Australian Workers’ Union v Secretary of the Department of Transport [2024] NSWIRComm 1009

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Australian Workers' Union v Secretary of the Department of Transport [2024] NSWIRComm 1009 Hearing dates: 6 November 2023 Date of orders: 22 February 2024 Decision date: 22 February 2024 Jurisdiction: Industrial Relations Commission Before: Commissioner Muir Decision: 1. Pursuant to s 136(1)(a) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996, the Commission recommends that the parties: (1) meet to consider the circumstances in which higher duties are worked and the rationale for the basis on which the HDA is calculated in light of those circumstances; and (2) work to agreeing amendments to either or both the Wages Award and the Wages HD Procedure so that a provision expressly stating the rationale and basis of calculation can be added to one or both instruments. 2. Pursuant to s 175 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996, the Commission determines that the respondent's Higher Duties for Wages Employees Procedure requires that when employees covered by the Roads and Maritime Services (Wages Staff) Award 2019 are performing higher duties in a position covered by the Roads and Maritime Services (Salaried Staff) Award 2019, the employees should be paid the substantive rate of pay of the salaried role they are acting in, calculated on an hourly basis. Catchwords: EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL LAW — Awards and enterprise agreements — Interpretation — Remuneration EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL LAW — Industrial Relations Commission — Procedure and powers — Interpretation Legislation Cited: Industrial Relations Act 1996, ss 130, 175 Roads and Maritime Services (Salaried Staff) Award 2019 Roads and Maritime Services (Wages Staff) Award 2019 Cases Cited: Davidson v Commissioner of Police (No 3) [2022] NSWIRComm 1102 NSW Local Government, Clerical, Administrative, Energy, Airlines and Utilities Union and Marrickville Council [2014] NSWIRComm 1006 Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales v Secretary of the Treasury [2014] NSWIRComm 23 Texts Cited: . Category: Principal judgment Parties: Australian Workers' Union (Notifier) Transport Secretary (Respondent) Representation: J Duan (Legal Officer, Australian Workers' Union) with Ms S Doumit (Branch Vice President, Australian Workers' Union) (Notifier) Mr R Hutchinson (Senior Manager Employee Relations, Transport for NSW) (Respondent) File Number(s): 2023/00160317 Publication restriction: Nil