Provision

Summary of changes

Resource materials

Clause 10 – Salaries

Update to the salary schedules (Schedule 2, 3 and 4) to provide a $1,000 increase to annual salaries. The clause provides an equivalent payment to eligible employees for the period between 13 June 2019 and the date of registration, which was 4 November 2019.

Reduction of the number of increments for the level 1 classification. Schedule 2 details the translation of level 1 general division Employees to the new increment structure.

Inclusion of a new salary schedule (Schedule 4 - Legal Grade Salaries) which sets out the salaries for Western Australian Government lawyers employed in entities previously forming part of the Crown Law Department, namely the State Solicitor’s Office, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.  These salaries are also available to lawyers in the Public Trustee’s Office, which will be reflected in the next replacement Agreement.

Inclusion of a new clause titled Traineeship Rates of Pay which replaces clause 17 (2) (d) of the Applicable Award. This clause references Schedule 2 – General Division for school-based, junior and adult trainee rates of pay and stipulates that salaries provided apply from the date of registration.

Inclusion of a new clause titled Direct and Permanent Employment, which replaces the current clause 14 – Employer Preference and clause 51 – Contract for Service – Labour Hire from the Public Service and Government Officers CSA General Agreement 2017. The clause contains the following commitments:

• a recognition that casual employment, labour hire and other contract for service arrangements are not the preferred methods for delivery of services and that the use of temporary labour hire arrangements will be limited to the circumstances set out in Approved Procedure 5 – Approved Contracts for Services Procedures (AP5);
• the Peak Consultative Forum (PCF) will conduct a review of existing contract for service labour hire arrangements and associated procedures;
• the Public Sector Commission (PSC) will conduct regular compliance reviews to ensure Employers’ are complying with AP5;
• the Union can refer concerns about the potential misuse of labour hire contracts to the PCF; and
• the parties to the agreement will use the PCF to consult on any changes proposed to AP 5.

Inclusion of a new clause titled Public Sector Delivery of Public Services, which confirms that:

• Government and Employers prefer Employees to deliver public services;
• only in exceptional circumstances, and following Government having considered the public interest, will work or functions currently undertaken by Employees be privatised or outsourced; and
• the Union will be consulted at the earliest opportunity if Government identifies work carried out by persons external to the Public Sector which can be returned to the Public Sector.

Removal of a requirement to develop criteria for a fixed term contract review and incorporation of the following commitments:

• Commissioner’s Instruction No. 23 – Conversion and appointment of fixed term contract and casual Employees to permanency (CI 23) continues to apply to fixed term and casual Employees employed or engaged on 10 August 2018;
• the Government will identify, in consultation with unions, a mechanism to facilitate the review of future fixed term contract and casual employees for conversion to permanent employment;  and
• employment practices in the Public Sector governed by Commissioner’s Instruction No.2 – Filling a Public Sector Vacancy (Cl 2) will be reviewed.

Guidance note

Clause 19 – Casual Employment

Inclusion of a new clause titled Casual Employment, which replaces the clause 10 of the Applicable Award. The clause provides conditions relevant to casual employment, including:

• salary;
• an increase to casual loading from 20% to 22% upon registration of the agreement and to 25% from 13 June 2020;
• the provision of longer service leave;
• a minimum period of engagement per shift of three continuous hours; and
• increments for casual Employees by taking into consideration prior experience.

Guidance note

Long service leave - Transitional arrangement for casual employees

Inclusion of a new clause titled Notice of Termination by Employer for Employees over 45 Years of Age, which increases the required notice period by one week, for Employees over 45 years of age who have completed at least two years’ consecutive service. This minimum notice of termination provision under section 117 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) applies to the Western Australian public sector and overrides the provisions of any public sector industrial instrument that contains a lesser entitlement.

There is an error in the drafting of clause 23.4 (a) which has inadvertently resulted in two on call rates and no availability allowance.

The clause is amended to clarify that:

• part time and casual Employees have the same entitlement to early access pro rata long service leave as full time Employees; and
• pro rata long service leave can be taken at half, full or double pay.

The clause is amended to update maximum rates of leave loading for annual leave.

The clause also provides that transitional arrangements for leave loading accrued before 1 January 2011 will cease on 1 February 2021. Any applicable annual leave loading accrued before this date will be paid to the Employee within two pay periods

The clause has been retitled Public Service Holidays and includes the existing Days in Lieu of Repealed Public Service Holidays and an additional day of paid leave for Easter Sunday.

The clause has been amended to update the relationships covered by the clause and increases the amount of leave to 3 days per occasion. The clause now replaces the Applicable Award provision in its entirety.

Inclusion of a new clause titled Cultural Leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The clause provides for up to five days of paid cultural leave per calendar year for Employees who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Inclusion of a new clause titled Superannuation on Unpaid Parental Leave. The clause provides an entitlement to superannuation contributions for up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave.

The existing Public Sector First Aid Allowance has been retitled and amended to provide an hourly rate for nominated first aid officers. The allowance has been adjusted in accordance with existing methodologies.

Change to existing clause which requires the Employer to notify the Union before a Registered employee entering their last 3 months of redeployment.

Inclusion of a new clause titled Occupational Safety and Health Representatives that requires the Employer to:

• maintain an Occupational Safety and Health Representative Register;
• provide a copy of the register to the Union every six months; and
• submit the register to Public Sector Labour Relations (PSLR) on 31 January, for the preceding calendar year.

The clause has been amended to give the Union the opportunity to provide content on the benefits of being a Union Member where the induction is wholly online.

Employees are to be provided with paid time off to attend two meetings of up to one hour at the workplace held by the Union. Upon written request, the Union will be given access to a private facility, if reasonably available for the duration of each meeting.

Inclusion of a new clause which outlines the consultation process on proposals for change and the role and function of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC).

Inclusion of a new clause titled Review of Common Use Agreements and Contracts which requires the Department of Finance to conduct a review of specified Common Use Agreements within 12 months of the registration of the Agreement.

The clause also requires Employers to conduct reviews of certain types of contracts for service as specified by the clause. 

The clause has been amended as follows:

• the scope of disputable matters has been expanded to incorporate disputes in the course of employment;
• disputes involving multiple employees may be raised by the Union directly with the employer or the employer’s nominated representative; and
• confirms that nothing in the clause constitutes a referral agreement within the meaning of section 12 of the Employment Dispute Resolution Act 2008 (WA).

Guidance note