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OPERATIONAL ADVICE NO. 140

PAY INCREASES RESULTING FROM APS AGREEMENT

File Ref:

93/1376

Contact:

Greg Maizey

Phone:

(02) 334-9824

State Managers
State Operations Managers
State Review Managers
State Rehabilitation Managers
State Executive Officers
General Managers
Group Managers
All operational staff

APS S134C Agreement  is an agreement between the Australian Government and Public Sector Unions - Improving Productivity, Jobs and Pay in the Australian Public Service 1992-1994.   The Agreement was certified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on 4 December 1992.  The Agreement incorporated service-wide pay adjustments.

The initial pay increase was to take effect from the first pay period on or after the date the Agreement was certified; this date was 17 December 1992 and the amount of the increase was 2%.  Further pay increases in the Agreement are to take effect from the first pay period on or after 1 March 1993 (i.e. for most staff from 11 March 1993), and from the first pay period on or after 1 March 1994 (i.e. for most staff from 10 March 1994).  The increase payable on 11 March 1993 is 1.4% and the increase allocated for March 1994 is 1.5%.

DATE OF EFFECT

PERCENTAGE INCREASE

17 December 1992

2.0%

11 March 1993

1.4%

10 March 1994

1.5%

“The Agreement is to operate for a period of two years from 4 December 1992.  The parties undertake that there will be no further claims over matters encompassed by the Agreement which would alter labour costs for the life of the Agreement, except where consistent with the terms of this Agreement.”

This means that there will be no other wage increases during these two years other than those negotiated by particular Agencies subsequent to the terms of the Agreement, i.e. Agency negotiations directed at initiatives that will achieve demonstrable improvements in the productivity, efficiency and flexibility of the Agency.

Who is entitled to the pay increase?

The Agreement is between the Australian Government and Public Sector Unions.  A list of the Employee Representatives (Unions) bound by the Agreement is at ATTACHMENT A.  Details of Employers bound by the Agreement is at ATTACHMENT B.

All employees employed under the provisions of the Public Service Act 1922 will receive the pay increases of 17 December 1992, 11 March 1993 and 10 March 1994.  If he/she is employed by one of the Employer bodies identified in ATTACHMENT B, then he/she is entitled to the increase.

From Comcare Australia's viewpoint, we need to clarify which of our premium payers are covered by the Agreement to ensure that the entitlement of our compensation recipients is correctly maintained.

Of all the premium paying organisations covered by Comcare Australia, the list at ATTACHMENT C identifies those Employer's who are not a party to the Agreement and, therefore, employees of those organisations are not entitled to these pay increases.

What about Ex-employees?

Employees who have since ceased employment, but continue to receive compensation benefits, are entitled to each of the 3 pay increases providing that their former employer is a party to the Agreement.  Ex-employees of those organisations listed on ATTACHMENT C are not entitled to these increases.

When a Union and Employer successfully negotiate a pay increase over and above the pay increases provided for within the Agreement, ex-employees who, had they still been employed, would have benefited from such a pay increase, will probably contend that they too should receive an increase.  The problem that is faced, however, is that:

“Agency negotiations should be directed towards initiatives that will achieve demonstrable improvements in the productivity, efficiency and flexibility of the agency.”

and, as the ex-employee cannot possibly contribute to such initiatives, should he/she benefit   from such an agreement?

Section 8(9) of the SRC Act 1988 reads;

If the minimum amount per week payable in respect of employees included in a class of employees of which the employee was a member at the date of injury is increased or reduced on or after that date as a result of:

(a)the operation of a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or

(b)the making, alteration or operation of an award, order, determination or industrial agreement, or of the doing of any other act or thing, under such a law;

the normal weekly earnings of the employee before the injury, as calculated under the preceding subsections, shall be increased or reduced by the same percentage as the percentage by which that minimum amount was so increased or reduced, as the case may be.

THEREFORE, even though the ex-employee does not contribute to the productivity initiatives agreed upon as part of the Agency agreement, section 8(9)(b) provides the legal basis for increasing the ex-employees Normal Weekly Earnings if the ex-employee was in the same class of employee (at the date of injury) as the class of employee who receive the negotiated increase.

How will Comcare Australia know when ex-employees are entitled to a productivity increase?

Whilst we have established that ex-employees are entitled to NWE increases in accordance with wage increases negotiated via workplace agreements, Comcare Australia must ensure that it is made aware of any such increases so as to maintain the NWE at the correct rate for ex-employees.

Comcare Australia should have no difficulty in maintaining the correct NWE figure for these compensation recipients if the employing agency is still responsible for facilitating incapacity payments, ie GBE's.  The employer will advise Comcare Australia of any increases.  It will become very difficult administratively, however, to maintain the NWE for those compensation recipients on the DIRPAY payroll system (when Comcare facilitates the incapacity payment) as, more often than not, the employee has lost contact with the employer; the employer would not be aware of the need to inform Comcare Australia of any productivity increase that may effect an employee who ceased duty many years before.

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission has asked Comcare Australia to do some work on this issue.

IN SUMMARY:

  • Those employees either presently or formerly employed by one of the Employers at ATTACHMENT B ARE entitled to the increases of 17 December 1992, 11 March 1993 and 10 March 1994.  Those employees either presently or formerly employed by one of the Employers at ATTACHMENT C ARE NOT entitled to the increases of 17 December 1992, 11 March 1993 and 10 March 1994.

  • Any wage increase negotiated over and above these 3 increases via the workplace agreement process shall also be payable to ex-employees of that employee group.

  • The SRC Commission is currently addressing the issue of simplifying procedures for updating NWE for ex-employees.

For any enquiries regarding this Operational Advice, please contact the Quality Assurance Unit on (02) 334-9824.

(signed:  A Le Marchant)

Antoinette le Marchant
General Manager
Business Development & Customer Service

30 April 1993