WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION. Industrial Relations Act 1979. The Western Australian Builders’ Labourers, Painters and Plasterers Union of Workers and Sondages Injections Forages, SIF—Enterprises Bach Trading as GFWA. No. AG 204 of 1996. COMMISSIONER P E SCOTT. 16 September 1996. Order. HAVING heard Ms J Harrison 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 GFWA Industrial Agreement 1996 in the terms of the following schedule be registered on the 23rd day of August 1996. (Sgd.) P.E. SCOTT, [L.S] Commissioner. Schedule. 1.—TITLE This Agreement will be known as the GFWA Industrial Agreement 1996. 2.—ARRANGEMENT This Agreement contains the following clauses— 1. Title 2. Arrangement 3. Area and Parties Bound 4. Application 5. Duration 6. Dispute Settlement Procedure 7. Single Enterprise 8. Enterprise Agreement 9. Relationship Awards 10. Wage Increase 11. Industry Standards 12. Clothing and Footwear 13. Training Allowance, Training Leave, Recognition of Prior Learning 14. Seniority 15. Sick Leave 16. Productivity Initiatives 17. Drug and Alcohol Policy 18. Ratification Appendix A—Wage Rates Appendix B—Drug and Alcohol Policy 3.—AREA AND PARTIES BOUND This is an Agreement between The Western Australian Build- ers’ Labourers, Painters and Plasterers Union of Workers (here- inafter referred to as the ‘Union’) and SIF Enterprise Bachy trading as GFWA (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Company’) in the State of Western Australia. 4.—APPLICATION This Agreement shall be binding upon the Company, the Union, its officers and members, and any person eligible to be a member of the Union employed by the Company on work covered by the terms of the Building Trades (Construction) Award 1987, No. 14 of 1978 (the ‘Award’). There will be approximately 25 employees covered by this Agreement. 5.—DURATION This Agreement shall commence from the first pay period on or after the date of signing as indicated in Clause 17— Ratification and shall continue in effect until 31 July 1997. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 76 W.A.I.G. 3892 Provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent the imple- mentation of a comprehensive enterprise agreement as detailed in Clause 9—Enterprise Agreement herein. The parties agree to commence discussion on the terms and conditions of any future agreement three calendar months prior to the expiration of the Agreement. 6.—DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE In relation to any disputes, questions or difficulties arising out of the operation of this Agreement, the procedure that shall apply to this Agreement shall be in the same terms as that outlined in Clause 46—Settlement of Disputes of the Award. 7.—SINGLE ENTERPRISE It is agreed that this Agreement applies in respect of a single enterprise as defined in Clause 41A(2) of the WA Industrial Relations Act 1979, as amended (the “Act”). 8.—RELATIONSHIP WITH AWARDS This Agreement shall be read wholly in conjunction with the Award. Where this Agreement is silent on rates of pay and other matters pertaining to the employment relationship, the Award shall apply. Where there is conflict between the rates of pay, conditions, allowances and other matters in this Agree- ment and the Award the higher rate shall apply. 9.—ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT It is agreed that in the event of the Union and the Company agreeing on the terms of a comprehensive enterprise agree- ment, this Agreement may be terminated in accordance with the requirements of the Act. 10.—WAGE INCREASE This Agreement provides for increases in the hourly rate resulting in the wage rates in the Appendix A. 11.—INDUSTRY STANDARDS It is a term of this Agreement that the Company will con- tinue to meet its current level of payment into the Western Australian Construction Industry Redundancy Fund and will immediately increase its level of payment into the Construc- tion & Building Unions Superannuation Scheme to $50 per week per employee. 12.—CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (1) The following items will be supplied to each employee by the Company, upon the completion of four (4) weeks work— a) 1 pair safety boots, and will be replaced on a fair wear and tear basis. b) 3 work shirts and shorts or trousers, which will be replaced on an annual 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, wet weather gear, sun screen lotion and sun brims to fit over safety helmets. 13.—TRAINING ALLOWANCE, TRAINING LEAVE, RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING The Company has recognised over the past five years that training programs benefit both employees and the company and has committed considerable resources with satisfactory results for all concerned. However, the lack of programs which are not tailored to the geotechnical contracting industry eg. Drilling, piling, excavation using cranes etc. is inhibiting both employees and the company. Therefore, there will be a change of focus for training allowing for employees to proceed along meaningful career paths. (1) The Company established a GFWA Training Fund con- tributing a sum equivalent to 1.5% of wages and salaries. (2) The Company is developing structured training programs which will be available to all employees on an equal expense basis. The programs which will be designed to enable em- ployees to proceed along career paths in a progressive manner as opposed to the current random arrangements. A system of Certification for satisfactory course completion will be part of the program. (3) The training program will be developed with accredited trainer and will seek the highest possible standard sources of training. It is anticipated that the program will incorporate a number of basic general skills eg. general induction, first aid, dogman, welding, crane operation etc, which is available from the market, and the company specific skills, for which courses will be developed with an accredited training organisation using the expertise of our employees who have extensive ex- perience of special techniques. (4) The Company will meet the cost of course fees, associ- ated expenses and ordinary time earning equivalent to normal working service. (5) Courses will be arranged to suit the company and em- ployee timetables. 14.—SENIORITY (1) The parties agree the continuity of employment is desir- able wherever possible, and that where it is not possible, em- ployees will be retrenched in order of seniority, subject to the nature of the workload and at the time of the skills required. (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 Statewide 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 applica- tion of this, the matter will be processed in accordance with Clause 6—Dispute Settlement Procedure. 15.—SICK LEAVE For sick leave accrued from 1 January 1996, the following will apply: a) The Company’s employees shall have the option of: i) being paid up to 5 days unused sick leave per annum and having the balance of unused sick leave accrue and paid out on termination; ii) having all unused sick leave accrued paid out on termination. b) If an employee who has been terminated by the Com- pany without exercising the above option is re-en- gaged within a period of six months, the unpaid balance of sick leave shall continue from the date of re-engagement. 16.—PRODUCTIVITY INITIATIVES In exchange for the significant wage increases and other benefits to employees which are provided in this Agreement, it is agreed that the following initiatives will be implemented as a means to improve productivity. (1) All demarcation issues will be resolved in accord- ance with Clause 6—Dispute Settlement Procedure. (2) The parties to the Agreement agree to adopt a rea- sonable and flexible approach to working hours in terms of starting and finishing times. Ordinary hours may be worked between 6am and 6pm on any week day. (3) Meetings on Union members held on site will be kept to an absolute minimum and will be timed to create a minimal disruption to work progress, in par- ticular by seeking to add meetings to break periods. (4) All parties agree to adopt a reasonable and flexible approach to inclement weather in order to minimise lost time caused through inclement weather. (5) Any employee elected as a Job Steward or Health and Safety Representative will be required to carry out meaningful work, as directed by the Company in addition to his/her duties as a Job Steward or Health and Safety Representative. (6) A Consultative Committee comprising up to 6 indi- viduals (3 representing management employees and 3 representing site employees/union) will be estab- lished to improve productivity and maintain good labour relations on site, including the elimination of any restrictive work practices. Meetings are to be held weekly on large sites and monthly otherwise. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 3893 76 W.A.I.G. 17.—DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY The parties are committed to the Drug and Alcohol Policy as outlined in Appendix B—Drug and Alcohol Policy. 18.—RATIFICATION The signatures that follow testify to the fact that this Agree- ment shall come into effect from the first pay period on or after 1 January 1996. Common Seal signed.............. KIM YOUNG 31/7/96 On behalf of the Union Print Name Date signed.............. ROBERT SIMPSON 31/7/96 On behalf of the Company Print Name Date APPENDIX A—WAGE RATES 1 January 1996 1 July 1996 1 January 1997 Hourly Rate Hourly Rate Hourly Rate $ $ $ Labourer Group 1 13.00 15.45 15.90 with a $2.00/hr site allowance Labourer Group 2 12.60 15.00 15.45 Labourer Group 3 12.00 14.40 14.80 In addition to the above hourly rates, all site and depot work- ers shall be paid a daily allowance of $22 per day for a maxi- mum 5 days per working week, in recognition of the special demands of geotechnical contracting work carried out be the company. The new wage rate and piling allowance is inclusive of a $2.00 General Site Allowance. In the event that the Company is reimbursed by the client for any site allowance in excess of $2.00 per hour the Company will pay to the employees that full amount in excess of $2.00 per hour. When working away from home for short jobs (less than four weeks) either: (i) Full board and accommodation will be provided by the company along with a tax free payment of $15.00 per night; or (ii) Accommodation and breakfast will be provided by the company along with a tax free payment of $40.00. When working away from home for longer than four weeks the company will offer the option for short jobs or a tax free payment of $420 per week, in which case all living away from home expenses to be met by the employee. Notwithstanding these provisions the Company will give special consideration to work in areas where accommodation costs are considered high, for example the current market price in Port Hedland. APPENDIX B—DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY 1. There is an increasing tendency by Clients to con- tractually bind us to remove personnel found to have been affected by alcohol and drugs from their sites permanently. Random alcohol and drug checks are also beginning to become routine in some workplaces. These are trends that will not go away. 2. Personnel unable to work safely because of Drugs and Alcohol at the sites, office and depot are a safety hazard to themselves and their fellow workers. No- one will be allowed to prejudice the Health and Safety at work of their fellow employees. 3. For legal reasons and to protect all parties, any af- fected worker(s) will be sent from site after consul- tation with the Health and Safety Representative or Union Delegate. They are to be taken to their home address by taxi or by another employee in order to ensure that they arrive home safely. There will be no pay for lost time. 4. When the affected worker(s) return to work the fol- lowing day, they are to be in consultation with man- agement and issued with a warning letter as to their future conduct. 5. If a worker receives two warning letters resulting from the effects of alcohol or drugs at work, the worker should be given the option of attending re- habilitation, otherwise he/she loses the protection outlined. 6. If, after Rehabilitation, it is necessary to issue a third warning letter for the same reasons, that will consti- tute grounds for immediate dismissal. GILBARCO AUST. LTD (PERTH) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 1996. No. AG 179 of 1996.