Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales CITATION : BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Restructured Electrical Graded Trades Classifications Rates of Pay Award & other matters [2000] NSWIRComm 192 RESPONDENTS: BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Limited BHP Steel (JLA) Pty Limited PARTIES : Electrical Trades Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (New South Wales Branch) Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, New South Wales Branch FILE NUMBER: IRC 2608; 2612; 2614; 2624; 2626; 2648; 2649; 2650; 2651; 2663; 2664; 2667; 5122; 5256 of 1999 & 1479 of 2000 CORAM: Walton J Vice-President CATCHWORDS : Award review - consolidation of awards - modernisation of awards - test case decisions - pay equity and discrimination LEGISLATION CITED : Industrial Relations Act 1996 s19 Principles for Review of Awards - State Decision 1998 (1998) 85 IR 38 CASES CITED : Principles for Review of Awards - State Decision 1998 (unreported, Wright J, President, Hungerford J, Schmidt J, Sams DP and Redman C, 28 April 1999) Re Equal Remuneration Principle (2000) 97 IR 177 HEARING DATES: 07/12/2000 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 09/29/2000 RESPONDENTS: Mr D Lloyd for the companies Blake Dawson Waldron Lawyers Mr W Tomlins Electrical Trades Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch; Mr W Phillips LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, New South Wales Branch; Mr A Wiley Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales; Ms R Mallia Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (New South Wales Branch). JUDGMENT: - 1 - INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES CORAM: WALTON J, Vice-President FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2000 MATTER NO. IRC2608 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA RESTRUCTURED ELECTRICAL GRADED TRADES CLASSIFICATIONS RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2612 OF 1999 JOHN LYSAGHT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED - PORT KEMBLA GENERAL AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2614 OF 1999 JOHN LYSAGHT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED - PORT KEMBLA SLIT RECOIL LINE - RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2624 OF 1999 JOHN LYSAGHT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED - PORT KEMBLA - COIL TEMPER MILL - RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2626 OF 1999 IRON AND STEEL WORKS EMPLOYEES (AUSTRALIAN IRON AND STEEL PTY LIMITED - PORT KEMBLA) AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2648 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (JLA) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA - NO 3 PAINT LINE - RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2649 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD BLAST FURNACE TEAM WORK AGREEMENT AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2650 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (JLA) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA - CPCM ROLL SHOP - RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2651 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA RESTRUCTURED REFRACTORY EMPLOYEES CLASSIFICATIONS RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2663 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA CARPENTERS (STATE) AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2664 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA RESTRUCTURED IRONWORKER CLASSIFICATIONS RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC2667 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA RESTRUCTURED MECHANICAL GRADED TRADES CLASSIFICATIONS RATES OF PAY AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC5122 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (JLA) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA, LUMP SUM PAYMENTS SCHEME AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC5256 OF 1999 BHP STEEL (AIS) PTY LTD - PORT KEMBLA LUMP SUM PAYMENTS SCHEME AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. MATTER NO. IRC1479 OF 2000 IRON AND STEEL WORKS EMPLOYEES (AUSTRALIAN IRON AND STEEL PTY LIMITED - PORT KEMBLA) PERFORMANCE RECOGNITION PAYMENTS SCHEME AWARD. NOTICE OF AWARD REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 19 OF THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996. DECISION [2000] NSWIRComm 192 1 These matters were brought before the Commission in response to a series of award review notices issued by the Industrial Registrar, pursuant to s19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 ("the Act"). 2 Upon the application of the parties the Commission initially heard the parties only as to those awards concerning BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd. The remainder of the awards were stood over to be heard at a later date. In the result this decision concerns the review of the following awards, pursuant to s19 of the Act: BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Restructured Electrical Graded Trades Classifications Rates Of Pay Award. Iron And Steel Works Employees (Australian Iron And Steel Pty Limited - Port Kembla) Award. BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd Blast Furnace Team Work Agreement Award. BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Restructured Refractory Employees Classifications Rates Of Pay Award. BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Carpenters (State) Award. BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Restructured Ironworker Classifications Rates Of Pay Award. BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Restructured Mechanical Graded Trades Classifications Rates Of Pay Award. BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Lump Sum Payments Scheme Award. Iron And Steel Works Employees (Australian Iron And Steel Pty Limited - Port Kembla) Performance Recognition Payments Scheme Award ("the awards"). 3 The parties to the proceedings submitted that it was appropriate to rescind the awards and to make a new award known as the BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Steelworks Employees Award 2000 ("the proposed award") pursuant to s19(6) of the Act. It was submitted by Mr D Lloyd, solicitor, who appeared for BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd ("the company") and BHP Steel (JLA) Pty Ltd, that the awards should be rescinded and replaced and ultimately consolidated into a single industrial instrument encompassing all wages and conditions of employment for employees of the company at the Port Kembla steelworks. 4 It was also submitted that the proposed award would meet the requirements of s19 of the Act in that it modernised and consolidated awards, removed any unnecessary technicalities and rescinded obsolete awards, in accordance with the principles for award review. ` 5 It was submitted that the new award, whilst retaining the existing provisions of the general and splinter awards, comprehensively reconstructed the terms of the awards using modern language to assist the users of the new award. 6 It was also noted that the rates of pay in the new award incorporated State Wage Case increases and other adjustments to wages recently approved by this Commission. Mr Lloyd submitted that the new award incorporated the various test case standards. 7 With regard to pay equity issues, the parties submitted that the new award did not operate in a discriminatory manner and that the assessment of work, skill and responsibility have been approached on a gender neutral basis. Mr Lloyd submitted that, since the early 1990's the company and the unions have progressively introduced restructured systems of work at various departments of the Port Kembla steelworks and, in more recent times, some departments have undergone a more fundamental restructure in the form of work redesign. It was submitted that this restructuring has occurred right across the Port Kembla steelworks and has resulted in new classification structures, duties and rates of pay. These restructures are to be found in Part C of the proposed award. 8 Importantly, for issues of equal remuneration, it was submitted that the determination of wages had been undertaken in accordance with the work value principles of the Commission and the numerous judgments of the Commission, principally, in recent years, of Hungerford J, where those restructures have been approved on a case by case basis. In determining wages, it was submitted the parties have had regard to comparisons within the steelworks of the relative work, skill and responsibility of different classifications and also the conditions under which work is performed. The classifications and the duties associated with those classifications were fixed regardless of the sex of the employee. 9 With regard to obsolescence, it was submitted that one award, namely the Iron And Steel Works Employees (Australian Iron And Steel Pty Limited - Port Kembla) Performance Recognition Payments Scheme Award, was obsolete. 10 The relevant unions agreed with the submissions of Mr Lloyd and urged the Commission to make the new award as presented. 11 On 12 July 2000, the Commission indicated that, subject to the filing of an alternate version of Part D of the proposed award, it would make an award in terms of exhibit 7 (as amended with respect to Part D). The Commission indicated that the award would operate on and from the first pay period to commence on or after 12 July 2000. This decision results in the making of that order and provides reasons for same. 12 In undertaking this review, the Commission had regard to the purpose of the review (see s19(2)) and took into account those matters referred to in s19(3) of the Act. It has also had regard to the decision of the Full Bench of this Commission in Principles for Review of Awards - State Decision 1998 (1998) 85 IR 38 and the further judgment of the Commission in relation to Principles for Review of Awards - State Decision 1998 (unreported, Wright J, President, Hungerford J, Schmidt J, Sams DP and Redman C, 28 April 1999) ("the Principles"). 13 It is desirable that the multifarious splinter awards which arose in this industry under the previous statutory scheme, so far as practicable, be removed and consolidated into a single award in the same industry. Such an approach is consistent with the statutory purpose for the review of awards (see s19(2)). 14 Furthermore, the proposed award modernises the language in the industrial instrument relevant to the employees at the Port Kembla steelworks, and removes obsolete provisions and unnecessary technicalities. It incorporates the various test case provisions, sets fair and reasonable conditions of employment, and contains dispute resolution procedures. 15 Having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Re Equal Remuneration Principle (2000) 97 IR 177, the Principles and the submissions of Mr Lloyd, I do not consider that, on the material before the Commission, any adjustment to the award is required having regard to s19(3) of the Act, save for a number of specific matters raised with the parties during the course of the proceedings. Those matters were attended to by the filing of an amended Part D of the proposed award. 16 Pursuant to s19(6) of the Act, the Commission makes the BHP Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd - Port Kembla Steelworks Employees Award 2000 in terms of exhibit 7 (as amended with respect to Part D) in these proceedings. I also order that the awards earlier described in paragraph 2 of this decision be rescinded. The award shall operate from the first pay period to commence on or after 12 July 2000 and shall remain in force for a period of 12 months. The award review proceedings are thereby concluded. DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated.