Crown
Employees (Department of Commerce) Award 2008
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Review of Award pursuant to Section 19 of the Industrial
Relations Act 1996.
(No. IRC 1701 of 2007)
|
Before Commissioner
Ritchie
|
19 May 2008
|
REVIEWED
AWARD
PART A
Clause No. Subject Matter
1. Title
2. Definitions
3. Parties to
the Award
4. Classifications
and Salaries
5. Leave
Loading included in Salary
6. Savings of
Rights
7. Conditions of Employment
8. Flexible
Hours of Work
9. Assistance
with Public Transport
10. Private Use
of Business Vehicles
11. Career
Development
12. Child Care
13. Tailored
Benefits for Relocation
14. Flexible
Work Practices
15. Grievance
and Dispute Settling Procedures
16. Consultative
Arrangements
17. Deduction
of Union Membership Fees
18. Workplace
Representatives
19. Anti-Discrimination
20. Area,
Incidence and Duration
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Classification and Salary Schedules
1. Title
This award shall be known as the Crown Employees (Department
of Commerce) Award 2008.
2. Definitions
"Act" means the Public Sector Employment and
Management Act 2002
"Department" means the NSW Department of Commerce,
as specified in Schedule 1 of the Public Sector Employment and Management
Act 2002.
"Director-General" means the chief executive
officer of the NSW Department of Commerce.
"DPE" means the Director of Public Employment as
established under the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.
"DPWS" means the areas of the Department employing
staff in classifications under this award.
"Salaried staff", "staff member",
"staff" and "employee" mean people employed in the
Department of Commerce who are paid by salary.
These terms exclude those employed in the Senior Executive Service.
"Salary" excludes the employer's contribution to
superannuation. Salary may take the
form of a salary package including non-monetary compensation.
"Salary Point" means a salary nominated within a
grade or level.
"Union" means the Public Service Association and
Professional Officers’ Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales (PSA)
or the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers,
Australia (NSW Branch) (APESMA) having regard to their respective coverage.
3. Parties to the
Award
The parties to this award are the Director of Public
Employment, the Department of Commerce, the Public Service Association and
Professional Officers’ Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales and the
Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (NSW
Branch).
4. Classifications
and Salaries
(1) The
classifications and salary rates are set out in Table 1 of Part B, Monetary
Rates of this award.
(2) The salary rates
are set in accordance with the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2007)
Award or any variation or replacement award.
5. Leave Loading
Included in Salary
In accordance with the arrangement commencing 1 December
1995 in the former Department of Public Works and Services, the salary rates in
this award include an additional 1.35% payment in lieu of a recreation leave
loading.
6. Saving of Rights
At the time of making of this award, no staff member covered
by this award will suffer a reduction in their rate of pay or any loss or
diminution in his or her conditions of employment as a consequence of the
making of this Award. This clause is
not intended to give rise to further claim.
7. Conditions of
Employment
The staff members regulated by this award shall be entitled
to the conditions of employment as set out in this award and, except where
specifically varied by this award, existing conditions are provided for under
the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002, the Public Sector
Employment and Management Regulation 1996, the Crown Employees (Public Service
Conditions of Employment) Reviewed Award 2006 and the Crown Employees (Public
Sector - Salaries 2007) Award or any awards replacing these awards.
8. Flexible Hours of
Work
The Department of Commerce Flexible Working Hours Agreement or
its successor applies to staff under this award.
9. Assistance With
Public Transport
The Department will provide funds for the purchase of yearly
rail, bus and ferry tickets (or combinations of these) for staff members who
require them.
Staff members will repay the cost of the ticket over 12
months through regular fortnightly deductions from after tax salary.
10. Private Use of
Business Vehicles
Staff members, subject to availability of motor vehicles and
Management approval, may use departmental vehicles for private purposes. Such staff members can negotiate to include
private use of a vehicle in a salary package.
Private use of vehicles is determined by business need, not
remuneration level, and all vehicles must be fully available for business use
during normal working hours.
Salary packaging is not compulsory and vehicles remain the
property of the Department of Commerce.
Costs and payments are to be the same as those applying to the Senior
Executive Service, as applied from time to time.
The arrangements set out in this clause do not promote, or
allow, casual and short-term use of departmental vehicles for private use.
11. Career
Development
The Department is committed to the ongoing learning and
development of its staff members. Staff
members shall be provided with equitable opportunities for career and
professional development.
It is recognised that training and development shall not be
limited to internal and external training courses and may include staff member
exchange programs, secondments, attendance at conferences, seminars or
short-term study courses which have been approved by the Department and
permission granted for the staff members to attend. The Department will continue to meet the cost of such training
and development initiatives.
The Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of
Employment) Reviewed Award 2006 provisions for Study Assistance and Staff
Development and Training Activities will apply to staff members with the
following additional provisions:
The Department will make reasonable contributions
towards compulsory fees (tuition fees or course changes, other than the Higher
Education Contribution Surcharge), where the Deputy Director Generals,
Divisional Directors or Group General Managers approve payments because they
are justified by the relevance of studies to the current and future skills
requirements of the Department.
Study leave will be granted for post-graduate studies
directly related to the Department’s core business, at the discretion of the
Director-General.
12. Child Care
The Department will continue to sponsor child care places in
the Family Day Care Scheme throughout New South Wales. Family Day Care provides small group care in
a family environment and caters for children aged up to 12.
13. Tailored Benefits
for Relocation
(1) A package will
provide tailored benefits for staff required to relocate. The benefits will be equal to, or better
than, the current provisions of the Crown Employees (Transferred Employees
Compensation) Award.
(2) A package of
variable, individually negotiated benefits will be established to compensate
for the expenses and associated dislocation experienced by staff required to
relocate their residence as a consequence of promotion, transfer (for other
than disciplinary reasons) or exchange to a new work location.
(3) The scope of the
package will be defined prior to time of acceptance of the new position and
will include:
(a) Reimbursement of
up to 100% of relocation expenses associated directly with the transfer or
promotion
(b) Reimbursement of
up to 100% for temporary accommodation and/or excess rental costs up to a
period of 6 months
(c) Payment of a
relocation allowance of up to $5,000.00 (dependent on individual circumstances)
to compensate for items not directly recoverable.
(4) These provisions
are available to all staff, subject to negotiation and approval on an
individual basis.
14. Flexible Work
Practices
Staff members and the Department may make use of the
flexible work practices outlined in the Public Employment Office document
"Flexible Work Practices - Policy and Guidelines", October 1995, and
the "Strategies for Flexible Workplace Arrangements", April 2000.
The provisions of clause 15, Grievance and Dispute Settling
Procedures, are available to resolve any disputes arising under the terms of
this clause.
15. Grievance and
Dispute Handling Procedures
(1) All grievances
and disputes relating to the provisions of this award shall initially be dealt
with as close to the source as possible, with graduated steps for further
attempts at resolution at higher levels of authority within the Department, if
required.
(2) A staff member
is required to notify in writing their immediate manager, as to the substance
of the grievance, dispute or difficulty, request a meeting to discuss the
matter, and if possible, state the remedy sought.
(3) Where the
grievance or dispute involves confidential or other sensitive material
(including issues of harassment or discrimination under the Anti
Discrimination Act, 1977) that makes it impractical for the staff member to
advise their immediate manager the notification may occur to the next
appropriate level of management, including where required, to the
Director-General or delegate.
(4) The immediate
manager, or other appropriate officer, shall convene a meeting in order to
resolve the grievance, dispute or difficulty within two (2) working days, or as
soon as practicable, of the matter being brought to attention.
(5) If the matter
remains unresolved with the immediate manager, the staff member may request to
meet the appropriate person at the next level of management in order to resolve
the matter. This manager shall respond within two (2) working days, or as soon
as practicable. The staff member may pursue the sequence of reference to
successive levels of management until the matter is referred to the
Director-General.
(6) The
Director-General may refer the matter to the DPE for consideration.
(7) If the matter
remains unresolved, the Director-General shall provide a written response to
the staff member and any other party involved in the grievance, dispute or
difficulty, concerning action to be taken, or the reason for not taking action,
in relation to the matter.
(8) A staff member,
at any stage, may request to be represented by their Union.
(9) The staff member
or the Union on their behalf, or the Director-General may refer the matter to
the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission if the matter is unresolved
following the use of these procedures.
(10) The staff
member, Union, Department and DPE shall agree to be bound by any order or
determination by the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission in
relation to the dispute.
(11) Whilst the
procedures outlined in subclauses (1) to (10) of this clause are being
followed, normal work undertaken prior to notification of the dispute or
difficulty shall continue unless otherwise agreed between the parties, or, in
the case involving occupational health and safety, if practicable, normal work
shall proceed in a manner which avoids any risk to the health and safety of any
staff member or member of the public.
16. Consultative
Arrangements
The parties to this Award will establish a Consultative
Committee.
17. Deduction of
Union Membership Fees
(1) The Union shall
provide the Department with a schedule setting out Union fortnightly membership
fees payable by members of the Union in accordance with the Union's rules.
(2) The Union shall
advise the Department of any change to the amount of fortnightly membership
fees made under its rules. Any variation to the schedule of Union fortnightly
membership fees payable shall be provided to the Department at least one month
in advance of the variation taking effect.
(3) Subject to (1)
and (2) above, the Department shall deduct Union fortnightly membership fees
from the pay of any staff member who is a member of the Union in accordance
with the Union's rules, provided that the staff member has authorised the
Department to make such deductions.
(4) Monies so
deducted from staff member's pay shall be forwarded regularly to the Union
together with all necessary information to enable the Union to reconcile and
credit subscriptions to staff members' Union membership accounts.
(5) Unless other
arrangements are agreed to by the Department and the Union, all Union
membership fees shall be deducted on a fortnightly basis.
(6) Where a staff
member has already authorised the deduction of Union membership fees from his
or her pay prior to this clause taking effect, nothing in this clause shall be
read as requiring the staff member to make a fresh authorisation in order for
such deductions to continue.
18. Workplace
Representatives
Staff members who are delegates shall, upon notification
thereof to the Department, be recognised as accredited representatives of the
Union(s). They shall be allowed the
necessary time during working hours to interview the appropriate Deputy
Director General, Divisional Director or Group General Manager, or their
representatives, and the staff members whom they represent, on matters
affecting the staff members whom they represent.
19.
Anti-Discrimination
(1) It is the
intention of the parties bound by this Award to seek to achieve the object in
section 3(f) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 to prevent and
eliminate discrimination in the workplace.
This includes discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, marital
status, disability, homosexuality, transgender identity, age and
responsibilities as a carer.
(2) It follows that,
in fulfilling their obligations under the dispute resolution procedure
prescribed by this Award, the parties have obligations to take all reasonable
steps to ensure that the operation of the provisions of this Award are not
directly or indirectly discriminatory in their effects. It will be consistent with the fulfilment of
these obligations for the parties to make application to vary any provision of
the Award which, by its terms or operation, has a direct or indirect
discriminatory effect.
(3) Under the Anti-Discrimination
Act 1977, it is unlawful to victimise an employee because the employee has
made or may make or has been involved in a complaint of unlawful discrimination
or harassment.
(4) Nothing in this
clause is to be taken to affect:
(a) Any conduct or
act which is specifically exempted from anti-discrimination legislation;
(b) Offering or
providing junior rates of pay to persons under 21 years of age;
(c) Any act or
practice of a body established to propagate religion which is exempted under
section 56(d) of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977;
(d) A party to this
Award from pursuing matters of unlawful discrimination in any State or Federal
jurisdiction.
(5) This clause does
not create legal rights or obligations in addition to those imposed upon the
parties by the legislation referred to in this clause.
(a) Employers and
employees may also be subject to Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation.
(b) Section 56(d) of
the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 provides:
"Nothing in the Act affects ... any other act or
practice of a body established to propagate religion that conforms to the
doctrines of that religion or is necessary to avoid injury to the religious
susceptibilities of the adherents of that religion."
20. Area, Incidence
and Duration
(1) This award
applies to staff of the Department of Commerce in the classifications listed in
Table 1 of Part B, Monetary Rates
excluding staff employed in GCIO (Government Chief Information Office), OFT
(Office of Fair Trading), OIR (Office of Industrial Relations), and
Businesslink
(2) This award is
made following a review under Section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996,
and rescinds and replaces the Crown Employees (Department of Commerce) Award
2004 published 6 May 2004 (350 I.G. 866) and all variations thereof.
(3) The changes made
to this award pursuant to the Award Review under Section 19(6) of the Industrial
Relations Act 1996 and Principle 26 of the Principles for Review of Award
made by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales on 28 April 1999
(310 I.G. 359) take effect on and from 19 May 2008.
(4) The Award
remains in force until varied or rescinded, the period for which it was made
having already expired.
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 -
Classification and Salary Schedules
Salary Rates effective from the beginning of the first pay
period to commence on or after 1 July 2007.
DPWS PROFESSIONAL
STAFF
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per Annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
|
General Scale
|
1
|
27,426
|
|
General Scale
|
HSC 19 yrs
|
31,076
|
|
General Scale
|
2 or age 20
|
33,169
|
|
General Scale
|
3 or age 21
|
35,748
|
|
General Scale
|
4
|
36,726
|
|
General Scale
|
5
|
38,276
|
|
General Scale
|
6
|
38,973
|
|
General Scale
|
7
|
39,941
|
|
General Scale
|
8
|
41,417
|
|
General Scale
|
9
|
42,920
|
|
General Scale
|
10
|
44,501
|
|
General Scale
|
11
|
45,810
|
|
General Scale
|
12
|
46,953
|
|
General Scale
|
13
|
48,332
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
48,801
|
|
|
2
|
51,526
|
|
|
3
|
55,224
|
|
|
4
|
59,138
|
|
|
5
|
62,646
|
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
1
|
66,426
|
|
|
2
|
68,984
|
|
|
3
|
71,126
|
|
|
4
|
73,198
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
1
|
77,108
|
|
|
2
|
79,501
|
|
|
3
|
82,530
|
|
|
4
|
85,055
|
|
4
|
1
|
89,319
|
|
|
2
|
91,937
|
|
|
3
|
93,770
|
DPWS SENIOR
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
|
Level
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
Senior 1
|
1
|
97,612
|
|
|
2
|
99,535
|
|
Senior 2
|
1
|
101,740
|
|
|
2
|
103,924
|
|
Senior 3
|
1
|
106,189
|
|
|
2
|
107,374
|
DPWS PROJECT STAFF
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
1
|
1
|
57,935
|
|
|
2
|
59,141
|
|
2
|
1
|
62,680
|
|
|
2
|
64,487
|
|
3
|
1
|
66,474
|
|
|
2
|
68,454
|
|
4
|
1
|
70,436
|
DPWS SENIOR MANAGEMENT
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
1
|
1
|
116,406
|
|
|
2
|
122,273
|
|
2
|
1
|
128,137
|
|
|
2
|
134,006
|
DPWS STAFF
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
General Scale
|
1
|
27,426
|
|
General Scale
|
HSC 19 yrs
|
31,076
|
|
General Scale
|
2 or age 20
|
33,169
|
|
General Scale
|
3 or age 21
|
35,748
|
|
General Scale
|
4
|
36,726
|
|
General Scale
|
5
|
38,276
|
|
General Scale
|
6
|
38,973
|
|
General Scale
|
7
|
39,941
|
|
General Scale
|
8
|
41,417
|
|
General Scale
|
9
|
42,920
|
|
General Scale
|
10
|
44,501
|
|
* Personal
|
|
45,810
|
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
1
|
1
|
46,953
|
|
|
2
|
48,332
|
|
2
|
1
|
49,685
|
|
|
2
|
51,044
|
|
3
|
1
|
52,493
|
|
|
2
|
54,076
|
|
4
|
1
|
55,765
|
|
|
2
|
57,476
|
|
5
|
1
|
61,965
|
|
|
2
|
63,924
|
|
6
|
1
|
66,426
|
|
|
2
|
68,370
|
|
7
|
1
|
70,423
|
|
|
2
|
72,530
|
|
8
|
1
|
75,546
|
|
|
2
|
77,952
|
|
9
|
1
|
80,274
|
|
|
2
|
82,530
|
|
10
|
1
|
85,903
|
|
|
2
|
88,459
|
|
11
|
1
|
92,845
|
|
|
2
|
96,782
|
|
12
|
1
|
102,844
|
|
|
2
|
107,374
|
DPWS TECHNICAL
STAFF (A)
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
General Scale
|
1 or 16 yrs
|
22,738
|
|
General Scale
|
2 or 17 yrs
|
25,803
|
|
General Scale
|
3 or 18 yrs
|
27,426
|
|
General Scale
|
4 or 20 yrs
|
31,076
|
|
General Scale
|
5 or 21 yrs
|
33,169
|
|
General Scale
|
6
|
35,748
|
|
General Scale
|
7
|
36,726
|
|
General Scale
|
8
|
38,276
|
|
General Scale
|
9
|
38,973
|
|
General Scale
|
10
|
39,941
|
|
General Scale
|
11
|
41,417
|
|
General Scale
|
12
|
42,920
|
|
General Scale
|
13
|
44,501
|
|
General Scale
|
14
|
45,810
|
|
|
|
|
|
I
|
1
|
47,845
|
|
|
2
|
49,188
|
|
|
3
|
50,544
|
|
|
4
|
51,526
|
|
|
5
|
53,042
|
|
II
|
1
|
55,765
|
|
|
2
|
56,896
|
|
|
3
|
57,902
|
|
|
4
|
59,138
|
|
III
|
1
|
63,183
|
DPWS SENIOR
TECHNICAL (A)
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
Senior I
|
1
|
61,965
|
|
|
2
|
63,183
|
|
|
3
|
65,128
|
|
Senior II
|
1
|
67,068
|
|
|
2
|
68,984
|
|
Senior III
|
1
|
71,829
|
SENIOR OFFICER
|
Grade
|
Year
|
Per annum
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
1
|
1
|
119,940
|
|
|
2
|
129,129
|
|
2
|
1
|
131,289
|
|
|
2
|
140,446
|
D. W. RITCHIE, Commissioner.
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.