WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION. Industrial Relations Act 1979. The Western Australian Builders’ Labourers, Painters and Plasterers Union of Workers and Sandpath Pty Ltd trading as Walsh’s Glass. No. AG 314 of 1996. Walsh’s Glass Western Australian Retailing Enterprise Agreement Stage 1. COMMISSIONER P E SCOTT. 3 January 1997. Order. HAVING heard Mr G Giffard on behalf of the Applicant and Mr D Sproule 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 Walsh’s Glass Factory Enterprise Agreement in accordance with the following Schedule be registered on the 12th day of December 1996. (Sgd.) P.E. SCOTT, [L.S] Commissioner. Schedule. ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT CONSENT AGREEMENT 1.—TITLE This Agreement shall be known as the Walsh’s Glass West- ern Australian Retailing Enterprise Agreement Stage I. 2.—ARRANGEMENT 1. Title 2. Arrangement 3. Application of Agreement 4. Parties Bound 5. Life of Agreement 6. Relationship to Parent Award 7. Aim of Agreement 8. Customer Service Standards 9. Measures to Achieve Gains in Productivity 10. Statement of Implementation 11. Avoidance of Industrial Disputes 12. Rates of Pay 13. Renewal of Agreement 14. No further Claims 15. Not to be used as a Precedent 16. Union Dues 17. Union Meetings 18. Heat Stress 19. Classification Structure Appendix ‘A’—Fares and Travel Appendix ‘B’—Introduction of Fortnightly Payroll (Electronic Funds Transfer) Appendix ‘C’—Working Hours—Arrangements Appendix ‘D’—World Class Performance Appendix ‘E’—Disciplinary Procedure Appendix ‘F’—Wage Rates 3.—APPLICATION OF AGREEMENT This Enterprise Consent Agreement shall apply at the Walsh’s Glass Western Australian Retailing Operations located at: • 200 Bannister Road, CANNINGVALE • 8/231 Balcatta Road, BALCATTA • 173 Great Eastern Highway, MIDLAND in respect to all its employees who are covered by the State Building Trades Construction Award WA No. 14 of 1978. There are approximately 12 employees covered by this Agreement. 4.—PARTIES BOUND This Agreement shall be binding upon the Western Austral- ian Builders’ Labourers, Painters and Plasterers Union of Workers, (hereafter referred to as the “Union”) and officers and members thereof and upon the Company as to all its em- ployees who are members of or eligible to be members of the Union covered by this Consent Agreement. 5.—LIFE OF AGREEMENT This Agreement shall operate from the beginning of the first full pay period to commence on or after 31 October 1996 and shall remain in force until 31 December 1997. 6.—RELATIONSHIP TO PARENT AWARD This Agreement shall be read and interpreted wholly in con- junction with the State Building Trades Construction Award WA 14/78. 7.—AIM OF AGREEMENT The parties to this agreement recognise that if the retail busi- ness of the company is to survive in Western Australia in the face of increasing competition and a fluctuating economic environment it must create some competitive edge. The com- pany also recognises that employees need to be competitively rewarded for the business to retain a stable and committed workforce This Agreement seeks to recognise the flexibility and pro- ductivity gains provided by this Agreement with increases to wage rates to provide appropriate level of payments to its employees. This Agreement also involves the implementation of pro- ductivity measures and company initiatives to make the busi- ness more competitive as per the following clauses. 8.—CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS (a) The company will commit to provide the appropriate train- ing on paid time to raise the skill levels of employees. It will provide regular feedback meetings with employees, evaluate views of the employees on methods to enhance the Customer Service aspects of the business. There will be feedback given on each suggestion either immediately or after appropriate consideration. (b) The employees will commit to undertake the appropriate customer service training. They will strive to enhance the business through customer service and to build a competitive, business which will provide secure and well rewarded em- ployment. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 77 W.A.I.G. 426 9.—MEASURES TO ACHIEVE GAINS IN PRODUCTIVITY, EFFICIENCY AND FLEXIBILITY The following items have been agreed to improve the effi- ciency in running the business and provide an environment for enhanced customer services. (a) Discussions to be held regarding Fares and Travel. Appendix ‘A’ (b) Fortnightly payment of wages through electronic funds transfer. Appendix ‘B’ (c) Working hours to ensure highest level of customer service. Appendix ‘C’ (d) World Class Performance initiatives which will be introduced by company. Appendix ‘D’ (e) Disciplinary Procedure. Appendix ‘E’ 10.—STATEMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION 1. Customer service standards will be introduced within 3 months of the signing of this Agreement. 2. Fortnightly pays will be implemented within 3 months of signing this agreement. 3. World Class Performance initiative will be introduced within 6 months of the signing of this Agreement. 11.—AVOIDANCE OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES It is the intention of the Agreement to deal with disputes between the parties which are liable to cause stoppages in the following manner: When a matter concerning any questions, disputes or diffi- culties is in dispute between the Unions and an employer or a matter coming within the ambit of the Agreement or Parent Award arises that is likely to cause a dispute, the following procedure shall be followed. a) Work shall continue without interruption whilst the employee/s or their representative discusses the dis- pute with the employer concerned, and both parties shall attempt to reach agreement. In these discus- sions, the employee representative may seek the ad- vice and assistance of the Employer organisation or senior company I.R representatives. b) In the event that the discussions provided for in sub- clause (a) hereof fail to settle the dispute, it shall be referred to the employer organisation or IR repre- sentative and the Secretary of the relevant Unions. c) A “cooling off” period of seven days shall apply as from the date the dispute notification is received by the employer organisation and the relevant Unions. The responsibility for notifying the dispute shall be equally on both the employer and the Unions. Dur- ing the “cooling off” period, work shall continue without interruptions from industrial stoppages, bans and or/limitations. d) During this “cooling off” period, discussion to take place between the officers of the company or em- ployer organisation and the Unions, with the view to settling the dispute. e) Failing a satisfactory settlement being achieved fol- lowing such discussions, the dispute may then be re- ferred to the State industrial Relations Commission. 12.—RATES OF PAY The Rates of Pay at Appendix “F” shall apply to Walsh’s employees covered by this Agreement. This Agreement provides for Wage rate increases in recogni- tion of the productivity commitments made in this Agreement. These increases are to be the only wage increases available under this Award except where a State Wage Case Decision would have an effect on this Award. No double counting will exist in respect to wages. 13.—RENEWAL OF AGREEMENT It is agreed between the parties that prior to any initiatives being taken to renew or replace this Agreement, discussions between the parties will commence at least 2 months prior to expiration to determine the appropriate course of action. 14.—NO FURTHER CLAIMS No variation or amendment to the agreement shall be sought or entertained by any of the parties during the defined term of the Agreement. 15.—NOT TO BE USED AS A PRECEDENT This Agreement shall not be used in any manner whatsoever to obtain similar arrangements or benefits in any other plant or enterprise. 16.—UNION DUES When authorised by individual employees, the employer un- dertakes to arrange for the deduction of Union dues on a regular basis, and such monies deducted remitted to the Union. 17.—UNION MEETINGS Union meetings will normally be held before work or at lunch time. Meetings will be held as efficiently as possible and ef- forts will be made to hold meetings at mutually agreed times. Occasionally it may be necessary to hold Union meetings dur- ing work time. 18.—HEAT STRESS A Heat Stress Policy (based on the existing Company policy) shall be negotiated between the Company, BLPPU representa- tives and Walsh’s employees. It is Company policy that Walsh’s employees will not enter any construction site that has been affected by Inclement weather. 19.—CLASSIFICATION STRUCTURE The Parties to this Agreement will finalise an integrated clas- sification structure for Walsh’s Glass based on building and transport industry relativities for both on-site and off-site ar- eas, in line with Nationally accredited Skill Levels. Common Seal (signed) (signed) ON BEHALF OF THE UNION ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY JOHN ROBERT WALSH (PRINT NAME) Dated this 31st day of October 1996 APPENDIX “A” FARES AND TRAVEL When the Company employs additional glaziers and is un- able to supply a vehicle to those new employees, the issue of the fares and travel allowance to be paid to the relevant em- ployees it to be the subject of discussion between the parties to the agreement. APPENDIX “B” INTRODUCTION OF FORTNIGHTLY PAYROLL (ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER) An agreement by all parties to move the current method of weekly payroll out to fortnightly. Method of introduction is as follows— 1. Payment of wages shall remain on a Thursday. 2. As of implementation date the employees will re- ceive a full two weeks pay on the normal Thursday, thus receiving a full week’s pay in advance. 3. The next pay will be two weeks from that date. 4. To recover the advancement of pay, deduction will be made by six equal fortnightly deductions and the next being 2.92 hours (7 in total) ie. Reduction of fortnightly pay by 5.84 hours = 76 hours less 5.84 = 70.16 per fortnight. 5. Employees will be required to sign authorisation for such deductions. 6. Where errors occur in the fortnightly pay it will be corrected in a manner that is agreed between the em- ployee and pay office. APPENDIX “C” WORKING HOURS—ARRANGEMENTS The ordinary working hours shall be worked Monday to Fri- day inclusive between the hours of 7.00am and 6.00pm, how- ever prior to any alterations to rostering there will be consultation between the Western Australian Builders’ Labourers, Painters and Plasterers Union of Workers and Walsh’s Glass. Rostered Days Off In order to further the productivity and flexibility of the Company, employees covered by this agreement will be able WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 427 77 W.A.I.G. to accumulate up to five RDO’s, or the rostered day(s) off may be substituted for an alternative day(s). The accumulated days may be taken either in single days or in multiples, pro- viding the following is adhered to— 1. In each case notice is required to be given and ap- proval of management obtained. (i) In the case of one or two days to be taken a minimum of two days notice is require. (ii) In the case of three or more days to be taken a minimum of one weeks notice is required. 2. All accumulated RDO’s are to be taken within the calender year of them falling due. 3. Approval for taking of alternate RDO’s shall not be unreasonably withheld. 4. Employees will normally be given 48 hours notice if they are required to work an RDO. This notice pe- riod may be waived if the employee is not directed to work an RDO but agrees to work the RDO. After Hours Callouts This area will be covered by an exchange of letters. APPENDIX “D” WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE The employees will be actively involved in the Company’s initiatives to improve the business within the World Class con- cept. The Company will be instituting new production program- ming and scheduling systems to improve scheduling and pro- duction performance. The employees will be involved in setting team targets, measuring progress and striving to meet the targets in these areas which are key to the performance and ongoing viability for both the Company and employee welfare. These areas in- clude: Production outputs and labour costs Occupational health and safety Customer satisfaction and Quality standards Individual and team based training and development Environmental management to at least comply with gov- ernment legislation and community expectations APPENDIX “E” DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE POLICY (a) Misconduct In Misconduct cases, clear evidence of the misconduct is needed. The manager should document the incident and col- lect evidence by taking written statements from all witnesses present. The employee may be suspended during the investi- gation (usually with pay). The strict procedure to be followed is: (i) The employees should attend an interview (with a representative if requested) with the manager and his/ her supervisor. The purpose of the interview is to be explained and the specific allegations should be put to the employee who should be given an opportunity to reply, both at the meeting and after, in writing, if the employee wishes to do so. (ii) The results of the meeting should be put in writing. The employee should be given a copy of the notes taken and given the opportunity to make comments about them. (iii) If the misconduct is not serious enough to justify dismissal the employee should receive a written warning which details the nature of the misconduct. It should be made clear that a repetition of the mis- conduct will result in dismissal. (iv) If the employee engages in further misconduct, an- other investigation as outlined above should be car- ried out. The employee should then either be issued with a final warning or dismissed after having had an opportunity to clarify the complaints and respond to the allegations being put to him. If the misconduct is deemed serious enough to warrant dis- missal, alternatives to immediate dismissal should be consid- ered (ie. Demotion or transfer). The employee should be given the opportunity to discuss such alternatives and his/her com- ments should be considered. If the decision to terminate is still deemed to be warranted by the Manager, the decision should be given to the employee in writing. In the case of a serious misconduct a Manager is entitled to dismiss without notice an employee found guilty, although there are processes which must be observed so as to reduce the pos- sibility of the Commission making an adverse finding against the employer. Walsh’s Glass commits to acting within a reasonable time after the misconduct has been described and investigated and that the employee should have the opportunity to defend him/ herself against the allegation of misconduct. (b) Unsatisfactory Performance In the case of unsatisfactory performance four procedural steps should be followed: (1) The employee should be given a verbal warning in a counselling session between the manager and em- ployee. It is important that a record of this first warn- ing is kept. The Manager should ensure that the substance of the discussion is recorded along with details such as time, place and employee response written and/or verbal. The employee should be of- fered suitable training, if appropriate and shall be entitled to representation at the meeting with Man- agement. (2) If performance has not improved then the employee should be given a written warning outlining the na- ture of the problem. The employee’s supervisor should be involved and may be present during the counselling session. It should be made aware that if the unsatisfactory performance continues his/her job will be in jeopardy. Training may also need revising. The employee may also have a representative attend the meeting. (3) If performance remains unsatisfactory when reviewed after the written warning, the employee should again be counselled and be given an opportunity to respond. A final warning in writing may then be issued and a date set for a review. (4) At the set date the employee’s performance should be reviewed again. If it is still unacceptable the Man- ager should consider whether alternatives to termi- nation are available and if alternatives are not practicable the decision to terminate with notice may be taken. (5) On terminations the Manager should— (a) hold a meeting with the employee, their Su- pervisor and a representative if requested; (b) review the steps to counsel the employee; (c) give the employee an opportunity to reply; and (d) issue the employee with a written notice of termination explaining the reasons for dis- missal and the entitlements owing. (6) The dismissal of an employee shall not be harsh, un- just or unfair. (7) Written warnings shall lapse and be removed after twelve months if no additional warning/s have been given during the previous twelve months. APPENDIX “F” WALSH’S GLASS—WAGE RATE INCREASES Original 1st March, 1st October, 1st May, 1997 1st December, Rate 1996 1996 1997 per week week hour week hour week hour week hour glazier $542.79 $580.50 $15.28 $588.78 $15.49 $605.07 $15.92 $621.35 $16.35 $496.29 $532.14 $14.00 $539.03 $14.19 $553.92 $14.58 $568.81 $14.97 $488.23 $523.76 $13.78 $530.41 $13.96 $545.05 $14.34 $559.70 $14.73 $478.37 $513.50 $13.51 $519.85 $13.68 $534.20 $14.06 $548.55 $14.44 $459.77 $494.16 $13.00 $499.95 $13.16 $513.75 $13.52 $527.54 $13.88 WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 77 W.A.I.G. 428 WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE SERVICE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT FOR POLICE ACT EMPLOYEES No. AG 274 of 1996.