WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION. Industrial Relations Act 1979. The Western Australian Builders’ Labourers, Painters & Plasterers Union of Workers and Picasso Corporation Pty Ltd t/a TK Scaffolding. AG 234 of 1998. TK Scaffolding Industrial Agreement. COMMISSIONER S J KENNER. 18 January 1999. Order. Having heard Mr G Giffard on behalf of the applicant and there being no appearance on behalf of the respondent and by consent the Commission, pursuant to the powers conferred on it under the Industrial Relations Act, 1979, hereby orders— THAT the TK Scaffolding Industrial Agreement as filed in the Commission on 21 October 1998 be and is hereby registered as an industrial agreement. (Sgd.) S. J. KENNER, [L.S.] Commissioner. ——— WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 541 79 W.A.I.G. SCAFFOLDING AGREEMENT Schedule. 1.—TITLE This Agreement will be known as the TK Scaffolding In- dustrial Agreement. 2.—ARRANGEMENT 1. Title 2. Arrangement 3. Area and Parties Bound 4. Application 5. Aims and Objectives of this Agreement 6. Term and Renewal of Agreement 7. Wages and Allowances 8. Dispute Settlement Procedure 9. Safety Dispute Resolution 10. First on Last Off 11. Overtime 12. Company Based Incentive Scheme 13. Industry Standards 14. Clothing and Footwear 15. Training Allowance, Training Leave, Recognition of Prior Learning 16. Pyramid Sub-contracting 17. Sick Leave 18. Fares and Travelling 19. Drug and Alcohol, Safety and Rehabilitation Pro- gram 20. Income Protection 21. No Extra Claims 22. Signatories to the Agreement Appendix A—Drug and Alcohol, Safety and Reha- bilitation Program Appendix B—Labour Levels for Scaffolding 3.—AREA AND PARTIES BOUND This is an Agreement between The Western Australian Build- ers’ Labourers, Painters & Plasterers Union of Workers) (hereinafter referred to as the “Union”) and Picasso Corpora- tion Pty Ltd t/a TK Scaffolding (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) in the State of Western Australia. 4.—APPLICATION 1. This Agreement shall be binding on the Company, the Union and its’ officers and employees eligible to be members of the Union employed by the Company, on scaffolding work covered by the terms of the Building Trades (Construction) Award 1987, No. 14 of 1978 (the relevant Award). There are approximately 8 (eight) employees covered by this Agreement. 2. The provisions of this Agreement are in addition to enti- tlements specified in the relevant Award and where there is an inconsistency the Agreement shall prevail. 5.—AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE AGREEMENT The Objectives of this Agreement are to— 1. Increase the efficiency of the Company by the effec- tive use of the skills and commitment of the employees of the Company. 2. Improve the living standards, job satisfaction and continuity of employment of the Company’s employ- ees. 3. Develop best practice standards that are based upon a culture of opportunity, continuous learning and improvement through training. 4. Ensure that increases in efficiency on the job are implemented in such a way as to ensure that health and safety standards in the industry are maintained. 5. Provide a mechanism by which disputes can be re- solved quickly and in a manner which shall avoid lost time. 6.—TERM AND RENEWAL OF AGREEMENT 1. This Agreement shall come into operation from the date of signing and shall remain in force until 31 October 1999. 2. The parties agree to commence discussions on the terms and conditions of any future Agreement three calendar months prior to the expiration of this Agreement. 7.—WAGES AND ALLOWANCES 1. The following rate shall apply to all employees covered by this Agreement. From date of signing, hourly rate $15.90 From 1 February 1999, hourly rate $16.34 From 1 August 1999, hourly rate $16.56 2. In addition, the following allowance will be paid for work carried out— (a) A rate of $5.25 per hour will be paid to all employ- ees. This allowance is “all purpose” and shall be included as part of the ordinary rate. 8.—DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE In relation to any questions, disputes or difficulties arising out of the operation of this Agreement the dispute settlement procedure that shall apply shall be in the same terms as that outlined in the Award. 9.—SAFETY DISPUTE RESOLUTION 1. It is agreed the Company and their employees have a re- sponsibility to ensure that workplaces are safe and that employees are not exposed to hazards. 2. In the event of any disagreements on the necessity to carry out any safety measure or modify, reinforce or reinstate any safety device whatsoever, the procedures set out in this clause will be adopted. 3. No person shall dismiss a safety complaint. Any com- plaint should be referred to the Company’s safety officer or worker’s safety representative to be dealt with in accordance with the following procedures— (a) Where any employee becomes aware of an unsafe situation, that employee will immediately notify the Company’s safety officer or the worker’s safety rep- resentative. (b) The Company’s safety officer and the worker’s safety representative will take immediate action to have the unsafe situation rectified. (c) Should the Company’s safety officer consider that no safety precautions are necessary, he/she will no- tify the worker’s safety representative accordingly as soon as possible. (d) While there is disagreement on the ruling of the Com- pany’s safety officer, the Company’s safety officer will arrange for the immediate transfer of all em- ployees from the disputed area. (e) Should the Company’s safety officer be of the opin- ion that no action is necessary and the employees’ safety representative disagrees, an appropriate inspec- tor from Worksafe will be requested to undertake an inspection of the disputed area for the purpose of resolving any such matter. (f) If disagreement still exists the chief inspector, con- struction branch of Worksafe or his/her nominee will be called in to assist in the resolution of the dispute. 4. Whilst the above procedure is being followed there will be no stoppage of work in respect of the matter being consid- ered, except in the area alleged to be unsafe. 5. It is accepted that safety considerations override normal work practices and depending on the degree of potential risk to persons on the job, or the general public, can override nor- mal demarcation practices. 10.—FIRST ON LAST OFF 1. The parties agree the continuity of employment is desir- able wherever possible, and that where it is not possible, employees will be retrenched in order of seniority. 2. When applying the “first on last off” principle it is agreed subject to the caveat of “all things being equal”, it is intended to apply on a state basis rather than a site by site basis. 3. It is recognised that from time to time instances may arise where the employee’s individual skills may be subject to this caveat. Where there is any disagreement as to the application of this the matter will be processed in accordance with Clause 8—Dispute Settlement Procedure. 4. An employee who has been retrenched by the Company shall have absolute preference and priority for re-employment/ WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 79 W.A.I.G. 542 re-engagement by the Company. Where an employee is re- engaged within a period of six months the employee shall maintain continuity of service and all accrued entitlements with the Company. 11.—OVERTIME 1. The allocation of overtime will be at the employer’s pre- rogative provided that the employer will not discriminate against any employee. 2. The practice of “one in all in” will not occur. 3. An overtime roster may be introduced after agreement is reached between the employees, the Company and the Union. 12.—COMPANY BASED INCENTIVE SCHEME 1. The Company may negotiate incentive schemes which will not affect the terms of this Agreement. These schemes must ensure that the Award provides the base safety net and that all workers on-site have the opportunity to share in the proposed scheme. 2. Once negotiated incentive schemes will be submitted to the Union prior to its implementation for confirmation that the relevant Award requirements have been satisfied. 13.—INDUSTRY STANDARDS 1. Redundancy It is a term of this Agreement that the Company will imme- diately increase its payments to $50 per week per employee into the Western Australian Construction Industry Redundancy Fund. 2. Superannuation The Company will immediately increase its level of pay- ment to $60 per week per employee. The Company will advise all employees subject to the Agree- ment of their right to have payments made to a complying superannuation fund of their choice. The Company is bound by the employee’s election. The aforementioned payment will then be made to that fund. Until each employee nominates the fund of their choice the Company will make payments into the Construction + Build- ing Unions Superannuation Scheme (the “C+BUSS”). In the event that any employee chooses a fund other than the C+BUSS the Company will, within seven days of the em- ployee advising the Company of the fund of their choice, advise the Union in writing of the employee’s decision. In the event that the employee and the Company reach an agreement pursuant to section 49C(2)(d) of the Act to change the complying superannuation fund or scheme the Company will, within seven days of the employee and the Company reaching such an agreement, advise the Union in writing of the agreement. The employer shall not unreasonably refuse to agree to a change of complying superannuation fund or scheme requested by the employee. 14.—CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR 1. The following items or other suitable clothing as agreed between the company and the Union will be supplied to each employee by the Company, upon the completion of five work- ing days. (a) 1 pair safety boots, and will be replaced on a fair wear and tear basis. (b) 2 T-shirts with collars, and will be replaced on a fair wear and tear basis. (c) 1 bluey jacket for each employee employed during the period 1 April to 31 October. (One issued per year) 2. The Company will also make available to each employee, when requested by them, sun screen lotion and sun brims to fit over safety helmets. 15.—TRAINING ALLOWANCE, TRAINING LEAVE, RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 1. The parties recognise the need to adopt a “total trade” concept for training and skills acquisition to meet the current and future requirements of the industry. To this end the parties reaffirm their commitment to training and agree that training and retraining of both the workforce and supervision will oc- cur on an ongoing basis. 2. It is agreed that safety training will be an important com- ponent in the structured training programme. 3. All scaffolding work will be carried out using labour suit- ably trained and qualified to a standard approved by the Company and the Union. 4. A training allowance of $12.00 per week per worker shall be paid by the employer to the Union Education and Training Fund. 5. Subject to all qualifications in this clause, an employee shall, upon application in writing to and with approval of the employer, be granted leave with pay each calender year pro- rata to attend courses conducted or approved by the NBCITC. The employers approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. The application for leave shall be given to the employer at least two weeks in advance of the date of commencement of the course. The time of taking leave shall be arranged so as to minimise any adverse effect on the employer’s operations. The onus shall rest with the employer to demonstrate an inability to grant leave where an employee is otherwise entitled. An employer shall not be liable for any additional expenses associated with an employee’s attendance at a course other than— course fees course books and materials payment of ordinary time earnings for such absence. For the purpose of this clause ordinary time earnings shall be defined as the agreement classification rate. Leave of absence granted pursuant to this clause shall count as service for all purposes of this agreement. 6. The employer will actively encourage employees to seek formal recognition of their skills (recognition of prior learn- ing), and will allow leave as per (2) above for such purposes including but not limited to securing Tradesmen’s Rights Cer- tificates. 16.—PYRAMID SUB-CONTRACTING 1. “Pyramid Sub-Contracting” is defined as the practice of a sub-contractor, to whom a sub-contract is originally awarded, sub-letting that contract or part thereof to another sub-con- tractor. 2. Provided that where a sub-contractor does not have the technical capacity to handle a specialist section of the contract and intends to engage a specialist sub-contractor to perform that work, that section may be re-let to a specialist sub-con- tractor. 3. Further provided that when a sub-contract is let for labour and material, a labour-only sub-contract may be let by the sub- contractor, but it is unacceptable as a principle for further labour-only sub-contracts to be re-let. 4. A bona fide sub-contractor is generally an employer of labour, save for a machine owner-operator. 5. Where a disagreement arises in relation to the definition or application of the term “Pyramid Sub-Contracting” the par- ties shall discuss and determine the issue in accordance with the agreement dispute resolution procedure. In any event of a disagreement, the matter shall be negotiated further between the parties or referred to the