Issue 233
, Friday 29 May 2015
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In this issue
[1]
The trade union movement looks set to ramp up its
campaign on paid parental leave (PPL), with an Australian Council of Trade
Unions (ACTU) draft policy document demanding government-funded PPL be
boosted to 26 weeks and employers be required to supplement it with their
own schemes.
The May 7 draft policy paper, obtained
by Workforce
ahead of the ACTU triennial Congress next week, would commit the peak union
body to lobby for:
·
a govt-funded PPL
scheme of 26 weeks paid "at no less than the national minimum wage
plus superannuation"; and
·
a "mandated
top-up of the govt scheme to full wage replacement to ensure a
co-contribution from employers".
On May 12, Treasurer Joe Hockey
announced the govt would prevent parents accessing both the govt and
employer PPL schemes, which other senior ministers described as
'double-dipping' (WF 15/05/15).
Unions will also "campaign and bargain for an
increase to the 'dad and partner pay scheme' to provide eligible employees
with four weeks leave rather than two", the policy document said. They
will push for the accrual of entitlements including payment of public
holidays and employer super contributions during periods of paid and unpaid
parental and carers' leave.
Strengthen
bullying and adverse action claims
The ACTU document proposes extending the Fair Work
Commission's (FWC) jurisdiction to issue stop-bullying orders to "all
workers, not just those employed by constitutional corporations".
Unions should be able to apply to stop "systemic bullying rather than
the sole focus on individual complaints required to be made public", it
said. The ACTU proposed removing the "reasonable management action
taken in a reasonable manner" defence to bullying claims. It argued
the defence was "a means for employers to cover workplace
bullying".
It also wanted to reinstate the "essentially
beneficial and protective operation of the general protections provisions
of the FW Act" through either:
·
a positive
description of the relevant test of characterisation as an objective test;
or
·
excluding the
"purely subjective approach" to ascertaining the reasons for
adverse action.
The proposal responds to union fears courts are in
effect allowing decision-makers' evidence they did not take adverse action
for a prohibited reason to determine claims, after employer wins in the
High Court's BHP Coal
(WF
17/10/14) and Barclay
v Bendigo TAFE (WF7/09/2012).
Regulate labour
hire and supply chains: ACTU
The draft policy document called for FW Act
amendments "to facilitate and support parties negotiating arrangements
which have industry-wide or supply chain impact".
"In particular, Congress is concerned to
ensure collective agreements can cover labour hire workers who are
economically dependent servants and agents of an entity with which they
have no 'employment relationship'," it said.
The document backed "enterprise bargaining
across an industry or supply chain" as "more reflective of the
modern organisation of industries operating on the basis of joint
production and joint employment".
It proposed "the establishment of a
comprehensive national scheme for the registration, licensing and
regulation of labour hire agencies". In addition, unions should have
"unrestricted" rights to represent independent contractors. The
current system requires Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
approval for independent contractors to collectively bargain. The ACTU
proposed banning enterprise agreements (EAs) which "cover only one
employee" and EAs "made with a small number of employees prior to
the engagement of the rest of the workforce".
More worker
protections needed for strikes
The ACTU paper (above)
called for more protections for workers involved in strikes, ie:
·
removing the
secondary boycott provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010;
·
requiring
employers to give "three clear working days' written notice" of a
lockout; and
·
ensuring employer
response action "must be a "proportional response" to
employees' protected action.
Lift good faith
bargaining requirements
The ACTU document proposed higher standards for
good faith bargaining including:
·
requiring employers
to disclose relevant and material information to bargaining parties in a
timely manner, while ensuring genuinely confidential information is
"treated appropriately";
·
requiring the
employer's "principal decision-maker" to participate in
bargaining;
·
prohibiting
employers from submitting an agreement to a vote until the bargaining
representatives are agreed a course or bargaining is at an impasse; and
·
promoting a
"normal expectation" that bargaining parties should reach an
agreement unless there are genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds not
to do so.
'Last resort'
arbitration for FWC
·
FW Act amendments
to empower FWC "to arbitrate disputes about any matters arising under
awards, agreements or the NES, as a last resort"; and
·
FW Act and state
referral legislation amendments to expressly permit the federal system,
including the FWC, "to deal with all public sector employment matters
that state govts have argued are subject to constitutional limitations,
such as job security and staffing levels".
Unions to
campaign on youth super
The draft document proposes an ACTU campaign to
"expand the superannuation guarantee to workers under the age of 18,
and remove the discriminatory requirement that workers under 18 must work
at least 30 hours per week to receive employer super contributions".
Other youth-oriented policies included:
·
opposition to
unpaid internships that are not part of an accredited course; and
·
a resolution
"to explore and support new organising strategies, particularly those
that integrate technology with campaigning".
FEG, modern
award review and IFA changes
The ACTU also proposed campaigning to ensure:
·
all employee
entitlements, including deductions, are fully recoverable from the Fair
Entitlements Guarantee (FEG);
·
abolition of
compulsory four yearly reviews of modern awards; and
·
abolition of
individual flexibility agreements (IFAs).
(Source:
Workforce 19625, 22 May, 2015)
[2]
The Federal Government will "partner with
Australia's largest employers to help increase their average Indigenous
employment rate to at least 3% of their workforces by 2020", assistant
employment minister Luke Hartsuyker has announced. Its Employment Parity
Initiative will target an extra 20,000 Indigenous Australians in jobs
within five years by supporting private sector employers such as Accor
Hotel Group and Compass
Group Aust. Talking to the May 20 Indigenous Employment
Conference, Hartsuyker said
this was on top of the Commonwealth public sector target of
"increasing its Indigenous workforce to 3% by 2018, which means an
extra 7,500 people". Hartsuyker said the Govt's aim of having 3% of
C'wealth procurement contracts with Indigenous suppliers by 2020 would
boost its current value of $6.2m to some $135m a year. By supporting
Indigenous business that should also boost Indigenous employment, he said.
"As at 31 March 2015, there were
around 78,000 Indigenous job seekers on the Job Services Australia
caseload, around 9% of the total caseload. Of these, 65% were in the most
disadvantaged streams in Job Services Australia (JSA) - compared to
38% of all job seekers," he said. He said JSA fees have been
restructured around job retention with "new outcome payments at 4, 12
and 26 weeks". "For the first time, there will be Indigenous
Outcome Targets, to ensure jobactive
(the employment services model replacing JSA July 1)
providers are achieving job outcomes for Indigenous job seekers at the same
rate as other job seekers in their region."
(Source:
Discrimination Alert 470, 25 May, 2015)
[3]
An employer springing a disciplinary meeting on an
employee was a "threatening" rather than a reasonable management
action, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found.
Despite the ambush, FWC refused a stop-bullying
order because the employer dealt with the probationary employee fairly
after the incident and in the face of the worker's inflammatory emails
calling for the dismissal of his alleged persecutors.
Radiologist James Willis complained that
on May 30, 2014 the general manager and human resources manager
of his employer Capital Radiology Pty Ltd held a disciplinary interview
with him without notice.
He said the GM "unreasonably berated
him" while the HR manager "demonstrated amusement at his
predicament".
Willis sought stop-bullying orders against his
employer and the two managers.
Capital Radiology had lost a bid to have the
application dismissed after Commissioner John Lewin rejected its claim
the meeting was reasonable management action (WF
20/02/15).
Employer
patient in face of worker's inflammatory emails
In the substantive decision, Cmr Lewin said the
meeting without warning was "unreasonable action carried out in an
unreasonable manner".
Willis was "subject to severe criticism based
on complaints by a person employed by a different entity", he said.
This would have been "threatening", especially seeing as Willis
had only recently started work and was on probation.
The cmr said a reasonable course of action would
have been to advise Willis of the meeting and its purpose and then explain
expectations about his performance.
Capital Radiology engaged in "repeated
unreasonable behaviour" by starting a disciplinary process which
"risked injury of Willis' psychological health and wellbeing", he
said.
Cmr Lewin noted Willis' relationship with Capital
Radiology had become "very strained" and Willis had brought
Federal Circuit Court proceedings against it for alleged "breaches of
his workplace rights".
But the cmr found that since Capital Radiology
withdrew notice of the disciplinary process it had not taken any further
unreasonable actions and had kept the two managers away from Willis.
The employer handled the matter with
"restraint and patience" and showed "careful attention to
procedural fairness" while Willis was now stood down with pay, he
said.
Willis, on the other hand, "has not been
fully cooperative" and had sent "inflammatory emails" which
made "serious allegations" against the two managers, demanding
their dismissal and giving "derogatory descriptions" of their
character.
Cmr Lewin held in light of Capital Radiology's
"fair procedure" he was not satisfied there was any risk of
bullying to Willis, and dismissed the application.
(James
Willis v Marie Gibson; Capital Radiology; Peita Carroll [2015], FWC 3538,
22/05/2015)
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19631, 25 May, 2015)
[4]
Victoria Trades Hall Council (VTHC) secretary Luke
Hilakari has revealed a plan to target school children for union membership
and organise young workers in hospitality and retail industries.
Hilakari made the comments at a 'fringe' session
on organising at the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress today (May
26).
The VTHC planned "to give every kid in high
school a union work card", Hilakari said, likening it to Commonwealth
Bank of Australia's successful 'Dollarmite' accounts targeting young school
children.
He said students could organise campaigns in their
schools like getting ethically-sourced chocolate in their canteens or
Textile Clothing and Footwear Union-approved school uniforms, which would
teach practical campaigning skills.
Hilakari also revealed a plan to target
youth-heavy industry sectors for organising and recruitment, such as
hospitality and retail sectors.
Workers in these sectors had industrial concerns
like being "paid in pizza" or below minimum wage, he said.
"That's a prime opportunity for us as organisers."
Hilakari said that VTHC had run sessions with
young workers to gauge their concerns and they had raised sexual harassment
in the workplace, being paid cash in hand and safety.
Hilakari championed the importance of data and
sharing of contact lists and petitions between unions. Having detailed
information about members' and workers' concerns allowed campaigners to
have an "authentic conversation" with voters about issues that
matter to them, he said.
Looking at petitions and sign-in sheets at union
events could help identify people who were passionate about union causes,
he said.
"If a member has filled in five or six
petitions – make them a delegate. If a non-member signs three or four
times, ask them to join the union."
Unions need
numbers not just strategy: delegate
Professionals' Australia chief executive Chris
Walton said the union movement must maintain focus on increasing numbers,
because "if you don't have adequate power, adequate numbers of
members, you can't win campaigns even if you get [everything else]
right".
"Do we just keep defensively running the next
state election campaign? Will the door to door [campaigning] model support
significant growth? I don't think the debate's been had adequately,"
Walton said.
He asked why the union movement was campaigning on
penalty rates "without [the campaign] being completely connected with
workers".
Even if organising and recruiting around this
campaign were unsuccessful, the movement would still appear "connected
to workers" and the debate would be framed "as a workers' issue,
not one about institutions and laws".
Walton said the union movement should focus on
workers it currently classes as too hard to organise, such as hospitality
workers.
"[Nobody is willing] to do a traditional
organising model in hospitality. But look at the overseas model, they've
organised workers in Walmart. Let's have a go," he said.
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19632, 26 May, 2015)
[5]
The decline of traditional employment
relationships due to digital disruption and globalisation has led to a
'trickle up' effect in wealth, according to Australian Council of Trade
Unions (ACTU) secretary Dave Oliver.
Oliver made the comments about growing income
inequality at the opening of the ACTU's triennial Congress today (May 26).
He reiterated his comments made in an interview to
Workforce
that the 'liquid workforce' created by digital platforms like Uber and
Freelancer was contributing to insecure work (WFD 25/06/15).
Working on these platforms was akin to 'zero hours
contracts' because they encouraged "a reverse auction where the lowest
bidder wins and the worker loses", he said.
Oliver warned of the emergence of "monolithic
empires" such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple which he said
"contributed to the rise in inequality".
He compared Sony, the $18bn technology business,
with Snapchat, the $19bn app-based photo sharing service. Sony, he said,
had "10,000s of employees" compared to Snapchat which could
"fit its entire operation under this one roof", of just 1,000
ACTU delegates.
Oliver said digital disruption and globalisation
were combining to cause a 'trickle up' effect - "more money at the
top, less at the bottom, and income not being distributed fairly".
Australia was now "11th most unequal of 34
OECD members", he said.
ACTU president Ged Kearney opened Congress with a
call for "a new social compact that delivers a fair distribution of
wealth for all Australians".
Kearney said workers are suffering under the
burden of "weak wage growth, longer commuter times, insecure work and
unemployment". "Wages' share of national income at close to
record lows," she said.
Kearney formally launched the ACTU's six point
charter of its 'Build a Better Future' campaign, which is centred around
improvements in the social wage including health, education, better public
services, secure retirement and a "fair go for all" in tax (WFD 25/06/15).
The charter was adopted unanimously by Congress
this morning.
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19632, 26 May, 2015)
[6]
The Vic Environment Protection Authority's powers
to ensure environmental justice principles are adhered to and "the
environment is protected for the benefit of the community" will come
under scrutiny in a new review.
Vic environment, climate change and water minister
Lisa Neville announced the inquiry last week, saying the relevant
legislation was almost 46 years old and the regulator needed to "keep
up with the times". The review would start in June and
report in March 2016, she said.
Former state justice department secretary Penny
Armytage will chair the review. Former 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission
CEO Jane Brockington and NT EPA non-executive director Janice Van
Reyk will join the review committee. Its terms of reference
include examining the scope and adequacy of the EPA's statutory powers; the
EPA's role in public health issues; community and industry expectations;
and its "appropriate" role in protecting the environment. Whether
the EPA's governance and funding allow it to "effectively and
efficiently" discharge its powers and perform its duties would be
studied.
(Source:
Environmental Manager 1002, 26 May 2015)
[7]
The Tas Government has appointed a new Environment
Protection Authority (EPA) director and three new board members, including
a new chair and deputy chair.
Former resources director at the state Department
of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) Wes Ford
has been appointed as EPA director to replace retiring director Alex
Schaap. Ford has held several senior govt positions, most recently
AgriGrowth acting deputy secretary.
Warren Jones has been elevated to EPA chair
after serving as deputy chair since 2012. Jones was DPIPWE's
environment/EPA division GM. The new board deputy chair is Anthony Ferrier,
Kingborough Council's current deputy GM. Professor Colin Buxton, a former
director of the University of Tas's Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts
Centre was appointed to the EPA board. He joins new member Catherine
Murdoch, Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd environment manager.
(Source:
Environmental Manager 1002, 26 May 2015)
[8]
Federal environment minister Greg Hunt has asked
the Qld Government to produce an environmental impact statement (EIS) to
support its plan to dump dredge material from its Abbot Point Port's
expansion proposal on industrial land next to an existing coal terminal (EM
31/03/15, 29/04/14).
Renamed the "Abbot Point growth gateway
project", the new Qld Govt wants to dispose of project dredge material
on unused industrial land instead of on nearby protected wetlands or
undersea within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) marine park, as the former
state govt had proposed and the Federal Govt had approved.
Hunt on May 14 decided
he would assess the proposal by an EIS under the federal Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. That was despite a new
bilateral agreement with Qld under s45 of the EPBC Act allowing the state
govt to assess development projects on the Federal Govt's behalf.
The new Qld Govt's coal terminal expansion project
would dredge about 61ha of seabed within the port's limits, outside the GBR
park, it said. It would increase the port's capacity to handle coal exports
from 50m to 120m tonnes a year to cater for planned Galilee Basin coal
exports, including Adani Mining Pty Ltd's proposed $16.5m Carmichael Mine.
"The full cost of the EIS will be paid for by
mine proponent, Adani, not taxpayers, under an agreement with the
govt," Qld state development minister Dr Anthony Lynham said.
Meantime, the legality of Hunt's 2014 approval for the Carmichael mine is
being challenged for a third time in the Qld Land Court (EM
20/01/15).
In a statement
of reasons, Hunt said he'd reviewed Qld Govt advice and found the project
"was not eligible" to be assessed under the bilateral agreement.
Given that, plus a lack of detail on the project's final design and
mitigation measures, and uncertainty about "the nature and scale"
of its impact on matters of national environmental significance (the GBR
world heritage protected area) Hunt said he'd accepted advice he assess it
with an EIS. He agreed, "in particular" with his
"department's view assessment by EIS would provide a robust and
thorough assessment … and the opportunity for public engagement" to
help him make an informed decision on whether to allow the port's expansion
to proceed.
GBR reg change
to formalise dredge backflip
Hunt's decision (above)
was a backflip on his October 2014 decision to not require an EIS
for dredge material to be disposed on Canley Vale wetlands next to the GBR
marine park. It triggered a Federal Court challenge during which Hunt
promised the court he would provide one days' warning to the Qld
Environment Defenders Office of any decision on the former Qld Govt's
project application. (EM
20/01/15).
But on May 17, Hunt said he'd
"formally approved" an amendment to GBR regulations to prevent
any dredge material being disposed "in the entire 344,400km2
park". "This covers 100% of the area under Commonwealth
legislative control and 99% of the world heritage area." The Qld Govt
had committed to a dredge disposal ban in the remaining 3,000km2
area under its jurisdiction which included port areas, he said. The
regulatory change has yet to be registered.
Hunt's GBR protection decisions precede a UNESCO
World Heritage Committee (WHC) decision on whether to list the GBR world
heritage area as "in danger" at a meeting in June.
(Source:
Environmental Manager 1002, 26 May 2015)
[9]
It's been proposed nine carbon farming initiative
(CFI) determinations covering agriculture, vegetation management &
landfill and alternative waste treatment be updated and shifted to the
emissions reduction fund (ERF) from July 1.
Methodology determinations on using covered
anaerobic ponds and engineered biodigesters to destruct methane generated
from dairy cow manure and piggeries are among those targeted. So too are
determinations on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, managing
regrowth of native forests, measurement-based methods for new farm forestry
plantations, sequestering carbon in soils and using environmental or mallee
plantings for reforestation.
The federal environment department last week sought
submissions by June 2 on its proposals to update CFI
"transitioning methods". It would ensure all transitions methods
"are consistent with the ERF legislation, easy to use and more
streamlined", the dept said. The proposals were foreshadowed in an
energy white paper before the Federal Government's first auction of
Australian carbon credit units in April.
A draft explanatory statement
issued under environment minister Greg Hunt's authority said the carbon
credits (CFI-ERF) methodology determination variation
2015 would make "minor" amendments. The dept consulted the Clean
Energy Regulator in developing the variation.
Proposed amendments were "primarily" to
ensure CFI determinations continued to operate as "originally
intended" in light of changes made to the Carbon Credits (CFI) Act
2011, the statement said. They were also aimed at ensuring there were
"no unintended consequences for eligible offsets projects wanting to
apply the determinations".
It's proposed 17 other CFI determinations will be revoked
because new methods covering the same activities have
"superseded" them. The dept said existing projects "will not
be affected or disadvantaged". Projects could continue to use methods
in place when they were registered or transition to a new method "if
more advantageous".
(Source:
Environmental Manager 1002, 26 May 2015)
[10]
Transpacific Industry Pty Ltd faces paying
$363,000 for occupational health and safety (OHS) breaches plus costs in a
prosecution result Comcare has labelled a "first" on two fronts.
In a May 22 media statement,
Comcare said the penalty was the largest against an employer "as a
result of a single court proceeding" by the regulator. It was
"also the first time" multiple breaches of Commonwealth work
health and safety laws "have been found against an employer in regard
to an ongoing risk to health and safety", Comcare said.
Earlier on May 22, Federal
Court Justice Michael Barker held Transpacific liable for two civil
financial penalties after a fatal incident in Perth
in February 2011 and subsequent truck safety maintenance system
failures in April and May 2011. He said Comcare and
Transpacific had agreed on a declaration for two OHS breaches in each of
four time periods. But they disagreed on the range and number of penalties
that should be imposed. Comcare had sought four separate penalties at the
"upper end of the range". Conversely, Transpacific had contended
the "objective seriousness" of its offending should be considered
at the "lower end of the range" and that the financial penalty
imposed "should reflect that". Transpacific said its conduct on
Feb 28, April 2-19, April 21-May 8
and May 10-13, 2011, was "quite clearly" the same as it
failed to "do the same things". It had taken steps to prevent
further contraventions since the events subject to the proceedings.
Comcare lodged the single court proceeding
in December 2013, 22 months after a Transpacific Cleanaway
garbage truck collided with a Ford van then a Kia Rio wagon in Caversham (OHN 22/01/14). Wagon driver Mary
Louise Ross, 71, died as a result of injuries she sustained and van driver
Susan Michelle McMerrin was injured. Justice Barker said McMerrin
wasn't seriously injured but suffered ongoing neck pain. Transpacific owns
the Cleanaway business and the Iveco Acco truck that was serviced seven
days before the Feb 28, 2011, collision. The company admitted the
"substance" of Comcare's case but raised issues of fact. That was
after it initially filed and served a defence on Feb 21, 2014, in which it
denied alleged breaches of the OHS Act 1991. Three mediations in
April, September and November 2014 preceded an agreed
statement of facts between the company and Comcare. The statement said
Transpacific employee driver Aaron Meotti applied the truck's brakes after
a sedan travelling in front of him "swung around very quickly and,
without warning or indicating", veered to the left of the road to pass
the stationary Ford van. Meotti when he saw the van believed there was
insufficient room for him to pass the van safety on its left without
colliding with a light pole and a stabiliser post that supported a second
pole. He immediately applied the service brakes and the truck's four rear
wheels "locked up" and stopped rotating. The two front wheels did
not lock up and the truck skidded before colliding with the van's
right-hand rear corner and continued to skid into the lane of oncoming
traffic where it hit the front right-hand corner of Ross's wagon. The truck
skidded a total 60m before it hit the wagon.
Brake defects not identified
Justice Barker said Meotti was driving the truck
at 65-70kph on part of West Swan Road that had a 70kph speed limit. He was
driving the truck about two car lengths behind the sedan that was
travelling at about the same speed. Meotti was not charged with any offence
arising from the incident. Transpacific had Meotti assessed by a doctor
before giving him two weeks' leave from work. On his return it paired
Meotti with another driver for several days before he resumed normal
duties. Transpacific accepted the brake defects existed on Feb 28, 2011,
but submitted there was no evidence they were there when the truck was last
serviced on Feb 21, seven days earlier.
Roadworthy despite brake troubles
The company (above)
accepted three of its mechanics when separately servicing the truck
on April 1 and 20 and May 9, 2011, didn't identify or
rectify the brake defects. The three services were conducted on the truck
after WA transport department vehicle examiners on March 28
passed it as a roadworthy, "although it still had the brake
defects", after accident damage to its front was
repaired. Justice Barker said the examiners "did not report the
brake defects to Transpacific". On May 9, WA police informed
Comcare the truck's front brakes had been defective at the time of the
fatal incident. On May 13, Comcare issued an improvement notice
to Transpacific requiring it to ensure all brakes on its heavy vehicles
were serviced and operating in accordance with the manufacturer's
instructions. The next day a Transpacific mechanic identified and rectified
the brake defects on the truck Meotti had driven on Feb 28. After taking
all relevant factors into account, Justice Barker said he would order
Transpacific to pay a $181,500 fine for the Feb 28 breaches listed in
declaration 1 because they comprised "one course of conduct".
That was 75% of the maximum $242,000 penalty. Similarly, he was satisfied
Transpacific's breaches in May, April and May after the
fatal incident that were listed in declarations 2-4 were "one
continuing contravention". He accepted there was a "systematic
servicing problem in this regard,as there were three separate mechanics on
three separate occasions who failed to identify any
faults". Justice Barker accepted Comcare's submission there was a
"less than adequate supervision system in place". He did not
believe it necessary for each mechanic to be constantly supervised but the
circumstances of the case suggested the system of supervision was
"inadequate". Justice Barker said he would impose a further
$181,500 fine for the breaches in declarations 2-4 "given the
continuing seriousness of the contraventions". He invited Comcare to
confer with Transpacific to submit a minute on final orders "that
reflect the court's findings". (Comcare
v Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd [2015],FCA 500, 22/05/2015)
·
Outside court in
the May 22 statement (above), Comcare CEO Jennifer Taylor said the Transpacific case "highlighted" the need for employers to
provide robust safety systems, particularly for heavy vehicles. It
"showed ongoing, systematic failures in safety practices", Taylor
said. "It's also a reminder that in such cases, Comcare will not just
consider the final result. We will examine every opportunity a company has
had to fix these issues, and we will take appropriate enforcement
action."
(Source:
Occupational Health News 1111, 27 May, 2015)
[11]
Plans to expand the national workplace safety
regulator's role were a "disaster waiting to happen" in light of
its "demonstrated inability to regulate safety in the
workplaces", a lawyers' association claims. The Australian Lawyers Alliance
(ALA) used a recent prosecution against construction giant John
Holland (JH), which Comcare oversees, as evidence of the federal safety
regulator's "series of failures" (OHN
25/3/15). ALA national president Andrew Stone
said JH had breached occupational health and safety (OHS) laws several
times before the successful prosecution. He said the company was fined
$110,000 after a worker suffered a head laceration when a bridge
at the Brisbane Airport Link site collapsed. Some months earlier, a worker
died when he was crushed to death at the same worksite in an incident still
being pursued by the federal safety regular. "There are too many cases
like this which clearly show Comcare has a patchy record on workplace
safety enforcement and oversight," Stone said. "This court ruling
shows that the Comcare scheme has put workers' lives at risk by failing to
enforce OHS regulations in the limited number of workplaces for which it
has responsibility. In the case, it was noted that JH had breached the
OHS Act 1991 Act a number of times already. "It must be asked: where
was Comcare in preventing these breaches?" Stone said.
"If Comcare is struggling to adequately regulate worker
safety across only 33 companies, why on earth would you put more
workers from across the country at risk by allowing employers to leave
well-funded and well-administered state-based schemes to join Comcare's
poorly functioning regulatory arrangements?". A spokesperson for
employment minister Senator Eric Abetz told OHN the ALA had an "unfortunate
history of defending the rorts and loopholes that currently exist in the
Comcare scheme". "The very fact that a prosecution was taken and
successful shows that Comcare is an effective and active regulator,"
he said. "(The ALA) is putting the interests of those who would
benefit from the current flaws in the scheme at the expense of taxpayers
who fund the scheme." Stone said Comcare reported 13 workplace
fatalities within its mandate in its 2014 annual report.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), at
its annual congress in Melbourne, attacked the Comcare reforms urging the
Federal Govt to dump its legislation. It pushed for stronger OHS laws to
fine or jail directors for safety breaches to ensure companies could not
restructure to avoid penalties for negligent conduct.
(Source:
Occupational Health News 1111, 27 May, 2015)
[12]
Truck drivers and family members demonstrated
outside Coles' headquarters last week (May 21) amid claims of unsafe work
practices jeopardising transport workers' health and safety. The Transport
Workers Union (TWU) claimed the retailer's practices placed pressure on
truck drivers to "drive faster, for longer with over-loaded
vehicles in a stressed and tired state". The TWU said an average of
330 lives were lost each year in truck-related crashes and many thousands
more were injured. It said truck drivers were 15 times more likely to die
than any other profession.
(Source:
Occupational Health News 1111, 27 May, 2015)
[13]
Campaigners employed by the Australian Council of
Trade Unions (ACTU) for its federal election push will stay on to help
affiliates organise their own campaigns around industrial matters, ACTU
secretary Dave Oliver has revealed.
The ACTU Congress today (May 27) unanimously
approved a $13m budget for its 'Build a Better Future' campaign, which will
target 30 marginal electorates and hire 21 campaigners. $10.8m of the $13m
will be funded by a permanent $2 per member levy on affiliates.
Oliver said the ACTU campaign unit would shrink to
14 campaigners in the 18 months after the election, but the peak body would
maintain a "permanent campaigning capacity".
"We have a federal election, three state
elections and two territory elections [in the next three years] … it
doesn't make sense to keep ramping up and ramping down campaigns," he
said.
Oliver said the ACTU would mobilise the unit to
organise affiliates' campaigns around industrial matters.
"They are notionally based in marginal seats,
but we want a mobile and nimble nation-wide campaigning team," he
said.
Oliver told Workforce
Daily the campaigners would help affiliates on industrial
matters like the Transport Workers Union's 'Safe Rates' campaign, but not
industrial disputes.
After the election, the ACTU campaign team would
"aim to achieve key advancements for working people such as secure
jobs and portable entitlements", Oliver said.
The campaign will be paid for by a $2 levy on top
of the $3.71 ACTU fee paid by affiliates for each member.
From 2016, the $2 levy will be built into the
affiliation fee as a "minimum guaranteed campaign" contribution.
Affiliation fees, including the levy, will
increase to $5.88 in 2017 and $6.05 in 2018.
Local
resourcing the focus of $13m spend
Oliver said the campaign will be ready to roll out
by the end of June, in the event the Abbott government calls an early
election.
The ACTU would focus its efforts on data, such as
aggregating and updating union lists, social media engagement with voters,
and ground resources like field campaigners and door-knocking. None of the
$13m will pay for national TV advertising, despite that being the
"most significant spend" in the successful Your Rights At Work
campaign in 2007, Oliver said.
Instead the ACTU would do "low level ads
online, on local TV and radio", he said.
Oliver said he hoped "in the cut and thrust
of the federal election there will be affiliates who donate resources to
run [national] TV ads", as occurred on a state-wide level in the Vic,
Qld and NSW state polls.
ACTU could go
further: Professionals Australia
Professionals Australia chief executive Chris
Walton spoke in favour of the motion, but said the ACTU should consider
raising a $5 levy to achieve an ever greater increase in its capacity.
Walton said although unions would "always
have to bargain" for their members "if we really want to help
[members] and not just negotiate redundancies, we have to shape the
environments in which they work".
The ACTU could work at an industry and national
level to effect changes to govt funding and legislation, he said.
"We need this to win in our industry
campaigns, not just deal with the symptoms."
"I don't support this resolution [because it
is] for an election campaign but because we are building a capacity to win
for you," Walton said.
He said the ACTU benefited its affiliates through
running campaigns on equal pay, minimum wage cases, giving information on
legal and economic changes and training unionists.
The ACTU should do more, including
"bargaining for us together" on expenses like phones and cars,
Walton said.
"We'd save more than $2 a member if we acted
on this novel concept called collective bargaining," he said.
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19633, 27 May, 2015)
[14]
Unions should run "radical" campaigns
including sit-ins and blocking roads to "misbehave" and hold
corporate power to account, according to the Transport Workers Union (TWU)
NSW secretary Michael Aird.
Aird made the comments at the Australian Council
of Trade Unions (ACTU) yesterday (May 26). He was one of the few delegates
to use their time on the floor to champion old-style industrial tactics,
with much of the focus of other speakers being the 'Build a Better Future'
campaign centred on political campaigning at the next federal election and
beyond.
Aird told his fellow delegates the move to
enterprise bargaining in the early 1990s and continued in the Fair Work Act
had "broken down our solidarity".
"All the great union campaigns are not
enterprise campaigns – they are radical, or fought large," he said.
Aird cited United Voice's 'Big Steps' childcare
campaign, the equal pay campaign, nurse-to-patient ratios, the TWU's 'Safe
Rates' and the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union campaign to lift
employment conditions for outworkers.
Conservatives and the Trade Union Royal Commission
were "trying to make us think small and behave ourselves". But
Aird argued "we're unionists because we're all about
misbehaving."
He said the union movement "needs to think
more about being radical … our members are up for it, they understand
it". "Let's have sit-ins, let's block the roads. Let's take on
corporate power. Let's hold power to account."
Aird said "elements of the Labor party"
believed tax and welfare were sufficient to achieve fair distribution of wealth.
"You know what else is fundamental? Union jobs," he said.
Aird's comments follow TWU national secretary Tony
Sheldon last year sayinghis
union was considering a campaign of civil disobedience in the face of
Qantas job cuts with he and other union officials willing to be arrested (WF 17/04/2014).
Collective
bargaining must reach marginalised workers: Ayres
The call to expand collective bargaining rights to
an industry level was backed by Australian Manufacturing Workers Union NSW
secretary Tim Ayres.
He said the movement needed to help workers who are
"remote" and "haven't had the benefit of enterprise
bargaining" such as independent contractors, labour hire workers and
those in the new economy like Uber drivers.
"What is our membership proposition for
people in the new economy? Or who can't access the instruments of the law
and the union movement?" Ayres asked.
"Our answer can't be 'more of the same, more
energetically'," he said. "More enterprise bargaining won't
solve the problem for these people".
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19633, 27 May, 2015)
[15]
Australia needs to prepare for the jobs of the
future as it confronts the risk of automation of low-wage sectors,
opposition leader Bill Shorten has said.
Shorten made the comments in an address to the
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Congress today (May 27).
He criticised the view that high wages made
Australia less competitive, and warned that "low wage jurisdictions
will be replaced by automation".
"We have to be the country which designs,
builds and operates the machines," he said.
Australia should prepare for "jobs which
haven't yet been developed" because "three out of four jobs in
the fastest growing industries will need skills in science, technology,
engineering and maths", he said.
"Labor has a plan to put these skills front
and centre – we want more Australians to study coding and computational
languages."
Shorten said the country faces "massive
change" as $100bn of mining investment has dried up and Australia
needed to plan for future job growth.
However, he committed Labor to oppose "the
race to the bottom in terms of wages and conditions, which erodes the
safety net which makes this a great country".
Labor fights
against visa exploitation: Shorten
Shorten said Labor had put a submission to the
Fair Work Commission minimum wage case for the first time because it
recognised "the min wage is not too high, it's a fundamental driver of
dignity for people in this country".
He argued the govt was attempting to repair the
budget deficit through 'bracket creep', which he described as the
"stealthy invisible hand of inflation". "[The govt] puts its
hand into your pocket taking your wage increases as increased taxes,"
he said.
Shorten also promised Labor would "never sign
up for the exploitation of people on working visas, no matter what pressure
is put on us by the conservatives".
However, last week shadow treasurer Chris Bowen
announced Labor would support the Coalition's proposed 32.5% working
holiday visa tax from the first dollar earned.
That was despite the National Union of Workers
saying the tax would be like "pouring gasoline on a fire" by
providing a disincentive to pay the visa workers appropriately and "dooming"
them to a black market economy (WF 22/05/2015).
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19633, 27 May, 2015)
[16]
By
Professor Niki Ellis
Adjunct Professor, Institute for Safety,
Compensation and Recovery Research and Department of Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine, Monash University
www.nikiellis.com.au
Twitter @ProfNikiEllis
Recently an organisation asked me to consider what
being a mentally healthy workplace might look like for them. It was a great
brief, they were up for it. I started by having a look at their business
strategy and found they were growing, planning to further develop their
leadership and workforce and IT platform to enable them to be competitive
and make the most of the opportunities they could see.
I then reviewed their current investment and
performance in health and safety and concluded that they were a strong
performer in the traditional health and safety model. By that I mean they
aimed for zero harm in relation to the prevention of injuries. They had
started a workplace health promotion program, but it was early days, and
quite a long way off best practice.
A team from Johns Hopkins recently described
best and promising practice as:
·
Health education
·
Supportive social
and physical environments
·
Integration with
HR, infrastructure and environmental health and safety
·
Links between HP
and related programs eg EAP.
And that it works if:
·
Goals are aligned
to business
·
Program design is
evidence-based
·
Theory-based
implementation
·
Ongoing evaluation
What they did have was R U OK, and a great start
on a health portal. Way to go.
Potential for
web-based interventions
In another project I am working on for the life
insurance industry we have done a rapid review on the management of
psychological claims.
The review found that with regard to treatment
there was huge potential with web-based interventions for mental health.
A Canadian case study illustrated the future with
a confidential web-based mental health self-management resource. This
allows someone to assess their own mental health, provides information on
treatment and rehabilitation, with supporting material for doctors and then
tools for tracking progress.
The resource was based on recent evidence-based
guidelines, and was being marketed to insurers and employers.
A proposal to
become a mentally healthy workplace
Meanwhile back in Australia, having assessed the
broader strategic environment and what programs were already in place
relevant to mental wellbeing; not just in health and safety and workplace
health promotion but also in HR more broadly (EAP, diversity strategy, respectful
workplace policy etc), I developed a proposal for becoming a mentally
healthy workplace.
This drew on two sources of information: Tony La
Montagne's model of an integrated approach to mental health in the
workplace; and Gloria Sorensen's conceptual model for an integrated
approach to the prevention of 'work-related injuries and illness and the
enhancement of overall workforce health and wellbeing'.
Tony La Montagne is at the University of Melbourne
and his model has four components:
·
Prevent harm from
psychosocial hazards
·
(using work to)
Promote positive mental wellbeing
·
Early detection
·
Manage illness and
minimise consequences.
Implementation
science is key
Sorensen (above)
is the Queen of the integrated approach to workplace health and safety. She
is the head of the Centre for Work, Health and Wellbeing at Harvard
University.
A colleague of La Montagne's told me the light
bulb went on for Sorensen when she was running Quit programs at a foundry,
and realised the uselessness of talking to workers about them giving up
cigarette smoking in an environment filled with toxic fumes. She
presented a generic conceptual model, drawing on implementation science,
with the following elements: context (external and organisation);
interventions, mediating factors in the work organisation or work
environment, mediating factors related to workers, expected early outcomes,
and then expected final outcomes, at the first international conference on
Total Worker Health, American for the integrated approach, in October last
year. (Selected papers from the conference can be found here)
Drafting the
strategic direction
Using both frameworks I generated draft strategic
directions for this organisation, which essentially draw together and build
upon many different strands of activities already in existence across the
organisation, with the aim of assisting to deliver on the broader business
plan.
These included:
·
Work design and
re-design: Proposed as they were building a new IT platform, the idea is
that health and wellbeing becomes a consideration in that work. For
existing work process, suggested the addition of psychosocial hazards to
the existing risk management system, possibly by using the routine employee
opinion survey to collect information on the psychosocial working
environment and leadership performance.
·
Proposed the
concept of work-life balance as a great link between individual behavioural
change and work environment change. Could be a focus of communications on
the strategy.
·
Extension of a
middle management development program on mental wellbeing which had already
been developed and run out to some. This is key, if you ramp up
conversations about mental health in a workplace you need to be confident
middle management can deal with mental health issues, otherwise
you may see this reflected as an increase in stress claims.
·
Inclusion of
health and productivity, especially mental health, in review of the leadership
development program.
·
Continue to
develop the health portal in relation to mental wellbeing, noting evidence
of effectiveness of web-based self management support and improving mental
health literacy.
·
Streamlining
business metrics: Opportunity to ensure that relevant indicators for mental
wellbeing and their link to productivity are included.
I provided three options for the goal. The first
two were based on integrated thinking. One was very broad, an aim of
improving organisational performance through health. The second was more
tightly focussed – improving workforce capability and wellbeing by
including mental health considerations in the development of leadership,
systems and workforce. The third option was based on extending the
traditional model to better include mental health – that is to contribute
to achieving zero harm through programs aiming to minimise psychosocial
risks and to promote mental health (separately, as is the tradition).
Bravo to this organisation for taking this topic
seriously and giving it a good shake. They are in a good position to
succeed as they have a strong foundation in a high performing traditional
workplace health and safety program, and they are not unused to the concept
of psychosocial ergonomics.
There are benefits to be had for workers in terms
of improved health outcomes and benefits to employers in terms of
performance, presenteeism and absenteeism.
But it is going to take a lot more than asking R U
OK.
(Source:
Inside OHS 90, 28 May, 2015)
[17]
By
Stephanie D'Souza
Impairment caused by the use of drugs is a
constant concern in industries like mining, building and construction,
utilities and the transport sector, where public safety, workplace safety
and employee rights are balanced against each-other.
As technology develops to provide different
options for testing in the workplace, eg urine, saliva or hair testing, the
options to detect drug use farther and farther back in time are becoming
available to employers.
Some legal developments under the Fair Work Act
would see the preclusion of more sophisticated methods of testing like
urine testing on the basis it affects privacy, as was determined by the
Fair Work Commission in January 2014 where Endeavour Energy faced
off with the Electrical Trades Union (ETU). The union justified this
perspective by focusing the application of the law on whether the worker is
impaired at work by earlier drug use.
However, the argument is already changing driven
by the emergence of different drugs, one union fearing for the safety of
its members and employers changing the basis for their drug and alcohol
(D&A) policies.
Clayton Utz partner Shae McCartney has analysed
the impact of a number of decisions in 2015 which supported employers who
have moved to a "zero-tolerance" approach. They have argued their
drug and alcohol policies needed to focus on preventing the risk of
incident or injury, rather than whether an employee was impaired.
Urine testing
'unjust & unreasonable': 2014
In early 2014, Fair Work Commission Senior Deputy
President Jonathan Hamberger ruled for the third time supporting the
ETU's position that urine testing was an unfair imposition for Endeavour
Energy's employees.
At the time, ETU assistant secretary Neville Betts
said: "While oral testing accurately identifies recent drug use, where
an individual may be impaired in their abilities, urine tests
unfairly monitor workers' private lives by potentially showing a positive
result even where a substance may have been used many days prior,
in a private capacity."
In the original case SDP Hamberger identified both
urine and oral testing were liable to cheating and that for some drugs,
like cannabis, oral testing is superior to urine testing particularly when
testing for on-the-job impairment.
"Not only is urine testing potentially less
capable of identifying someone who is under the influence of cannabis, but
it also has the disadvantage that it may show a positive result
even though it is several days since the person has smoked the
substance."
When he was still a senior partner at Clayton Utz,
now FWC Vice President Joe Catanzariti had analysed the decision,
saying by describing urine testing as "unjust and unreasonable"
SDP Hamberger had supported the requirement to balance competing
considerations when constructing policy. That is "the need to ensure a
safe workplace against the need to protect employees from undue
interference by employers in their personal lives".
Zero-tolerance
favoured by courts?
This decision had been described as a landmark and
victory for the unions, but Clayton Utz's McCartney says the courts have
since been supporting employers' moves away from impairment-based policies.
"A series of recent decisions by the Fair
Work Commission have recognised the legitimacy of drug and alcohol policies
and procedures in removing safety risks, and the right of employers to take
disciplinary action for drug use, even if there's no actual evidence of
impairment."
Referencing the statutory duties owned by
employers not just to their workers but to people who could be affected by
the employers' business, eg the general public, McCartney noted effective
drug testing was particular important in "high-risk industries".
She said the debate around efficacy of testing was
further complicated by the "emergence of synthetic cannabinoids (such
as Kronic) which can affect employees' fitness for work,
but may not show up in establishing testing procedures".
FWC full bench
does about face on urine
In late 2014 a FWC full bench overturned a
decision precluding urine testing at DP World Brisbane. The original
decision by Deputy President Anna Booth had found urine testing was
"unjust and unreasonable" even when used as a second test after
an oral swab returned a "non-negative" result.
The bench decided DP Booth fell into error by
concluding she had to consider the merit of using urine for testing; rather
she should only have looked to whether the enterprise agreement (EA)
precluded it. McCartney noted the full bench drew on evidence "urine
testing was an established part of the site-specific drug and alcohol
testing arrangements operating at each of DP World's terminals" and
workers had not raised concerns about it during EA consultations.
Ferry driver
collides with wharf
Another zero-tolerance decision McCartney (above) drew on was at
Harbour City Ferries where a ferry driver's reinstatement was overturned
after urine testing revealed cannibinoid use.
"The fact that the employer had a zero
tolerance drug policy was a key factor in the Full Bench's reasoning in
finding that non-compliance with the policy justified termination of
employment (as there was no evidence that the employee's drug use caused
any impairment nor contributed to the incident)."
The full bench judgment observed Harbour City's
emphasised its zero-tolerance policy was required due to its responsibility
to public safety.
"[Harbour City] does not want to have a
discussion following an accident as to whether or not the level of drug use
of one of its captains was a factor," the bench said. "It does
not want to listen to the uninformed in the broadcasting or other
communications industry talk about drug tests establishing
impairment."
The ferry driver had said the use of canniboids
was for "pain relief". But the full bench said his decision to
use should have informed his subsequent decision to accept a shift
"while aware of the likelihood of being in breach" of the D&A
policy.
Sara Hopkins and Mark Sullivan from law-firm
Lander & Rogers agreed with McCartney's analysis saying the decision
was "positive news for employers with zero-tolerance drug and alcohol
policies. An employer, particularly where public safety is involved, can
require strict compliance with appropriate drug and alcohol policies,
without being required to determine that a related safety incident was
caused by an employee's impairment".
Urine shows meth
in mine operator's sample
In January 2015, the FWC upheld EDI
Mining's decision to dismiss a dump truck driver who recorded a
methylamphetamine at four times the reporting cut-off figure. McCartney
said the decision "provided hope and optimism to even the most jaded
employment practitioner".
The worker had submitted she had unknowingly taken
the methylamphetamine, saying her drink had been spiked by two strangers
over the weekend past.
The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union
(CFMEU) submitted that the worker felt "perfectly well" and the
employer had failed to prove any impairment. EDI Mining rejected the need
to prove impairment instead drawing on the existence of its "cardinal
rule" against non-approved substances.
Commissioner Ian Cambridge said the worker had
failed to prove during the hearing that her drink had been spiked and
resultantly the employer had acted appropriately to dismiss her, following
consideration of the alleged mitigating factor.
"Individuals who attend a workplace like the
Mine under the influence of drugs or alcohol endanger the lives of other
workers," Cmr Cambridge said. "This test result would of itself,
provide valid reason for the employer to terminate the employment of the
applicant. This test result was appropriately treated as a prima facie
serious risk to the safety of fellow workers."
McCartney said the cmr was "highly
critical" of the CFMEU's approach, stating it was "highly
regrettable" for an organisation "which apparently conducts
campaigns which strongly advocate safety in the workplace".
CFMEU's new
'mandatory testing' policy
As an alternative to zero-tolerance policies, the
CFMEU construction division's announced its "Impairment Policy"
in March this year. For the first time for the union, the policy
recommends mandatory blanket testing for the first time including testing
employers, focusing on scrutinising impairment.
CFMEU national construction secretary Dave Noonan
said "We acknowledge that testing already happens in specific
circumstances in the industry and accept that our membership is
increasingly concerned about the problems associated with people turning up
to work impaired and the risks this poses."
The CFMEU proposed impairment assessors would be
nominated from the safety committee and would be made up equally of
employer and employee representatives.
The Master Builders' Association (MBA) welcomed
the union's "belated commitment" but was sceptical the CFMEU's
motives included trying to persuade Senate cross-benchers there was no need
to extend the powers of the Fair Work Building and Construction Commission.
In spite of this, MBA CEO Wilhelm Harnisch said
his organisation was ready to discuss practical solutions for implementing
the testing regime. "Master Builders will take at face value the
CFMEU's commitment to a compulsory random drug and alcohol testing regime
because Master Builders is committed to ensuring that construction workers
each day return home safely to their wives, partners, children, families
and friends."
Workmates beg
workmates to quit drug use
The National Cannabis Prevention and Information
Centre (NCPIC) released survey results in May, showing of 2,000 people
surveyed 40.3% had worked with a cannabis affected colleague believed it
reduced their colleague's motivation and almost one-third believed they
were impaired.
NCPIC senior researcher Dr Peter Gates said
cannabis affects motivation, reaction time and concentration making it a
"blue collar and white collar issue".
Some 38.4% of respondents believed cannabis caused
decreased concentration in their colleague, and 31.1% believed it had
impaired that person's ability to perform complex tasks.
However, the survey also showed self identified
cannabis users did not note the same shortcomings in their work that their
colleagues observed, although 10% said the quality of their work would
improve if they quit.
Gates said "the reality is, if you are a
regular cannabis user, there is a chance your colleagues are going to
notice you are letting the team down in key performance areas such as
motivation and, in turn, productivity".
47% of users
admit to being stoned at work
Gates said the data emphasised the need for clear
communication about drug use in work-places. Whilst more than 80% of
respondents said they would be comfortable raising the issue with affected
workers, and more than 50% said they would be comfortable talking to the
cannabis user's manager, only 5% of cannabis users said the issue had been
raised with them at work. Gates noted more than 47% of the cannabis users
surveyed admitted to being stoned at work.
"Employers need to make sure they have clear
drug policies in place at work, and that these are not just included in a
pile of paperwork during employee induction." Gates emphasised the use
of strong assistance programs and making sure workers feel able to ask for
help.
The NCPIC added human resources teams should be
educated to look for warning signs where longer term effects can be subtle
amongst users. "It's easy to spot drug use at a party...but would you
think to consider a combination of a lack of focus, motivation, memory and
learning challenges or even sleep issues, as a possible drug issue?".
Perception that
workers can avoid testing
NCPIC conducted another survey late last year of
500 tradies across mining, construction, transport and defence. The survey
said 21% of respondents indicated they had consumed cannabis within four
hours of going to work. Almost two-thirds (63%) said they knew someone who
had failed a drug test.
Gates noted in these industries, despite rates of
random testing increasing, only 29% of respondents believed they would
definitely be tested. A third said it was unlikely or there was only a
small chance of being tested.
Gates emphasised smoking so close to working was a
warning sign: "If [workers] are smoking before work, it's also more
likely they are having a problem controlling their use, which is a sign of
addiction. No tradie wants to be responsible for hurting a mate while on
the job, so knowing the side effects of cannabis use, and weighing up that
risk, is really important."
AHPRA testing
doctors' hair
In non-high risk industries, like the health
sector, focus on drug-related impairment is also increasing. The Australian
Health Practitioners Registration Authority (AHPRA) has initiated a far
harsher regime of hair testing on all practitioners with substance related
impairment.
AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher said "under the
protocol, all health practitioners who have restrictions on their
registration linked to past substance abuse will have routine hair testing
in addition to urine testing".
The Australian Drug Foundation says hair testing
detects past use up to a few months, and can "therefore test for
chronic use". AHPRA drew on its role to protect the public and manage
risks to patients.
Can employers
ask workers to see the doc?
Swaab Attorneys say employers have the option of
requiring workers to undergo a medical assessment if the employer can
establish that there was evidence to show an employee's limitations at
work.
Swaab Partner Warwick Ryan said in one case the
Fair Work Cmn had prevented an employer adding bi-yearly examinations of
forklift drivers on top of regular medical assessments already required by
the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation scheme.
However, analysing the case Ryan said "the
clear learning from this is that where an employee discloses or displays
specific health limitations that cast doubt on their ability to carry out
their job, employers can require them to undertake a medical assessment
before returning to work".
He added the cmr and the union involved had
emphasised privacy concerns for workers if medical examinations had been
compelled, so employers should "put some thought into how medical
information is going to be stored to ensure the privacy of the
individual".
(Source:
Inside OHS 90, 28 May, 2015)
[18]
Casual cleaners at a major sports event company
were short-changed by up to two thirds of their hourly rate by the
Australian Workers Union (AWU) Victoria branch maintaining an expired
WorkChoices agreement that saved their employer millions of dollars a year
in wages.
The AWU agreed to maintain the 2006 enterprise
agreement past its 2010 expiry date in return for employer Cleanevent
paying it $25k a year in 'membership fees' and inflating the branch's
membership roll.
The Trade Union Royal Commission (TURC) heard that
Cleanevent, which did clean ups for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Easter
Show and the Melbourne Cup, saved an estimated $2m a year from the
arrangement .The company's low casual rates – with substantially reduced
penalty rates - were said to be "very attractive" to Spotless,
which later acquired the business in 2010.
Labor Vic MP Cesar Melham – who will be called to
the stand next week - was the AWU Vic secretary at the time involved in
negotiating to continue the agreement and setting the $25k fee.
The cmn heard that the AWU had initially entered
negotiations with Cleanevent to replace the 2006 EA in 2010 but ended up
agreeing to a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) instead.
The MOU, which was also signed by then-national
secretary Paul Howes, said the 2006 EA would continue to apply, except in
so far as the MOU adjusted pay and penalty rates.
Senior counsel Jeremy Stoljar said it
appeared the AWU had entered a MOU and not an EA because an EA would not
have passed the Fair Work Act's better off overall test as it was
"significantly worse" than the modern award.
Stoljar said as a result of the agreement level 1
casual workers were paid $18.14 an hour for public holidays compared to the
2010 award rate of $50.17 an hour. Level 3 casual workers were paid $19.86
an hour for a Sunday when the award gave them $41.44 an hour.
At the same time as the MOU a 'side letter' was
agreed to where Cleanevent would pay the AWU up to $25k a year in
'membership fees' and supply it with a list of cleaner names.
Cleaners had 'no knowledge' of membership selection
Then-Cleanevent general manager now business
development executive Steven Webber gave evidence to the cmn the company
came up with the list of staff it would pay membership fees at
"random".
Asked how he knew whether the members wanted to
join the union or not, Webber replied "I didn't."
An email to the AWU at the time Webber referred to
one of its biannual $12,500k payments as "12,500 big ones!!!"
In a 2012 email about Cleanevent's failure to pay
the AWU fee on time, Webber warned staff "this has the ability to cost
us some $2m if we pee them [the AWU] off".
On the description of the fee as 'membership
fees', Cmr Heydon said "to be blunt about it, the side-letter seems to
be a sham".
He said the "actual" agreement was
"simply to pass $25k a year and some names of people who had never
been asked whether they wanted to join the AWU".
When Stoljar put that an invoice description of
the payment as 'membership fees' was "not true or accurate because
what was being charged for was not membership fees at all", Webber
responded "I'm not sure to be honest".
Asked whether the fee was in exchange for the
continuation of the 2006 EA, Webber said it was "part of the
process".
Counsel for Melham sought to argue the fee was a
"service fee" but did not specify what the "service"
was. In any case, Webber says he did not recall Melham using that term in
negotiations.
Inflated membership boost AWU power in ALP
Stoljar said in his opening statement the Cleanevent
workers chosen for AWU membership were "members" only in the
sense that their names were entered on the AWU Vic membership roll but
"without their knowledge or authorisation".
Indeed, some were already AWU members and were
having their union dues paid "twice over", he said.
Aside from the financial benefit to the AWU Vic,
inflated membership numbers increased the branch's influence in its union's
national executive as well as the Australian Labor Party (ALP) – which in
turn led to greater influence over ALP policy formation, membership of ALP
committees and selection of ALP candidates.
"The persons who miss out are the
workers," Stoljar said. "Cleanevent's employees, or at least its
casual employees, appear to have been significantly worse off under the MOU
than they would be under the relevant 2010 award."
He questioned whether the fees were breaches of
s287 of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act in that AWU national
or Vic branch officials "seem to have been entering into an
arrangement which gained benefits for themselves and Cleanevent … but which
were detrimental to their members".
If false accounting was involved to conceal the
payment of membership numbers that could be an offence under the Crimes
Act, he said.
He said the TURC discussion paper had referred to
such payments as "corrupting payments" and asked whether
significant penalties should be imposed on employers who make such payments
to unions.
AWU member fees cover other companies
Stoljar said over the coming days TURC would
investigate other instances where the AWU had raised revenue and inflated
membership numbers through 'membership fees'. He named payments from BMD
Constructions Pty Ltd, Winslow Constructors Pty Ltd, the Australian Netball
Players' Association and the Australian Jockeys Association.
At press time, the cmn was set to call several
Cleanevent cleaners to give evidence.
The AWU has decided not to be represented at this
week's hearings but is understood to be appearing next week. An AWU Vic
spokesperson did not return requests for comment before presstime.
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19634, 28 May, 2015)
[19]
Disputes about compliance with work health and
safety laws and "operational practices" were not "bullying
conduct" which could be dealt with by a stop-bullying application, the
Fair Work Commission has found.
Andrew Gilbert was accused of bullying by
St John's Ambulance WA Ltd volunteer paramedics. St John's, his
employer, stood him down while it conducted an investigation.
Gilbert applied to FWC for a stop-bullying order
against an employee of St John's Ambulance.
Commissioner Danny Cloghan noted from Gilbert's
application he "disagrees with operational practices" of
St John's and had made allegations about its compliance with the
'Workplace Health and Safety Act'.
Cmr Cloghan noted Gilbert had mentioned the
alleged bully only in the fields to nominate the subject of the order, and
not in the "narrative" areas describing alleged bullying conduct.
The cmr said this was "notable" because
Gilbert had alleged bullying started in February 2011 and
continued until November 2014 and occurred "almost every
day".
The cmr found Gilbert was in "obvious
conflict" with St John's and volunteer paramedics which could be
resolved in "a number of ways".
"However, there is [an] incongruity … between
a dispute over operational practices and an application to the cmn alleging
bullying," he said.
Cmr Cloghan was satisfied the application was
"not the appropriate means to resolve the workplace conflict",
and dismissed it for having "no reasonable prospect of success".
(Andrew
Gilbert, PR567824,
27/05/2015)
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19634, 28 May, 2015)
[20]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)
Congress has changed the peak body's rules to increase the number of vice
presidents (VPs) from five to seven.
The VPs will be elected at the next ACTU executive
meeting.
Former Australian Services Union NSW secretary
Sally McManus is expected to win one VP position, after moving to the ACTU
to take on a campaigning role (WF 2/04/15).
However, it's not known who the other VP will be.
On Tuesday (May 26) Shop Distributive Allied
Employees Association (SDA) national secretary Gerard Dwyer was elected
senior VP, replacing his predecessor Joe de Bruyn.
Australian Workers Union (AWU) national secretary
Scott McDine withdrew his nomination for the senior VP position, reportedlydue
to the AWU's opposition to the ACTU $2 a member campaign levy (WF 27/05/15).
McDine told Workforce
Daily he will not seek a VP position.
Oliver
plays down levy dissent
The Australian
Financial Review reported that the AWU and Rail Tram and Bus
Union yesterday (May 27) abstained from the congress vote on the increased
campaign levy due to their opposition to it. The motion was carried on the
voices.
Today (May 28) Oliver said "we didn't hear
any dissent [when the vote was taken] … the decision was taken, and it is
very clear this Congress has backed the [campaign] plan for the next three
years".
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19634, 28 May, 2015)
[21]
About 50 manufacturing workers were protesting
outside Canterbury Windows South Melbourne factory at presstime (May 28),
after they were locked out over a pay dispute.
The workers are seeking a 4% a year pay increase
over three years, with the company offering 1%, 2% and 2%.
The dispute came to a head yesterday after the
union withdrew a threatened eight-hour stoppage planned for today and a
further four-hour stoppage for tomorrow, only to see the company impose a
lock out over both eight-hour shifts.
Victorian secretary of the Construction Forestry
Mining and Energy Union's forestry/furnishing division Frank Vari told Workforce Daily
negotiations with the company had "ground to a halt".
But Vari said workers were determined to see the
matter through, "lock out or not lock out".
Canterbury Windows general manager Paul Armstrong
told WF Daily
union withdrawal of threatened industrial action came too late for the
company, which had stopped deliveries in anticipation of the strike.
He claimed the company's workers already received
pay levels 25% better than the rest of the industry.
"It is a tough market and we're asking
workers to recognise that by accepting what we believe is an affordable
increase."
(Source:
Workforce Daily 19634, 28 May, 2015)
[22]
A deal to cut the legislated 2020 renewable energy
target (RET) by 8,000GWh may yet fall apart over the Federal
Government insisting on listing native forest wood waste as a renewable
energy source in a Bill tabled this week.
The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill
(REE Bill) tabled on May 27 by environment minister Greg
Huntreflected bipartisan agreement on reducing the legislated target from
41,000GWh to 33,000GWh. The Bill would axe the destabilising two-yearly
reviews of the RET scheme by the Climate Change Authority (CCA) and exempt
emissions-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) industries from compliance with
the scheme, as Hunt agreed with Opposition climate change spokesperson Mark
Butler last week.
It would overturn Labor's 2011 change
to RET regulation 8, which removed native forest biomass as an eligible
energy source. But the Bill would also shift the regulation's definition of
eligible woody biomassinto the legislation, and significantly changed the
definition.
The explanation
of Hunt's Bill referred to the definition of eligible woody biomass as
"protections". It would introduce the term "ecologically
sustainable forest management principles" into the RET legislation. To
be eligible to earn renewable energy certificates under the RET the Bill
said the biomass must have been harvested primarily for a purpose other
than for biomass for energy. The biomass must be either a by- or waste
product of a govt-approved harvesting operation that meets a new
"high-value test", or a by-product of an operation based on
ecologically sustainable forest management principles. The harvesting
operation must be covered by a regional forest agreement or meet equivalent
ecologically sustainable forest management principles "to the
satisfaction of the minister", the explanatory memorandum said.
The REE Bill's new "high-value test"
would ensure the forestry operation's primary purpose was sawlog, veneer,
poles, pile, girder, carpentry or craft wood, or oil product production and
that it derived most of its financial value from those products.
Senators will
decide Bill's fate
The govt shifting the RET's legal definition of
woody biomass came as a surprise to many, including the clean energy
industry, after the drawn-out negotiations between the major parties meant
to seal a bipartisan deal on the scheme's future was finally forged last
week. Most had expected the govt would table a separate regulatory
amendment to reintroduce native-forest wood biomass into the RET.
The govt's move generated a clash between Labor
and Greens MPs. New Greens leader Senator Richard Di Natale demanded Labor
"abandon its deal to cut the RET, which was introduced to parliament
today and allows for the burning of native forests". Labor Opposition
climate change spokesperson Mark Butler rejected as "completely false
Di Natale's suggestion Labor's deal with the govt was designed to allow
native forest biomass back into the scheme in return for dropping the CCA's
biannual reviews. Labor "does not support burning native forests as a
renewable energy source" and would move to amend the Bill, Butler
said. "We opposed it in govt and we oppose it now," he said.
That means the Bill's fate rests on the govt
securing the needed Senate six cross-bench votes for it to pass as is.
Alternatively, the govt may be hoping Labor will cave into
industry and forestry union pressure and pass it without amendment, Carbon Extra sources
said. Hunt has not yet delivered the Bill's second reading and his office
has not responded to Carbon
Extra's question.
RET regs will
prevent EITE windfall, govt says
The Bill's (above)
100 exemption for EITEs from having to comply with the RET scheme would
introduce new electricity intensity baselines for EITE activities, the
explanatory memorandum said.
More flexible'
RET regulations
That created a risk some EITE
firms may receive "assistance that exceeds the cost impact
of the RET on these EITE activities". The govt would consult on the
detail of amended regulations "to address this risk", it said.
Therefore, the REE Bill (above)
would allow "more flexible" regulations "in terms of how
they may characterise or describe the amount of an exemption
certificate".
(Source:
Carbon Extra 319, 29 May 2015)
[23]
Clean Energy Regulator (CER) CEO Chloe Munro this
week confirmed most of the carbon abatement contracted after the first
emissions reduction fund (ERF) auction last month would come from projects
already operating under the former Federal Government's carbon farming
initiative (CFI).
The CER spent about $660m of the ERF's total
$2.55bn funds on the first auction, paying on average $13.95 per tonne/CO2-e
for a total of 47m tonnes of abatement.
Under questioning inSenator Estimates this week,
Munro said 107 of 144 projects underERF contracts had transitioned from the
CFI. The 34.4m tonnes of carbonabatement they would deliver represented 72%
of the total abatement contracted from the first auction, she said. The
remaining 37 projects were new. Opposition climate change spokespersonMark
Butler saidthatmeant the govt had effectivelypaid $66t/CO2-e for
"only 10m additional tonnes of carbon abatement".
(Source:
Carbon Extra 319, 29 May 2015)
[24]
Newly updated federal regulatory guidance takes into
account the "broader scope" of emissions reduction fund (ERF)
project types, new participants and "anticipated" aggregated
structures that "may emerge".
The Australian Securities & Investments
Commission's (ASIC) latest Regulatory Guide
236 (RG 236) also affirms who "may need" Aust financial services
licences (AFSLs) under the Federal Government's revised carbon markets
regime. In March, after negative reaction, the govt split its plans to
exempt some ERF participants from having to hold AFSLs (Carbon
Extra 20/03/15).
ASIC's updated RG 236, released
on May 20, confirmed Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) and
eligible international emissions units (EIEUs) were financial products.
Providing information on ACCUs or EIEUs to another
person could constitute financial product advice in some circumstances, the
guide said. Eg, where the information was intended to influence their
decisions on regulated emissions units or "could reasonably be
regarded as being intended to have such an influence". Providing
financial product advice could relate to an ERF project or to people
seeking to produce EIEUs through developing or operating international
offset projects. It could include advice given to voluntary emissions
offsetters "on approaches to, or strategies for, acquiring or
disposing of regulated emissions units". Providing advice to entities
covered by the govt's proposed safeguard mechanism to help them make
decisions about acquiring or disposing of regulated emissions units could
also constitute financial product advice.
The guide noted other emissions-related financial
products included derivatives over emissions units and interests in managed
investment schemes involving carbon abatement activities or emissions
units. Carbon abatement contracts themselves were not financial products,
RG 236 said. That meant people did not require AFSLs to provide advice
about those contracts or deal in them.
ASIC in an online statement said
it had worked closely with the federal environment department and the Clean
Energy Regulator (CER) to "anticipate a variety of different
structures of ERF aggregated projects that may emerge". However,
ASIC said it would "monitor the need to more closely align its
guidance to emerging and evolving ERF practices".
Carbon
Extra sources say it's likely the next ERF auction, expected
later this year, will see bids based on the scheme's method for aggregated
energy efficiency projects. The legal technicalities, including ASIC's
final position on who needed AFSLs, had stalled market players forging the
multiple contracts involved in preparing aggregated projects for bid.
(Source:
Carbon Extra 319, 29 May 2015)
[25]
On Monday June 1, peak state union body
Unions NSW will protest outside federal Treasurer Joe Hockey's office
against govt cuts to paid parental leave. Unions NSW encouraged supporters
to bring "dummies" and their baby or toddler as part of the protest.
(Source:
Workforce NSW 19635, 29 May 2015)
[26]
Managing
Editors: Helen Jones, Peter Schwab. Emailhelen.jones@thomsonreuters.com
or peter.schwab@thomsonreuters.com.
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