Award Modernisation Transitional Provisions
29 May, 2009 | Submission
Through the process of award modernisation, thousands of existing pre-reform awards and Notional Agreements Preserving State Awards (NAPSAs) are being consolidated into a much smaller number of industry and occupational-based modern awards.
While the new safety net established by the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act), consisting of modern awards and the National Employment Standards (NES), is informed by terms and conditions of employment in pre-existing instruments, it is clear that the new minimum terms and conditions do not correspond to the highest standards found within existing pre-reform awards and NAPSAs.
As a result, there is the very real potential for employees to be disadvantaged when the new safety net commences operation on 1 January 2010.
It is for this reason that the legislature and the Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations have envisaged the use of transitional arrangements in modern awards.
This submission of the ACTU addresses the question of transitional arrangements for modern awards.
The submission addresses a number of broad considerations including:
- The role of transitional provisions in award modernisation
- Existing transitional provisions in modern awards already published by the Commission
- The duration of the transition period
- The role of take home pay orders
- Consideration of economic benefit and cost
- The distinction between transition and translation
This submission establishes a series of principles which, we submit, should guide the Commission’s approach to the formulation of specific transitional arrangements in modern awards.
This submission does not propose transitional provisions for specific modern awards published in the Priority Stage and Stage 2.
The task of assessing the effect of the modern award in light of the terms of pre-existing NAPSAs and pre-reform awards is best left to the specific relevant consideration, within established principles, of industry parties and the Commission.
|