Re Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales Wages' Employees' Award and other Awards [2006] NSWIRComm 79 (1 July 2007)

Last Updated: 30 March 2006

NEW SOUTH WALES INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION

CITATION : Re Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales Wages' Employees' Award and other Awards [2006] NSWIRComm 79

FILE NUMBER(S): IRC 725, 812, 813, 814, 815, 816, 817

HEARING DATE(S): 03/03/06

EX TEMPORE DATE: 03/03/2006

PARTIES:

APPLICANT

Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales

RESPONDENTS

Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales

Automotive, Food, Metal, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, New South Wales Branch

Electrical Trades Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch

Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union, New South Wales Branch

Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales

Transport Workers' Union of New South Wales

Unions NSW

JUDGMENT OF: Sams DP

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES

APPLICANT

Ms V Anderson, Solicitor

Henry Davis York

RESPONDENTS

Mr A Rumph, Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales

Mr S Marshall, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, New South Wales Branch and Automotive, Food, Metal, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union

Ms N Kastoun, Electrical Trades Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch

Mr S Kalouris, Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union, New South Wales Branch

Ms K Cruden, Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales

Mr C Heuston and Mr G Selig, Transport Workers' Union of New South Wales

Ms A Hughes, Unions NSW

CASES CITED: Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales and Zoological Parks Board [2004] NSWIRComm 175

LEGISLATION CITED: Industrial Relations Act 1996

AWARDS:

General Construction & Maintenance, Civil & Mechanical Engineering &c (State) Award 330 IG 549

Transport Industry (State) Award 315 IG 192

Crown Employees Wages Staff (Rates of Pay) Award 2005 335 IG 816

Security Industry (State) Award 350 IG 827

Crown Employees (Skilled Trades) Award 345 IG 779

Miscellaneous Workers' General Services (State) Award 320 IG 1078

JUDGMENT:

- 1 -

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

CORAM: SAMS, DP

3 March 2006

Matter No. IRC06/725

ZOOLOGICAL PARKS BOARD OF NEW SOUTH WALES WAGES EMPLOYEES' AWARD

Application by Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales for a new award and applications to vary other awards

EX TEMPORE DECISION

[2006] NSWIRComm 79

1 Pursuant to s11 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 ('the Act'), the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales ('the applicant') made application for an award covering 129 of its employees at Taronga Park and Western Plains Zoos.

2 The employees to be covered by the new award are in the following classifications:

Apprentice; Labourer/Driver/Operator; Labourer; Labourer (Leading Hand); Water Plant Operator; Tradesperson; Tradesperson (Leading Hand); Works and Trades Supervisor; Sky Safari Attendant; Sky Safari Operator; Senior Sky Safari Operator; Cleaner; Cleaner (Leading Hand); Cleaning Supervisor; Guest Services Attendant; Guest Services Officer; Guest Services Site Coordinator; Gatekeeper; Security Officer; Senior Security Officer; Assistant Security Manager and Security Manager.

3 Accompanying the Award application were six applications to vary the following awards:

General Construction & Maintenance Civil & Mechanical Engineering &c (State) Award, Matter IRC06/812

Transport Industry (State) Award, Matter IRC06/813

Crown Employees Wages Staff (Rates of Pay) Award 2005,

Matter IRC06/814

Security Industry (State) Award, Matter IRC06/815

Crown Employees (Skilled Trades) Award, Matter IRC06/816

Miscellaneous Workers' General Services (State) Award,

Matter IRC06/817.

4 The effect of these variations was to exclude the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales from the terms and conditions of the said Awards.

5 All seven applications were listed for hearing on 3 March 2006. Ms V Anderson appeared with Ms Zammitt for the applicant and the various Unions ('the Unions') were represented by:

Ms K Cruden for the Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association of New South Wales

Ms A Hughes for Unions NSW

Mr C Heuston and Mr G Selig for the Transport Workers Union

Mr S Kalouris for the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union

Ms N Kastoun for the Electrical Trades Union

Mr S Marshall for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and also the Automotive, Food, Metal, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union

Mr A Rumph for the Australian Workers Union, New South Wales Branch

6 Ms Anderson submitted that the new Award represented the result of an extensive period of negotiations between the parties. The effect of the new Award will be to consolidate three enterprise agreements and six underpinning common rule awards into a single enterprise award, which will have a nominal term expiring on 30 June 2008.

7 Under the award, employees have received a 4 per cent wage increase on 1 July 2004, and will receive a further 4 per cent wage increase backdated to 1 July 2005. Two further 4 per cent increases will be paid on 1 July 2006 and 1 July 2007 respectively.

8 All the Unions party to the proceedings, consented to the making of the new award and the variation to the aforementioned common rule awards.

9 At the conclusion of submissions the Commission gave the following extempore judgement:

By consent and pursuant to s11 of the Act, the Commission will make an Award to be known as the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales Wages Employees Award 2006 in terms of schedule 1 attached to the application. In doing so, the Commission recognises the extensive negotiations that have occurred in respect of the award and the fact that it has regularised the employment conditions and wages of employees to be covered by it employed by the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales.

The parties are to be congratulated for the negotiations of the Award and the settlement of terms and conditions for three years until 30 June 2008. As a consequence of the making of this award, there are various applications to vary the following awards - the General Construction & Maintenance Civil & Mechanical Engineering &c (State) Award; Transport Industry (State) Award; Crown Employees Wages Staff (Rates of Pay) Award 2005; Security Industry (State) Award; Crown Employees (Skilled Trades) Award and Miscellaneous Workers' General Services (State) Award. Those variations are discrete variations to exclude from those Awards the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales and its employees. All parties have consented to the variations sought and accordingly, by consent, each of those Awards will be varied in terms of the schedule attached to the application.

The Commission has been advised that all of the terms and conditions previously regulated by various awards and enterprise agreements at the Zoological Parks Board have now been consolidated into the single Award that has been approved by the Commission today. That Award and the variations referred to by order of the Commission shall take effect on and from today's date and, in respect to the s17 applications, those variations shall apply for a period of 12 months thereafter and in respect of the making of the new Award, that Award shall have a nominal term expiring on 30 June 2008.

By consent and having regard to the submissions of the parties in today's proceedings, the Commission shall formally rescind the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales Assets and Operations Employees Taronga Zoo Enterprise Agreement 2003, the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales Commercial Operations and Guest Services Employees Enterprise Agreement 2003 and Western Plains Zoo Employees - Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales Enterprise Agreement 2003.

Again, I congratulate the parties on the regularisation of their industrial arrangements for the next couple of years and appreciate the effort that has gone into the negotiations of the new Award.

10 The Commission would wish to add that this new Award represents a significant "sea change" in industrial relations at the Zoo in recent times. Two years ago, in Matter No IRC03/1674, Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales and Zoological Parks Board [2004] NSWIRComm 175, I had cause to comment as follows:

There is one final matter that I am compelled to comment on. Mr Yanitsis deposed that he often had to act to mediate between the staff and Human Resources. He claimed to have been harassed by senior management which was one of the reasons why he resigned. These were truly amazing and unbelievable admissions. I am not quite sure what has been going on at the Zoo in recent years but I am deeply troubled by what is plainly an unhealthy industrial environment. I am aware of the many recent disputes which have found their way to the Commission. Whatever is the cause/s of this unsatisfactory environment, it clearly warrants investigation at Board level.

11 This welcome change in industrial relations at the Zoo is a credit to the Management, Unions and the employees. It demonstrates conclusively what can be achieved in the workplace with a modicum of goodwill and good sense, notwithstanding past difficulties.

12 These proceedings are concluded.

Peter J Sams, AM

Deputy President

LAST UPDATED: 14/03/2006