Crown
Employees (NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and
Services) Technical Staff Award
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Review of Award pursuant to Section 19 of the Industrial
Relations Act 1996.
(No. IRC 241 of 2012)
|
Before The Honourable
Mr Justice Staff
|
4 April 2012
|
REVIEWED
AWARD
Arrangement
Clause No. Subject Matter
PART A
1. Title
2. Definitions
3. Salaries
4. Saving of
Rights
5. Progression
Criteria
6. Transitional
Arrangements
7. Allowances
8. Hours of
Work
9. Job
Evaluation
10. Grievance
and Dispute Settling Procedures
11. Appeals
Mechanism
12. Anti-Discrimination
13. Deduction
of Union Membership Fees
14. Area,
Incidence and Duration
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Salaries
Table 2 - Allowances
PART A
1. Title
This Award shall be known as the Crown Employees (NSW
Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services)
Technical Staff Award.
2. Definitions
(i) "Act"
means Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.
(ii) "Public
Service" means the Public Service of New South Wales as defined in the Public
Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.
(iii) "Association"
means the Public Service Association and the Professional Officers’ Association
Amalgamated Union of New South Wales.
(iv) "Department"
means the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and
Services, as specified in Schedule 1 of the Public Sector Employment and
Management Act 2002.
(v) "Department
Head" means the Director General of the NSW Department of Trade and
Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services as specified in Schedule 1 of
the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.
(vi) "Regulation"
means the Public Sector Management Regulation 2009
(vii) "Director
General" means the Director General, Department of Premier and Cabinet, as
established under the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.
(viii) "Service"
means continuous service for salary purposes.
(ix) "Job
Evaluation" means a methodology agreed to between the parties to grade
Technical Staff under this Award.
(x) "Member of
staff" for the purposes of this Award, means a person employed as an
officer on probation or officers, employed in any capacity under the provisions
of Part 2.3 of the Act, or a temporary employee employed under S. 27 of the
Act, who are classified under this Award, and employed in either a casual,
part-time or full-time capacity.
(xi) "Position"
means a position as dealt with in Section 9 of the Public Sector Employment
and Management Act 2002.
(xii) "Salary
Rates" means the ordinary time rate of pay for the member of staff’s
grading, excluding shift allowances, weekend penalties and all other allowances
not regarded as salary.
(xiii) "Normal
Work" as defined in clause 10, Grievance and Dispute Settling Procedures,
is defined as the duties and responsibilities relevant to the Statement of
Duties, or Position Description, of a member, or members, of staff, at the time
of a grievance, dispute or difficulty.
(xiv) "Technical
Assistant" means an officer or employee who holds the New South Wales
School Certificate or its equivalent that is required for employment in any of
the positions covered by the provisions of this Award. VET Certificate II in any qualification is
considered equivalent to the NSW School Certificate.
(xv) "Technical
Co-ordinator" means an officer or employee whose experience and expertise
allows them to accept responsibility for the supervision and co-ordination of
technical activities in a technical section or work unit and is appointed to a
position designated as such.
(xvi) "Technical
Manager" means an officer or employee who is appointed to a position
designated as such.
(xvii) "Technical Officer"
means an officer or employee who holds:
(a) completion of a
Biological Technicians Certificate, Chemistry Certificate Course, or the
Pathology Technician Certificate Course from TAFE, or a relevant VET Diploma
(equivalent AQF Level V) or other qualification deemed by the Department to be
equivalent; or
(b) a trade
qualification plus 5 years relevant post trade experience that is required for
employment in any of the positions covered by the provisions of this Award; or,
(c) a Library
Technician Certificate from TAFE or other qualification deemed by the
Department to be equivalent; or
(d) successfully
completed two-thirds of the required credit points necessary for the award of a
relevant degree; or
(e) a relevant AQF
Certificate IV or equivalent plus 5 years relevant post qualification
experience.
(xviii) "Technical
Staff" means all members of staff employed to provide technical
contributions to the achievement of the Department’s corporate goals.
3. Salaries
Subject to the provisions of the Act and the
Regulations thereunder, the rates of salary as set out in Table 1 - Salaries,
of Part B, Monetary Rates shall be paid to members of staff appointed to the
positions specified.
4. Saving of Rights
At the time of making of this Award, no member of staff
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.
5. Progression
Criteria
(i) A Technical
Assistant who has been in receipt of the maximum salary prescribed for their
grade for 12 months shall be eligible for progression to the next grade, up to
and including Grade 3, subject to satisfying the merit progression criteria.
(ii) A Technical Officer,
who has been in receipt of the maximum salary prescribed for their grade for 12
months, shall be eligible for progression to the next grade, up to and
including Grade 3, subject to satisfying the merit progression criteria.
(iii) Technical
Manager positions shall be included at substantive levels, Grade 3, Grade 4 and
Grade 5, with promotion into such positions being by appointment subject to the
occurrence of a vacancy.
6. Transitional
Arrangements
The Transitional Arrangements in the former Crown
Employees (Technical Staff - NSW Agriculture) Award published 17 May 2002 (333
I.G. 534) no longer have current effect, the period for transition of staff to
classifications in this award having expired.
7. Allowances
(i) A member of
staff who is appointed as a Technical Co-ordinator will be paid an allowance as
set out in Item 1 of Table 2 - Allowances of Part B Monetary Rates from the
date of their appointment. The allowance will be part of the member of staff’s
salary for all purposes and will be adjusted in accordance with any variations
applied commensurate with this Award. The allowance will also be superable.
(ii) Members of
staff will be appointed to the role of Technical Co-ordinator for periods of up
to two years with future appointees to be determined by merit selection through
internal advertisement within the Department.
8. Hours of Work
(i) Both full-time
and part-time members of staff, subject to Departmental convenience, will work
a flexible working hours arrangement in accordance with the NSW Department of
Primary Industries Flexible Working Hours Agreement which is a co-lateral
arrangement under clause 10, Local Arrangement of the Crown Employees (Public
Service Conditions of Employment) Reviewed Award 2006.
(ii) Members of
staff cannot be required to work more than 5 hours in one continuous period
without an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes.
9. Job Evaluation
Positions classified as Technical Staff shall be graded
in accordance with the accredited Job Evaluation methodology agreed by the
Department, the Director General and Association and as outlined in the
"Job Analysis, Job Evaluation, Classification and Grading Policies and
Procedures Manual".
10. Grievance and
Dispute Settling Procedures
(i) 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 appropriate
Department, if required.
(ii) A member of
staff 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.
(iii) 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 member of staff
to advise their immediate manager the notification may occur to the next
appropriate level of management, including where required, to the Department
Head or delegate.
(iv) 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.
(v) If the matter
remains unresolved with the immediate manager, the member of staff 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 member of staff may pursue the sequence
of reference to successive levels of management until the matter is referred to
the Department Head.
(vi) The Department
Head may refer the matter to the Director General for consideration.
(vii) If the matter
remains unresolved, the Department Head shall provide a written response to the
member of staff 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.
(viii) A member of
staff, at any stage, may request to be represented by the Association.
(ix) The member of
staff or the Association on their behalf, or the Department Head may refer the
matter to the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission if the matter is
unresolved following the use of these procedures.
(x) The member of
staff, Association, Department and Director General shall agree to be bound by
any order or determination by the New South Wales Industrial Relations
Commission in relation to the dispute.
(xi) Whilst the
procedures outlined in subclauses (i) to (x) 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 member of staff or
member of the public.
11. Appeals Mechanism
(i) A member of
staff of the Department shall have the right to appeal any decision made by the
Department in relation to their performance assessment review or in relation to
promotion on merit from one grade to another where this is available under the
provisions of this Award.
(ii) Members of
staff shall submit a written submission outlining their case to the Director,
Industrial Relations within 28 days of the decision being appealed.
(iii) The Director,
Industrial Relations shall constitute an appeals committee made up of one
Management representative, an Association representative and one peer that is
acceptable to both Management and the Association.
(iv) The appeal shall
be heard within 28 days of it being lodged and the recommendation of the
committee shall be forwarded to the Department Head or nominee for approval.
(v) The decision of
the Department Head or nominee shall be forwarded to the officer concerned within
7 working days of the appeal being heard.
(vi) This appeal
mechanism shall not cover matters that are dealt with by the NSW Industrial
Relations Commission.
12.
Anti-Discrimination
(i) 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 and age and responsibilities as a carer.
(ii) 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.
(iii) 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.
(iv) 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.
(v) 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:
(c) "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."
13. Deduction of
Union Membership Fees
(i) The Association
shall provide the employer with a schedule setting out Association fortnightly
membership fees payable by members of the Association in accordance with the
Association's rules.
(ii) The
Association shall advise the employer of any change to the amount of
fortnightly membership fees made under its rules. Any variation to the schedule
of Association fortnightly membership fees payable shall be provided to the
employer at least one month in advance of the variation taking effect.
(iii) Subject to (i)
and (ii) above, the employer shall deduct Association fortnightly membership
fees from the pay of any employee who is a member of the Association in
accordance with the Association's rules, provided that the employee has
authorised the employer to make such deductions.
(iv) Monies so
deducted from employee's pay shall be forwarded regularly to the Association
together with all necessary information to enable the Association to reconcile
and credit subscriptions to employees' Association membership accounts.
(v) Unless other
arrangements are agreed to by the employer and the Association, all Association
membership fees shall be deducted on a fortnightly basis.
(vi) Where an
employee has already authorised the deduction of Association membership fees
from his or her pay prior to this clause taking effect, nothing in this clause
shall be read as requiring the employee to make a fresh authorisation in order
for such deductions to continue.
14. Area, Incidence
and Duration
(i) The Award shall
apply to each member of staff described as a Technical Staff employee in clause
2, Definitions, in the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional
Infrastructure and Services.
(ii) The members of
staff 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
2009, the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2009
and the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2008) Award or any awards
replacing these awards.
(iii) 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 4 April 2012.
Changes made to this award subsequent to it first being
published on 14 March 2008 (365 I.G. 81) have been incorporated into this award
as part of the review.
(iv) The Award remains
in force until varied or rescinded, the period for which it was made having
already expired.
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Effective from the beginning of the first pay period to
commence on or after 1 July 2011.
Table 1 - Salaries
(A) Full-time rates
Technical
Assistant
|
Junior
|
Per annum
|
CSP
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
Under 17
|
22,344
|
n/a
|
|
Age 17
|
26,812
|
n/a
|
|
Age 18
|
31,283
|
n/a
|
|
Age 19
|
35,753
|
n/a
|
|
Age 20
|
40,220
|
n/a
|
|
Grade 1
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
44,688
|
26
|
|
2nd Year
|
45,896
|
29
|
|
3rd Year and thereafter
|
47,490
|
33
|
|
Grade 2
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
48,816
|
36
|
|
2nd Year and thereafter
|
50,205
|
39
|
|
Grade 3
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
52,102
|
43
|
|
2nd Year and thereafter
|
53,407
|
46
|
Technical Officer
|
Grade 1
|
Per annum
|
CSP
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
53,407
|
46
|
|
2nd Year
|
55,509
|
50
|
|
3rd Year
|
56,993
|
53
|
|
4th Year and thereafter
|
58,604
|
56
|
|
Grade 2
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
63,425
|
64
|
|
2nd Year
|
65,376
|
67
|
|
3rd Year
|
67,267
|
70
|
|
4th Year and thereafter
|
71,256
|
76
|
|
Grade 3
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
74,745
|
81
|
|
2nd Year
|
76,961
|
84
|
|
3rd Year
|
79,306
|
87
|
|
4th Year and thereafter
|
82,491
|
91
|
|
Grade 4
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
85,928
|
95
|
|
2nd Year
|
88,660
|
98
|
|
3rd Year
|
90,426
|
100
|
|
4th Year and thereafter
|
93,026
|
103
|
|
Grade 5
|
|
|
|
1st Year
|
96,742
|
107
|
|
2nd Year
|
99,640
|
110
|
|
3rd Year and thereafter
|
102,572
|
113
|
(B) Part-Time Hourly
Rate Formula
|
Annual Salary
|
1
|
|
|
52.17857143 x
|
35
|
1 hours pay
|
|
|
|
|
Table 2 - Allowances
|
Item No.
|
Clause No.
|
Brief Description
|
Amount
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
1
|
7 (i)
|
Technical Co-ordinator Allowance
|
2,399 pa
|
C.G.
STAFF J
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.