shift;
will attend the Control Room and Fault Centre and monitor their systems and while in attendance will temporarily suspend employee claim action to respond and deal with alarms, hazards relating to system security and/or with requests from AEMO, distributors, other transmission authorities, fire, police and emergency services, with the exception of all planned and/or commissioning work.
10.Power Systems Coordinators, Distribution Systems Coordinators, and Fault Dispatchers in attendance at the Control Room and Fault Centre for the purpose of paragraph [6] will
temporarily suspend employee claim action to respond and deal with alarms, hazards relating to system security and/or requests from generators and direct connect customers only as necessary to avert imminent risks to health and safety.
11.For the purpose of paragraph [6] and [7], Power Systems Coordinators, Distribution Systems Coordinators, and Fault Dispatchers will continue to observe a ban on switching circuit breakers listed in Appendix A, except as directed by AEMO to restore the system to a “secure operating state” as determined by AEMO, and subject to any Emergency Work Direction or Declared Incident Direction.
Notice to members and review of directions
12.The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia will take reasonable steps to notify its members employed by TasNetworks, including by email where practicable, of the requirement to comply immediately with any direction made by TasNetworks in relation to work TasNetworks considers to be Emergency Work as defined above or where TasNetworks has declared a Declared Incident.
13.The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia will convene a committee of subject matter experts who will review TasNetworks’ use of Emergency Work Directions and Declared Incident Directions. APESMA reserves its right to withdraw or amend some or all of the conditions outlined above in the event that TasNetworks repeatedly misrepresents work as Emergency Work or an incident as a Declared Incident. In such circumstances, the APESMA will provide no less than seven (7) days’ notice to TasNetworks of its intention to withdraw or amend these directions for the taking of employee claim action.
Life Support Customers
14.In the event that a Life Support Customer suffers an outage for a duration of longer than 48 hours, TasNetworks may direct members to temporarily suspend industrial action for the purpose of performing work necessary to restore power to that Life Support Customer. A member so directed will temporarily suspend industrial action only so far as necessary to restore power to the relevant Life Support Customer.
(Together, the Provisions for Continuity of Work)
[1] This is, in effect, 14 days from the making of the Order and was the date sought in the application.
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