Stevedoring Industry (Temporary Provisions) Regulations (Amendment)

Overview

The Statutory Rules 1974 No. 114 were enacted as a regulation under the Stevedoring Industry (Temporary Provisions) Act 1967-1973. This legislation was introduced to address the temporary provisions within the stevedoring industry, ensuring that workers were fairly compensated for their attendance without necessarily being engaged for employment on a particular day. The enacting body was the Governor-General of Australia, acting on the advice of the Executive Council, and the policy objective was to provide financial security to irregular waterside workers by mandating the payment of attendance money when they are called to a port but not engaged for work. This regulation sought to maintain a balance between the needs of the industry and the rights of the workers during the temporary provisions period.

Scope and Application

The Statutory Rules 1974 No. 114, made under the Stevedoring Industry (Temporary Provisions) Act 1967-1973, specifically amends the Stevedoring Industry (Temporary Provisions) Regulations to introduce provisions regarding attendance money payable to waterside workers. This legislation applies to individuals who are registered irregular waterside workers and are summoned for employment at a port by the relevant authority. If a summoned worker attends but is not engaged for employment on that day, they are entitled to receive attendance money at the rate specified by the applicable industrial award. This regulation ensures that workers are compensated for their time when not employed despite being called upon by the authority. The regulation extends across the Commonwealth of Australia, applying to all ports within its jurisdiction, thereby ensuring consistent application of labour standards and protections for waterside workers.

Key Provisions

The main operative section of this legislation, Regulation 28c, mandates that when the Authority summons a registered irregular waterside worker to attend for employment at a port and the worker complies with this summons but is not subsequently employed on that day, the Authority must compensate the worker with attendance money. This payment is to be made at the rate specified by the relevant award of the Commission for the port in question. This section is intended to ensure that waterside workers who respond to a call for work but are not ultimately employed are still fairly compensated for their time and effort. The obligations imposed by this Act on the parties involved are quite clear. The Authority, which is responsible for managing and regulating stevedoring operations, must ensure that any irregular waterside worker who responds to a call to work and arrives at the port is paid attendance money if they are not employed. This requirement places a duty on the Authority to administer payments promptly and correctly according to the prevailing award rates. Conversely, the waterside worker is obligated to attend when called and to ensure they are available for work as required. Failure to comply with the provisions of this Act can result in legal consequences. While the specific offences and penalties are not detailed in the excerpt, under the parent Act, the Stevedoring Industry (Temporary Provisions) Act 1967-1973, breaches of regulations can lead to both civil and criminal penalties. The precise nature and severity of these penalties would be determined based on the specific breach and could include fines or other sanctions as deemed appropriate by the courts. Given the statutory context, it is reasonable to infer that non-compliance by the Authority could result in enforcement actions, including financial penalties or legal proceedings.