Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award (No 5) [2013] NSWIRComm 55 Hearing dates: 11 February and 3 June 2013 Decision date: 25 June 2013 Jurisdiction: Industrial Relations Commission Before: Walton J, Vice-President; Staff J; Tabbaa C Decision: We make the award known as the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2013) Award in terms of annexure 'B' to the affidavit of Mr Spring in exhibit 170 in the proceedings. The award shall rescind and replace the award known as the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award. It shall take effect on and from 1 July 2013 with the exception of the rates of pay and allowances prescribed under Part B Monetary Rates which shall take effect from the date specified in that Part or where otherwise stated in the award and shall remain in force until 30 June 2014 Catchwords: AWARD - award application - Stage 2 of proceedings - leave granted for application to be amended to consent application - application satisfies requirements and relevant principles - award known as the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2013) Award made Legislation Cited: Industrial Relations Act 1996 Cases Cited: Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award, Re [2012] NSWIRComm 23 Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award, Re (No 2) [2012] NSWIRComm 104 Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award (No 3) [2012] NSWIRComm 120 Principles for Review of Awards, Re (1998) 85 IR 38 Principles for Review of Awards [1999] NSWIRComm 201 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Police Association of New South Wales (Applicant) Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force (Respondent) Representation: A Howell of counsel (Applicant) S B Benson of counsel (Respondent) Police Association of New South Wales (Applicant) Crown Solicitor's Office (Respondent) File Number(s): IRC 325 of 2011 EX tempore Decision 1These proceedings find their genesis in an application by the Police Association of New South Wales for a series of variations to the Crown Employees (Police Officers) Award 2009, filed on 1 April 2011 ('the application'). 2The application sought variations that may be characterised into three broad categories: (1)A claim for increased salaries and salary-related allowances for police officers generally by the amount of 5 per cent per annum over three years (Category I); (2)A number of claims for increased remuneration in the form of allowances (and in one case an altered salary structure) for particular groups of officers (Category 2); and (3)A number of claims for variations in relation to conditions of employment, some that apply generally, and others that only apply to commissioned police officers (Category 3). 3The hearing of the application was split into two stages: the first determining the first two categories of the claim, and the second dealing with the residue. 4By way of decisions published on 28 March 2012 (Re Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award [2012] NSWIRComm 23) and 14 September 2012 (Re Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award (No 2) [2012] NSWIRComm 104) the Full Bench determined Stage 1 of the proceedings. 5Variations to the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award were made by the Full Bench in its ex tempore decision on 2 October 2012: see Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award (No 3) [2012] NSWIRComm 120, and from that time onwards the proceedings were directed to the resolution of Stage 2. 6Despite the resolution of a significant number of claims in Stage 1 of the proceedings, including substantive salary adjustments for police officers on and from 1 July 2011, 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2013, there remained a significant range of disparate claims that fell to be resolved in Stage 2 of the proceedings which would have, in the absence of some alternative resolution, called for further protracted and complex proceedings. 7It was in this light that the parties agreed to a further conciliation process out of which sprung a Statement and Recommendation by the Vice-President on 3 June 2013 which was designed to resolve the outstanding Stage 2 claims in the proceedings. 8On 13 June 2013, the parties to the proceedings advised the Commission they had agreed to accept the Vice-President's Statement and Recommendation in settlement of the remaining issues in the proceedings. 9In the proceedings today evidence was adduced in the form of an affidavit sworn by Michael Anthony Spring on 18 June 2013. He deposed that the parties entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on 13 June 2013 (which MOU was attached to his affidavit). He also deposed that, in the light of earlier rulings of the Commission in this matter, the terms of the MOU and an award review process previously undertaken before Justice Staff, the parties prepared a draft new award to be known as the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2013) Award which was advanced as a consent award in finalisation of the entirety of the proceedings before the Commission. That draft award became, by leave, the amended application upon which the Association proceeded in the final disposition of these proceedings. It was annexed as attachment 'B' to Mr Spring's affidavit. 10It follows, then, that the consent award application before us today represents the culmination of the proceedings in Matter No IRC 325 of 2011. Because we also intend to deal with the review of the proposed award the proceedings will also represent the culmination of the award review proceedings in Matter No IRC 103 of 2012 (the award review proceedings before Staff J), even though that matter is not strictly before us. 11We consider that the proposed award meets all of the statutory requirements for the making of awards. Given the history of the matter, we are able to say that the award is one of abundant industrial merit and certainly satisfies the requirements of s 10 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996. Further, the award shall be treated as a reviewed award. We have undertaken that review in the light of the material provided in the affidavit of Mr Spring and in accordance with the principles established by Full Benches in Re Principles for Review of Awards (1998) 85 IR 38 and Principles for Review of Award [1999] NSWIRComm 201. 12We make the award known as the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2013) Award in terms of annexure 'B' to the affidavit of Mr Spring in exhibit 170 in these proceedings. The award shall rescind and replace the award known as the Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2009) Award. It shall take effect on and from 1 July 2013 with the exception of the rates of pay and allowances prescribed under Part B Monetary Rates which shall take effect from the date specified in that Part or where otherwise stated in the award and shall remain in force until 30 June 2014. ********** 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. Decision last updated: 26 June 2013