WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION. Industrial Relations Act 1979. Government Employees Superannuation Board and The Civil Service Association of Western Australia Incorporated. No. PSA AG 4 of 1995. PUBLIC SERVICE ARBITRATOR COMMISSIONER R.N. GEORGE. 18 March 1996. Order. WHEREAS the parties presented an agreement to the Commission for registration as an Industrial Agreement in terms set out in an Order dated 30 January 1996; and WHEREAS the Commission is satisfied that the agreement now complies with Section 41, Section 41A and Section 49A of the Industrial Relations Act, 1979, NOW THEREFORE the Commission, having heard, Ms T. Allen on behalf of the Applicant and Mr E. Rea on behalf of the Respondent and by consent, hereby orders pursuant to the powers conferred on it under the Industrial Relations Act, 1979; THAT the Agreement known as the Government Em- ployees Superannuation Board 1995 Enterprise Agree- ment attached hereto be and is hereby registered as an industrial agreement. (Sgd.) R. N. GEORGE, [L.S.] Commissioner. ——— Schedule. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES SUPERANNUATION BOARD 1995 ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT CONTENTS Section A: AGREEMENT BACKGROUND 1. Aims and Objectives 2. Scope 3. Parties and Number of Employees Bound 4. Relationship to Parent Award 5. Date and Period of Operation 6. Dispute Settlement Procedures 7. No Further Claims Section B: IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES 1. Devolved Responsibility 1.1 Employee Mobility 1.2 External Relief 2. Increased Flexibility 2.1 Multi-skilled Employees 2.2 Flexible Working Arrangements 3. Increased Accountability 3.1 Operational Planning 3.2 Monitoring and Reporting Performance 3.3 Communication 3.4 Standardised Procedures 4. Improving and Developing Services 4.1 Service Agreements 4.2 Problem Solving Section C: PERFORMANCE PAY 1. Ongoing Development 2. Minimum Salary Increase 3. Salary Increases 4. Bonus Payments Section D: PARTIES TO THE AGREEMENT Section E: ATTACHMENTS WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 960 76 W.A.I.G. 1. Clauses Relevant to the Public Service Award 1992 2. Dispute Settlement Procedure 3. Acting Opportunities SECTION A: AGREEMENT BACKGROUND 1.—AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) has been established to administer the schemes and invest the Government Employees Superannuation Fund. Through its operations the Board aims to provide quality superannuation and investment services for State Public Sector employees. This agreement aims to assist the GESB achieve industry leadership in the provision of superannuation services and investment administration services. To do this the Board acknowledges the need to recognise the achievements of its employees and increase their involvement in providing an efficient and effective service to the Board’s customers. The specific objectives of this agreement are: 1.1 To gain employee commitment and contribution to specific strategies that will improve the overall effi- ciency and effectiveness of the Government Employ- ees Superannuation Board. 1.2 To describe how the benefits of productivity improve- ments will be shared between the GESB and its em- ployees. 2.— SCOPE AND PARTIES BOUND This agreement will apply to the Government Employees Superannuation Board and its employees who are members of or are eligible to be members of the Community Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association of Western Australia Incorporated. 3.—PARTIES AND NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES BOUND 3.1 The parties to this agreement are the Government Employees Superannuation Board and the Community Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association of Western Australia Incorporated (CPSU/CSA). 3.2 Each party to this agreement expressly accepts that its terms bind them for the duration of the agreement. 3.2 It is estimated that 120 employees will be bound by this Agreement upon registration. 4.—RELATIONSHIP TO PARENT AWARD This agreement will be read and interpreted in conjunction with the Public Service Award 1992. In the event of any inconsistency this agreement will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency. 5.—DATE AND PERIOD OF OPERATION 4.1 The agreement will come into effect from the beginning of the first pay period commencing on or after 14 December 1995. 4.2 The agreement will operate for a fixed period of two (2) years from 14 December 1995. 4.3 Negotiations between the parties for renewal of this agreement or for the formation of a new agreement will commence no later than six (6) months prior to the expiry date of this agreement. 4.4 The parties agree to continue this agreement until it is replaced by a further agreement. Changes to the base pay rates arising from this agreement will continue to apply in the absence of any further agreement providing the broad principles of this agreement continue to be implemented. 4.5 Subject to Section 41(6) and (7) of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Act 1979, either party can withdraw from the agreement upon its expiry. 6.—DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES 5.1 It is the intention of all parties to implement this agreement in the context of best practice. It is acknowledged however that there may be instances where parties to the agreement have concerns regarding its interpretation or implementation. In these circumstances an agreed dispute settlement procedure will be applied. 5.2 The parties commit themselves to maintain the status quo and not take any industrial action during the course of the dispute settlement procedure set out in Section D of this agreement. 5.3 The purpose of the dispute settlement procedure is to allow all parties access to a system to discuss and resolve all matters of dispute. All parties agree to take all necessary steps to ensure that issues of dispute receive prompt attention and are resolved by conciliation, and preferably through the internal settlement of issues. For the duration of this Agreement all parties shall comply with the dispute settlement procedures outlined in Section E as the primary means of resolving disputes arising from this agreement. 7.—NO FURTHER CLAIMS The parties to this agreement undertake that for the duration of the agreement there shall be no further salary or wage increases sought or granted, except for those provided under the terms of this agreement. SECTION B: IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES To enable the GESB to continually improve its performance, the parties to this agreement are committed to the implementation of strategies that will lead to: • Devolved Responsibility for the delivery of services to the most appropriate internal or external service provider(s); • Increased Flexibility in the utilisation and develop- ment of resources; • Increasing Accountability for the achievement of outcomes and individual performance; • Improving and Developing Services for GESB’s cli- ents. 1.—DEVOLVED RESPONSIBILITY Responsibility for the delivery of the GESB’s services will be enhanced through the formation of service units within the GESB and the outsourcing of services, as appropriate, to external service providers. This will involve reviewing core functions within each Division to implement new structures and work processes that reflect the operational requirements and customer expectations of the Board. To facilitate the development and maintenance of service units and where appropriate, the outsourcing of services, the following will be implemented. 1.1 Employee Mobility a. The Board may temporarily deploy an employee to perform duties within any work area of the GESB that are within the limits of the employee’s skills. This will address fluctuations in work loads and tem- porary vacancies to ensure the continuity of essen- tial work processes. The temporary deployment of employees will be subject to: • operational requirements of the Board; • competence and training of the employee; • safety and health requirements. Positions from which employees have been tempo- rarily moved may be “back-filled” subject to the dis- cretion of managers. Employees will be provided notice and an upfront estimate of the length of the temporary move. It will be expected that an employee will return to their substantive position after the temporary placement. Where an employee will not be returned to their sub- stantive position they will be notified immediately this fact becomes known. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 961 76 W.A.I.G. b. Permanent transfers for employees may occur as an outcome of reviews of service areas. Employees may be required to be permanently transferred to an al- ternative position within the GESB to reflect chang- ing business needs and work practices. The transferring of employees will occur with employee consultation and agreement where a position is no longer required by the Board. 1.2 External Relief Short term vacancies within the GESB may also be filled through the employment of external resources where existing employees cannot be temporarily deployed. These external resources may be deployed to temporarily address work load peaks or temporary vacancies at any level within the GESB. 2.—INCREASED FLEXIBILITY The continuous improvement of the GESB’s internal and external service delivery is dependent on the Board having flexibility in the utilisation and development of its resources. This will require: 2.1 Multi-skilled Employees To ensure that the Board has a multi-skilled workforce to meet the changing requirements of the industry and the Board’s clients, it is agreed that: a. Employees will participate in the establishment of individual training and development programmes to ensure that they are competitive for positions of higher duties and have the competencies to meet changing work practices and standards; b. The Board will recognise the efforts of staff to de- velop skills and understandings through the reim- bursement of fees and other costs incurred by employees in the completion of GESB endorsed courses (as described in 2.2.h); c. Employees will participate in the development and implementation of an employee rotation program to ensure that the Board has a workforce that is cross- trained in a number of positions. 2.2 Flexible Working Arrangements To ensure the Board and its employees are able to address changing operational needs and client demands, flexible working arrangement will be established. These arrangements will be based upon the Public Service Award 1992 and are detailed in Section D. The arrangements will include the following changes: a. Part-time Employment • For the term of this agreement permanent part- time employment can be negotiated for hours of work less than thirty (30) hours per week. b. Acting Opportunities • Acting opportunities will be made available to all employees where it is considered essen- tial for the Board. The principles for the pro- vision of acting opportunities are described in Section D(3) of this agreement. • Under the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (Section 8.1.c) all employees are to be treated fairly and consistently in matters re- lating to selection, appointment, secondment, remuneration etc. this includes permanent of- ficers (full and part-time) and officers em- ployed for a specific term (ie contract officers). Therefore, all staff members including public sector contract staff and staff who have been seconded from other public sector agencies are eligible for acting opportunities within the GESB. c. Hours of Duty • The standard work hours undertaken by em- ployees will be 7½ hours per day averaged over a thirteen week period. • The start and finishing times for employees will be flexible and responsive to customer needs and the operational requirements of the Board. The ordinary opening hours of the Board will be between 8.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. • Rostering of employees will be undertaken to ensure that the Board is able to provide its services to clients during the opening hours described above. Rostering employees is in- tended to meet the operational needs of the GESB and the personal needs of employees in relation to the hours of work. The emphasis is on managers, supervisors and employees reaching agreement on rostering hours. • The settlement period for recording time worked will be thirteen weeks and will com- mence at the beginning of a pay period of each thirteen week period. The required hours of duty for a settlement period will be 487 hours, 30 minutes. • Except in exceptional circumstances and with the prior approval of an employee’s manager credit hours in excess of 7½ hours at the end of a settlement period will be lost. Notwith- standing this, the 7½ hours may be carried forward across a number of settlement peri- ods up to a maximum of 30 hours. • Flexitime leave will be provided for hours agreed by an employee and manager to be worked above the averaged 7½ hours per day over a 13 week period. d. Long Service Leave Arrangements • All parties agree that LSL entitlements may be accrued beyond the year it becomes due, subject to the agreement of the employee and the Board. • Subject to the approval of an employee’s su- pervisor or manager, LSL entitlements may be cleared at a minimum rate of one (1) week. e. Study Assistance • Payment of Fees - Full-time and part-time officers, sub- ject to the Board’s approval in advance, will be eligible to receive payment of fees. This approval will be subject to all the following criteria being met. - Employees who have undertaken stud- ies in courses relevant to the GESB, are able to claim a 100% reimburse- ment for higher education administra- tion charges and the cost of books. This provision is subject to the successful completion of the units of study and does not include the cost of voluntary student fees. • Subject to the Board’s approval, GESB em- ployees undertaking courses relevant to the needs of the organisation may receive study assistance. Such courses may involve: - degree courses at any university within Australia on a part time basis, either through correspondence or as an ex- ternal enrolment; - degree or Associate Diploma courses at a college of advanced education; - Diploma and certificate courses at Technical and Further Education (TAFE); - Other courses as recognised by the Board, eg. Securities Institute courses. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 962 76 W.A.I.G. • Study assistance will normally be granted by the Board where the course being undertaken by an employee: - is relevant to the current duties or du- ties likely to be performed by the em- ployee’ - is relevant to the current and emerging needs of the GESB; - enhances the career development of the employee within the GESB; and, - does not unduly affect or inconven- ience the operations of the GESB. 3.—INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY Increasing accountability for the achievement of specific outcomes will involve the enhancement of the GESB’s management processes. This will require: 3.1 Operational Planning Employees will be responsible for participating in the organisation, deployment and utilisation of resources to achieve corporate objectives. Operational plans will form the basis through which the Board will monitor the performance of employees within specific service units. These plans will document: • objectives for the specific division or service unit; • strategies, business activities and milestones related to the achievement of objectives • resources allocation and employee responsibilities; and • performance indicators that account for the achieve- ment of objectives. 3.2 Monitoring and reporting Performance Employee groups will be required to account for the utilisation of resources and the achievement of outcomes agreed to in the context of operational plans. Group performance will be measured against agreed internal and external benchmarks of performance to determine future strategies for delivering services. 3.3 Communication to ensure more effective communication between the Board and its employees a corporate briefing and feedback strategy will be implemented. This strategy will provide a mechanism for Board and employee feedback on performance throughout the GESB against corporate objectives and benchmarks. 3.4 Standardised Procedures Procedures for core business areas will be standardised to guarantee the quality of client service. This will incorporate the development of policy and procedure manuals for all core business activities by management and employees. Employee involvement in internal assessment and enhancement of procedures will be ongoing over the life of this agreement. 4.—IMPROVING AND DEVELOPING SERVICES Maintaining industry leadership in the provision of superannuation and investment services is the primary aim of this agreement. The GESB is committed to continually improving its performance in the provision of superannuation and investment management service for its customers. Employees will be expected to seek continuous improvements to work practices to improve the performance of their service unit. This will involve: 4.1 Service Agreements Service Agreements will be established between internal and external service providers and customers. Regular monitoring of these service agreements by employees will determine appropriate improvements to the provision of services provided and required by the GESB. 4.2 Problem Solving Employees will be actively involved in workplace problem- solving and the development of strategies to improve the quality of the GESB’s services. SECTION C: PERFORMANCE PAY The Board believes it is important to recognise and reward employees for their contribution to improved levels of the GESB’s performance. This recognition will be in the form of an initial salary increase for recent performance achievements of the GESB and through the implementation of an incentive based payment system. The incentive based payment system will provide an opportunity for annual salary increases and bonus payments. These payments will be based on the following criteria: (a) Salary Increases: based on the achievement of effi- ciency growth as determined annually using “multi- factor productivity” (MFP) measures. (b) Bonus Payments: based on achieving effectiveness targets. These targets relate to the effectiveness indi- cators of the GESB and currently include: • average real rate of return on investments; • percentage of contributory members to eligi- ble members of the Government Employees Superannuation Schemes; • percentage of contributory members who uti- lise the maximum benefits of the contributory scheme. 1.—ONGOING DEVELOPMENT The parties to this agreement agree that the bonus payment targets will be subject to further development as a consequence of the GESB’s compliance with the requirements of the Office of the Auditor General and continuous organisational improvements in the GESB’s management information system. 2.—MINIMUM SALARY INCREASE As required by the “Western Australian Public Sector (Civil Service Association) Enterprise Bargaining Framework Agreement 1995”, this agreement will provide for a minimum 7% salary increase as described below and in the following salary schedule. 3.—SALARY INCREASE 3.1 Employees will be entitled to an annual salary increase depending on the level of efficiency achieved within the GESB within the 1995/96 and 1996/97 financial years. 3.2 Efficiency will be determined according to a rolling five (5) year average of multi-factor productivity. 3.3 An initial salary increase of 3.7%, as approved by Cabinet, will be payable from the agreement’s registration with the