City of Geraldton Workshop Staff Enterprise Agreement 1997

CITY OF GERALDTON WORKSHOP

STAFF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 1997

NO. AG 379 OF 1997

CITY OF GERALDTON

WORKSHOP STAFF

ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

1.TITLE

This Agreement shall be known as the City of Geraldton Workshop Staff Enterprise Agreement 1997.

2.ARRANGEMENT

(To be incorporated when all other matters relating to the draft are settled)

INDEX

Title
Arrangement
Definitions
Date of Operation
Incidence and Parties Bound
Specific Exclusions
Fixed Term Contracts
Relationship to the Award
Aims of the Agreement
Best Practice and Service Level Enhancement
Wages
Hours
Dispute Settlement and Grievance Procedures
Occupational Safety and Health.
Equal Opportunity
Employment Security
Redundancy Provisions
Salary Sacrifice
Paid Leave
Past Productivity
Work Practice Improvements
Annual Leave
Cultural Leave
Self Managed Work Teams
Staff Training
Higher Duties
Contracting/Competitive Tendering
Family Support Leave
Paid Meetings
Jury Service
Recognition of On Site Delegates
Team Leader Rate
Additional Allowances
Implementation and Monitoring Committee
Annualised Salaries
Provision of Technology and Equipment.
Retirement Planning
Staff Counselling Service
Signatories

Appendix A: Agreement Best Practice and Service Level Enhancement Program

Appendix B: Agreement Development Flow Chart

Appendix C: Work Practice Improvements - Work Start/Finish Procedures

Appendix D: Rostered Day Off Provisions for Mechanical Workshop Staff

Appendix G: Enterprise Bargaining Implementation and Monitoring Committee

Appendix H: Staff Enhancement – Higher Academic Qualifications

3.DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Agreement the following terms shall mean

The Union: The Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union of Workers Western Australian Branch.

The City: The City of Geraldton.

Outside Staff: All current and future staff employed by the City in classifications covered by the Award who are members of The Union or who are eligible for membership of The Union other than those specified within Clause 6 of this Agreement.

The Award:The Metal Trades (General) Award, 1966 – No. 13 of 1965 (as amended)

C.E.O.:The Chief Executive Officer of the City of Geraldton

4.DATE AND OPERATION

This Agreement shall operate from the beginning of the first pay period commencing after the signing of this Agreement and shall remain in place for a period of twenty four (24) months. In the event this Agreement is not re-negotiated or replaced it will remain in place.

The parties agree that six months prior to the date of expiration of the Agreement they will commence negotiations on a further enterprise Agreement to replace this Agreement.

During this period neither party shall conduct any action that will adversely affect the other party including but not limited to strike, stop work meetings, forced redundancy or re-organisation.

4.1Flexibility Provision

Nothing in this Agreement is to operate to prevent the parties from:

(i)introducing further change during the life of the Agreement where there is Agreement on the terms and conditions (including variations to the rates payable) by which the change(s) will be introduced, or

(ii)varying the terms of the Agreement to give proper effect to its terms and conditions.

5.INCIDENCE AND PARTIES BOUND

This Agreement shall apply to and be binding upon the City of Geraldton (the City) and all outdoor staff employed who are members of or who are eligible to be members of the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union of Workers Western Australian Branch. This Agreement applies to an estimated three persons.

The outdoor staff employed by the City of Geraldton and referred to in sub-clause (1) hereof are covered by the terms and conditions of the Metal Trades (General) Award 1966 – No 13 of 1965.

6.SPECIFIC EXCLUSIONS

This Agreement shall not relate to any staff employed by the City for a specific period associated with subsidised training or work schemes developed by the State or Federal Governments

Apprentices are to be included within the provisions of this Agreement and shall receive a pro-rata entitlement in accordance with the Award of any payments made to staff as detailed within this Agreement.

FIXED TERM STAFF CONTRACTS

Fixed Term staff contracts will be confined to the employment of staff for periods of between two (2) weeks to twelve (12) months service for the purpose where required, of replacing staff on long service leave, annual leave, extended sick leave and worker’s compensation and for specific projects where staff numbers above the existing permanent workforce are required.

Any Fixed Term staff contract shall be renewable, but in total, the term of the contract(s) shall not exceed twelve (12) months.

Prior to the commencement of any fixed term staff contract, the employee may select to be employed under the terms of “casual employees” in accordance with the Award.

The Fixed Term Staff Contract shall clearly specify the duration of the Contract and the expiry date.

All staff employed under a Fixed Term Staff Contract shall receive the benefits of the provisions within this Agreement.

8.RELATIONSHIP TO THE AWARD

This Agreement shall be read and interpreted in conjunction with the Award. Should there be any inconsistency between this Agreement on the one hand and the Award on the other, this Agreement will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

It is agreed between the parties that the City will maintain and continue to apply all Award standards and conditions in effect at the time of the commencement of this Agreement that are not specifically varied by the terms of this Agreement.

No Extra Claims shall be made except where they are consistent with the State Wage Decision of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Where any decision so mentioned above provides a benefit greater than that available under this Agreement, then that benefit shall apply to employees bound by the terms of this Agreement.

9.AIMS OF THE AGREEMENT

The parties to the Agreement recognise that there is a need for ongoing change as the City seeks to maximise its efficiency and strives to provide a high quality service to the people of Geraldton. It is recognised that there are also external factors that will have an substantial impact on the City, its operations and the way it achieves its objective.

In preparing for and effectively responding to the environmental changes that will confront the City, this Agreement seeks to establish the cornerstones of:

ongoing cultural and workplace reform
an effective and competitive day labour workforce
effective communication with all of the City’s clients, its customers and Staff
a work place structure which is both flexible and efficient
establishing and maintaining a well trained and responsive staff capable of adapting to the changing environment in a positive manner, and of meeting the challenges as they emerge
recognition of the City as an efficient and effective service provider to the community as a whole.

Through this Agreement, the parties recognise that whilst the City must pursue efficiencies including Best Practice there is an opportunity to provide job security and other improvements in conditions. The establishment of a consultation process that seeks to create effective communication at all levels and to address issues before they impact on the organisation.

This Agreement seeks to provide staff with:

the opportunity to maximise their skills within the training initiatives outlined
job security in a fluid and changing environment
maximum participation in the process of change
improvements in income and conditions
the opportunity to acquire skills which will prepare them for further future change
the opportunity to operate in the competitive tendering on an equal footing with all others

The primary aim of the process being to provide a WIN:WIN:WIN scenario for the City, Staff and the Community.

10.BEST PRACTICE AND SERVICE LEVEL ENHANCEMENT

The parties to this Agreement recognise the need to develop and to implement Best Practices and to continue with the creation of a flexible work force which shares with Management, a commitment to change.

The introduction of self managed work teams, combined with training and the use of Best Practice principles is the prime focus of the parties in achieving improved productivity (Quantity) and service level (Quality) change within the organisation.

As part of this process reports on current progress and future direction are to be produced by Staff, Management and the Implementation Committee (as detailed in Appendix A) to ensure milestones are met and rewarded accordingly as detailed within Clause 11 of this Agreement.

In the event that the Implementation Committee recommends changes it will be the responsibility of the parties to negotiate the terms and conditions by which any or all of those changes are introduced in accordance with this Agreement.

11.WAGES

As a result of the initiatives and the efficiencies that are set out in this Agreement the City agrees the rates payable to staff covered by this Agreement shall be increased in total by $60 per week subject to staff meeting the required agreed milestones as specified within Appendix ‘A’.

1.1st Agreement Payment

This payment shall be $30 per week from the date of signing of this Agreement, and is inclusive of the $10 per week interim payment made in good faith from 1 November 1996.

2.2nd Agreement Payment

A further payment of $10 Per week shall be made on the 15th December 1997.

3.3rd Agreement Payment

At the successful completion of the Introduction, Evaluation and Implementation stages as set out in Appendix ‘A’, which clearly demonstrates that productivity benefits have been made by staff, a further payment of $20 per week shall be made. This payment will not be made before 1st July 1998 and only when the milestones have been reached to the satisfaction of the Implementation and Monitoring Committee and Council.

12.HOURS

12.1The ordinary hours work for outside staff covered by this Agreement shall on average not more than 38 hours per week in an agreed work cycle and shall be worked in accordance with the procedure established in the appropriate appendix to this Agreement. Except as otherwise approved by this Agreement the spread of hours Monday to Friday shall be 6.00am to 6.00pm for all outdoor staff.

The method of working these hours is to be determined by mutual Agreement between the employee(s) and the City and except in the case of shift work will not be subject to penalty rates.

12.2In determining appropriate times and hours of work, the employer and employee(s) may agree to work more or less hours on any one day or in any one week provided that by mutual Agreement, they agree to a method of accounting for those hours to find an average of 38 hours per week in each agreed working cycle.

This will be achieved by the following methods:

a)Mechanical Workshop Staff - APPENDIX D

Formalisation of the existing nineteen (19) day month “Rostered Day Off” System with inbuilt flexibilities to enable staff to work a 152 hour four (4) weekly work cycle within the spread of hours.

Refer to Appendix “D” for details of the RDO system operations.

13.DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES

The parties to this Agreement are committed to resolving any differences that they may have as quickly as possible and in a cooperative way. It is agreed that the procedures set out in Award should be used with the aim to resolve any dispute within (10) ten working days.

14.OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

The Western Australian Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 as amended from time to time shall apply without limitation.

The employer shall, so far as is practicable, provide and maintain a working environment in which his outside staff are not exposed to hazards.

Further, the employer shall provide in accordance with City’s Occupational Safety and Health Manual, and inclusive of City policies relating to Occupational Safety and Health not less than the provisions of the WA Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and the provisions of Clause 18 (d) of the Award as amended.

15.EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

The Western Australian Equal Opportunity Act 1984, as amended from time to time shall apply without limitation together with the provisions of City Employee Equal Opportunity Policy.

16.EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

16.1The parties are committed to enhance the quality and security of employment for City outside staff through the ongoing implementation of agreed structural efficiency processes, together with this philosophies and initiatives detailed in the Agreement. This includes broadening the training and career development opportunities for all outside staff to complement job redesign within the respective work area, where such plans are available.

16.2An employee who is redeployed to an alternative position at a lower classification (their new classification) shall retain the rate of pay for their level immediately prior to redeployment (their existing rate) until the rate of pay for their new classification exceeds that of their existing rate. From that time the rate of pay for their new classification will apply. This clause is to apply provided that the employee is willing to utilise the full range of skills required at that level and participate fully in any retraining or redeployment programs.

In the case where a specialist vehicle was provided as a condition of employment and was required to carry out the original position, the employer shall have the right to provide a normal fleet vehicle in lieu of the specialist vehicle if that specialist vehicle is not required to carry out the duties of the new position. This clause is to apply provided that the employee is willing to utilise the full range of skills required at that level and participate fully in any retraining or redeployment programmed.

Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the City from offering voluntary redundancy to the staff on terms no less favourable than those set out in sub-clause 16.2.

16.3The employee will be provided with the opportunity to undertake appropriate training and development as determines by the City's Training Policy. Career counselling will be available as part of the transition process.

16.4No forced redundancies will occur during the life of this Agreement. If major changes were proposed or forced upon the City through Government decisions then the parties agree to openly discuss "in good faith" any proposed major staffing changes with the primary aim to manage any job loss initially through the use of natural attrition, retraining, re-skilling, re-deployment and voluntary redundancies.

17.REDUNDANCY PROVISIONS

17.1The Parties agree that there will be no forced redundancies during the Term of the Agreement.

However, if:

an employee's position is made redundant; and
there are no suitable redeployment positions; and
the parties agree through consensus resolution of the Implementation and Monitoring Committee

then the affected employee firstly, or any other member of the workforce, secondly will be offered a redundancy in accordance with the provisions set out in Clause 17.2.

17.2Where a redundancy is offered, the following provisions will apply:

a.Four (4) weeks notice or pay in lieu of notice.

b.An additional one (1) week's notice or pay in lieu of notice if the employee is over 45 years of age; and

c.Three (3) weeks pay for every completed year of continuous service; and

An entitlement under this sub clause shall include any continuous service with another Local Government(s) calculated at half a year entitlement for each full year of service. The maximum number of full years of service claimable under this sub-clause is 5. The service with the other Local Government(s) is to be continuous with the service with the City.

"Weeks pay" means the current ordinary time rate of pay or in the case of a negotiated salary, the gross value of the package divided by 52.

18.SALARY SACRIFICE

An employee may elect to salary sacrifice to the contributory part of the WA Local Government Superannuation Plan. The City will make the payment to the fund on receipt of written instruction from the employee to the City.

19.PAID LEAVE

The outside staff of the City shall be entitled to Easter Tuesday and the day after New Years Day as paid leave which are to be taken in accordance with the provisions of this clause and in the year in which the entitlement arises.

i.For outside staff generally during the period between Christmas and New Year in conjunction with the general City Christmas close down.

ii.Where some staff are required by the City to work during this Christmas Close Down period to provide essential and continued specified services. These staff shall be permitted to take the two days paid holiday leave at any of the following mutually agreed times with their respective Manager.

Easter Holiday Period

Week after New Year

Combined with an annual leave period after the paid leave days have become due.