PIONEER CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TIP TRUCK AND TANKER DRIVERS AGREEMENT 2004
AG 19/04
1. TITLE
This Agreement shall be known as the “Pioneer Construction Materials Tip Truck and Tanker Drivers Agreement 2004".
2. ARRANGEMENT
1 Title
2 Arrangement
3 Scope and Parties to the Agreement
4 Flexible Start Times
5 Rostered Days Off
6 Routine Maintenance
7 Productivity Level
8 Health & Safety
9 Training
10 Induction
11 Dispute Settlement Procedures
12 Lunch Break
13 COD Collection Payment
14 Multi Skilling
15 Immediate Start
16 Minimum Break
17 Redundancy
18 Afternoon Meal Allowance
19 No Further Claims
20 Wages Increases
21 Not To Be Used As Precedent
22 Term and Signatories to the Agreement
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3. SCOPE AND PARTIES TO THE AGREEMENT
3.1 This Agreement applies to all employees of Pioneer Construction Materials Pty Ltd in the State of Western Australia employed pursuant to the provisions of the Transport Workers (General) Award. of which there are twenty (20) persons employed at 4th February 2004.
3.2 Where the provisions of this Agreement and the Award are inconsistent then the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail.
4. FLEXIBLE START TIMES
The parties agree that the existing flexible work practice of which the Company has the benefit shall continue.
This practice is that employees will be required to start work at any time between the hours of 4.00am and 7.00am. This flexibility in starting times will apply to weekdays only and will be implemented on a daily basis having regard for the needs of delivery schedules and the time of the year.
Starting times earlier than 4.00am will attract normal overtime payments.
5. ROSTERED DAYS OFF
5.1 The existing working day of 8.0 hours shall be continued with full flexibility in the taking of RDO’s. That is Rostered Days Off will coincide where possible with maintenance down time or other building industry Rostered Days Off.
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5.2 All employees will only be allowed to accrue a maximum of three (3) rostered days off. Once this limit has been reached then the employer may direct the employee to take any excess days off by giving the employee notice prior to the close of the shift of the requirement to take a Rostered Day Off the following day.
5.3 All employees will give a minimum 3 working days notice of their request for a rostered day off. As long as this request does not conflict with another employee taking a rostered day off on the same day then the Company will not unreasonably deny that request
5.4 Employees may from time to time take part RDO’s when suitable to both parties.
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6. ROUTINE MAINTENANCE
The performance of routine non-expert truck maintenance which shall include but is not limited to cleaning and greasing the vehicle and checking the fluids and other matters contained in the Drivers Daily Log Sheet.
7. PRODUCTIVITY LEVEL
The employees agree to commit to maintain to the best of their ability the existing levels of productivity.
These levels are to be continuously monitored and discussed at each Site Meeting.
8. HEALTH & SAFETY
The parties acknowledge and accept the intention of the Company to continue to improve its health and safety performance. To assist with this improvement the employees agree to commit to continuously improve their own health and safety performance in the workplace and at each Site/Plant Meeting discuss in detail all Significant Incident & Injury Reports, Safety Flags & Alerts and any outstanding Hazard Identification, Quality & Environmental (HIQE) Reports.
All safety equipment is to be supplied by the Company and worn correctly by employees as necessary.
9. TRAINING
The Company remains committed to the continual training of all personnel so that their skills base can be enhanced, and to provide an environment in which these new skills can be utilized and recognized to the satisfaction of individual employees. Some of this training will be in house conducted by PCM staff and when required external providers will be used on other occasions.
10. INDUCTION
All new employees are to participate in the Company employee induction process. All existing employees are to participate in a re-induction at two yearly intervals.
11. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES
A procedure for the avoidance and settlement of industrial disputes shall apply to all operations covered by this Agreement.
Any question or dispute or difficulty arising under this agreement or any other question or dispute or difficulty shall be dealt with in accordance with the following procedure.
The objectives of the procedure are to prevent disputes and to promote the resolution of disputes by measures based on consultation, co-operation and discussion; to reduce the level of industrial confrontation; and to avoid interruption to the performance of work and the consequential loss of production and wages.
The following principles shall apply:
11.1 A procedure involving the following three sequential stages of discussion/negotiation shall apply. These are:
11.1.1 discussions between the employee/s concerned and at his/her request the union shop steward, delegates, and the immediate supervisors; and, in the event of the issue not being resolved
11.1.2 discussions involving the employee/s, the shop steward/s and more senior management; and, in the event of the issue not being resolved
11.1.3 involving representatives from the State Branch of the union/s concerned and the nominated employer representatives.
There shall be an opportunity for any party to raise the issue to a higher stage and status quo remains until all avenues are exhausted.
11.2 There shall be a commitment by the parties to achieve adherence to this procedure. This should be facilitated by the earliest possible advice by one party to the other of any issue or problem which may give rise to a grievance or dispute.
11.3 Throughout all stages of the procedure all relevant facts shall be clearly identified and recorded.
11.4 Sensible time limits shall be allowed for the completion of the various stages of the discussions. At least seven days should be allowed for all stages of the discussions to be finalised.
11.5 Emphasis shall be placed on a negotiated settlement. However, if the negotiation process is exhausted without the dispute being resolved, the parties shall jointly or individually refer the matter to the West Australian Industrial Relations Commission for assistance in resolving the dispute.
11.6 In order to allow for the peaceful resolution of grievances the parties shall be committed to avoid stoppages of work, lock-outs or any other bans or limitations on the performance of work while the procedures of negotiation and conciliation are being followed and status quo shall apply.
11.7 The Company shall ensure that all practices applied during the operation of the procedure are in accordance with safe working practices and consistent with established custom and practice at the workplace.
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12. LUNCH BREAK
A flexible lunch break arrangement will apply, ie. employees will take their half hour lunch break when appropriate so as not to cause interruptions to delivery schedules. Under this clause employees will go onto overtime rates after they have completed 8.0 hours.
If because of the workload a driver is unable to take a lunch break in the first 6 hours, then a half hour will be paid at overtime rates if the time card is endorsed “No Lunch”.
Irrespective of the above it is a Worksafe and the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme requirement that drivers document short Non Driving time breaks as stated in the Company’s Fatigue Management Policy.
13. COD COLLECTION PAYMENT
This payment will no longer be applicable.
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14. MULTI SKILLING
All employees are expected to commit to learn to use all other Company assets and equipment as requested in order to improve the overall versatility of employees.
15. IMMEDIATE START
Employees will ensure that each morning all pre-start checking of their vehicle, as detailed in the Driver’s Daily Log Sheet and as stated in the Pioneer Construction Material “Guide to all Truck Operators”, is completed and that they are ready to commence their normal duties at their rostered start time in the Country plants and in Metro Operations commence at designated start times as issued from the Customer Service Centre daily by use of the Interactive Voice Recorded (IVR) which is accessed by a free call on telephone number 1800 444 461.
16. MINIMUM BREAK
When overtime is worked it shall be arranged for employees to have at least eight (8) consecutive hours break between the work of successive days. When it appears that a driver may not get an eight (8) hour break before the start of their next shift they must inform their immediate Supervisor so that alternate arrangements can be made to ensure that the minimum eight (8) hour break can be taken.
The above paragraph is a requirement under Worksafe and the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme requirements.
17. REDUNDANCY
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17.1 Definitions
17.1.1 “Redundancy” means an employment situation arising
a) Where the work available for an employee is expected to cease as a consequence of:-
i) the application of technological change
ii) rationalisation of the Company’s existing operations
iii) re-organisation, restructure or merger of the Company
iv) the requirements of the Company for employees to carry out work of a particular kind having ceased or expected to cease
v) the Company ceasing, modify or intending to cease or modify any of this business but:-
b) does not include the situation where, as a consequence of a transfer of business of Pioneer Construction Materials Pty Ltd to another company, an employee has accepted a contract of employment on substantially the same terms as the existing contract and providing for continuity of service for determination of future entitlements.
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17.1.2 “Retrenchment” - means the termination of employment by the Company of an employee whose services have become redundant.
17.1.3 “Weekly earnings” - Base rate of pay arising out of enterprise agreements.
17.2 Avoiding Retrenchment/Alternative Employment
The Company recognises that retrenchment of an employee is the last resort after all alternative avenues of employment have been exhausted.
The Company will use its best endeavours to find suitable alternative employment for an employee whose job has become redundant.
An employee whose job has become redundant may be offered alternative employment and agrees to undergo a 3 month trial to determine the suitability of the position. The employee shall not refuse any reasonable offer provided that the weekly earnings which applied prior to the offer being made are maintained for 12 months
Should there by any dispute in relation to the new position then the matter shall be dealt with in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures as included in the Agreement.
This Agreement shall not apply where the Company terminates a person’s employment as a consequence of conduct that justifies dismissal including malingering, neglect of duty, inefficiency or misconduct.
17.3 Notice of Redundancy/Retrenchment
The Company shall advise affected employees and the parties to this Agreement as soon as a decision is made to effect redundancies of the anticipated date on which the employee is to be given formal notice of redundancy.
17.3.1 Period of Notice. An employee shall be given notice of termination as prescribed in the Workplace Relations Act 1996.
17.4 Severance Payments
The following severance payments shall be paid to those employees given redundancy.
i) 2 weeks per completed year of service to a maximum of 52 weeks weekly earnings, based on weekly earnings.
ii) payment of pro-rata long service leave after 5 years service.
iii) ex gratia payment of 4 weeks pay based on weekly earnings.
iv) 50% of all accumulated sick leave to be paid out.
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17.5 Selection Criteria
The Company shall determine which positions are to become redundant based on the circumstances which apply at the time.
The Company shall ask for expressions of interest for volunteers for redundancy and shall include these expressions of interest in its determination on the basis of the person’s skills and abilities and the Company’s needs which of the employees should be offered redundancy.
Should any employee consider that they have been treated unfairly in the selection process then they may use the dispute resolution mechanism as included in this Agreement.
17.6 Counselling
The Company shall provide suitable financial, job and personal counselling to those employees wishing it. There will be no cost to the employee for the provision of such services.
17.7 Medical Examination
The Company will arrange for all retrenched employees to have a compulsory comprehensive medical examination including audiometric testing at the Company’s expense prior to termination. Such medical reports shall be made freely available to the employee concerned.
18. AFTERNOON MEAL BREAK
In lieu of being paid a meal allowance of $6.80 and taking a break when a meal allowance is due as a result of working overtime the Company will increase the meal allowance to $11.00 in favour of the employee working through this period.
19. NO FURTHER CLAIMS
There shall be no further claims during the life of this Agreement except for:
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19.1 Increases awarded by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission which are expressed to apply to Enterprise Agreements.
19.2 Site allowances, site conditions and productivity increases which are recoverable from the Principal or Contractor and which are applicable across the transport industry.
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20. WAGE INCREASES
Wages Base Rate shall be increased by 4.0% effective from 11th February to the following rates :-
Driver Grade 6 - $662.26 per 38 hours.
Driver Grade 8 - $704.68 per 38 hours.
Driver Grade 9 - $722.95 per 38 hours.
Effective 12 months after 4th February 2004 the Wages Base Rate will be adjusted to reflect inflationary increases as detailed in the clause below.
Effective 24 months after 4th February 2004 the Wages Base Rate will be adjusted to reflect inflationary increases as detailed in the clause below.
Inflation
Further increases to the Base Rate will be operative from;
a) On the first pay period commencing 12 months after 4th February 2004, the base rate will be increased to reflect the rate of inflation as measured by the Perth CPI figure for the year ended 30th June 2004 (see ABS publication number 6401 at www.abs.gov.au) but shall be a minimum in any case of 3.0%.