EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1989 No. 288
Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment)
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations)
Employment with the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority is “public sector employment” as defined by subsection 4(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1988 (the Act). This means that employment with that Authority is subject to the operation of subsection 141(2) of the Act.
Subsection 141(2) of the Act provides that where the Australian Industrial Relations Commission deals with an industrial dispute involving public sector employment, it may, for the purpose of settling the dispute or preventing further disputes, declare any term of an award to be a common rule for the whole or a specified class of public sector employment.
Subsection 141(3) of the Act provides that:
The declaration of a common rule under subsection (2) does not have effect in relation to a class of public sector employment prescribed for the purposes of this section.
Under subsection 359(1) of the Act the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Paragraph (a) of Regulation 20 of the Industrial Relations Regulations provides that employment by, or service in the service of, a Commonwealth authority referred to in Part I of Schedule 4 of those regulations is prescribed for the purposes of subsection 141(3) of the Act.
The terms and conditions of employment of employees of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority are historically related to the electricity industry rather than the public sector. A common rule imposed on Authority employees could have the effect of preventing continuance of parity of general terms and conditions of employment between those employees and other workers in the electricity industry. This could result in major industrial relations difficulties. To avoid this it is desirable to exempt the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority from the provisions of the Act relating to common rules. To this end the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority has been prescribed in Part I of Schedule 4 (Paragraph (a) of Regulation 20) of the Industrial Relations Regulations. These amendments take effect from the date of gazettal.
Overview
The Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1997, issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations, was enacted to address a specific industrial relations issue concerning the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority. Employment with this Authority is defined as "public sector employment" under the Industrial Relations Act 1988. This designation subjects the Authority's employment terms to the common rule provisions of the Act, which could potentially disrupt the parity of terms and conditions of employment with other workers in the electricity industry. To prevent such industrial relations difficulties, the amendments aim to exempt the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority from the Act’s common rule provisions by prescribing it in Part I of Schedule 4 of the Industrial Relations Regulations.
The objective of these amendments is to ensure that the terms and conditions of employment for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority remain aligned with the electricity industry standards, thereby maintaining industrial harmony and avoiding discrepancies that could arise from the application of public sector common rules. The amendments were designed to take effect from the date of gazettal, reflecting the urgency and necessity to address the identified problem in the existing legislative framework.
Scope and Application
The Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1989 No. 288, issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations, modifies the application of the Industrial Relations Act 1988 with respect to employment within the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority. This amendment specifically addresses the classification of employment with the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority as "public sector employment," thus subjecting it to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, particularly subsection 141(2) which allows for the declaration of common rules in resolving industrial disputes. However, the regulation also includes an exemption for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority from the common rule provisions to ensure that the terms and conditions of employment for its employees remain aligned with those in the electricity industry, thereby avoiding potential industrial relations issues. This exemption is facilitated by Regulation 20, which prescribes the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority for the purposes of subsection 141(3) of the Act. These amendments are designed to maintain parity in employment conditions and are effective from the date of their gazettal.
Key Provisions
The primary provisions of these regulations, as per section 141(2) and (3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1988, concern the declaration of common rules for public sector employment. Specifically, section 141(2) allows the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to declare any term of an award to be a common rule to settle or prevent industrial disputes in public sector employment. However, section 141(3) exempts certain classes of public sector employment from the operation of these common rules, as prescribed by regulation.
The regulations impose obligations on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority by specifically prescribing it as an exempted authority under section 141(3). This means that the Authority's employment terms are not subject to the common rules declared by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, thereby maintaining the parity of terms and conditions of employment with other workers in the electricity industry. This is achieved through Regulation 20 of the Industrial Relations Regulations, which explicitly lists the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority in Part I of Schedule 4.
There are no explicit offences or penalties outlined in the regulations for non-compliance with these provisions. However, the regulations' purpose is to prevent industrial relations difficulties by ensuring that the Authority's employees maintain terms and conditions consistent with the electricity industry. Non-compliance with the prescribed exemptions could potentially lead to disputes or other industrial relations issues, though specific penalties for such breaches are not detailed in the regulations themselves. The overarching framework of the Industrial Relations Act 1988 and related legislation would apply to address any resultant issues.