Benchmark conditions for the courier delivery services tender

A full description of the benchmark conditions is contained in the relevant tender documents. A copy of the Courier Delivery Services tender (RFT 0400854) is available from the Government's etendering website.

Under the Courier Delivery Services tender, a contractor must ensure that any person who is an employee or contractor, when performing work under the tender, receives remuneration and entitlements which, when aggregated, provide no less than the remuneration and entitlements that would otherwise apply from time to time to a person performing the same or similar work under an industrial instrument made under the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW), regardless of the instrument under which the person works.

The industrial instruments relevant to work performed under the Courier Delivery Services tender include the:

• Transport Industry (State) Award
• Transport Industry - Redundancy (State) Award
• Transport Industry (State) Superannuation (No. 2) Award
• Transport Industry - Mutual Responsibility for Road Safety (State) Award
• Transport Industry – Courier and Taxi Truck Contract Determination
• Transport Industry – Courier and Taxi Truck (Superannuation) Contract Determination
• Transport Industry – General Carriers Contract Determination 
• Transport Industry - Mutual Responsibility for Road Safety (State) Contract Determination.

Where a contractor or subcontractor provides remuneration and entitlements in excess of the benchmark conditions to employees and contractors performing work under this tender, the contractor or subcontractor shall not reduce the level of remuneration or conditions.

The NSW industrial relations legislation relevant to work performed under the Courier Delivery Services tender includes the:

• Industrial Relations Act 1996 No 17
• Annual Holidays Act 1944 No 31 
• Employment Protection Act 1982 No 122 
• Long Service Leave Act 1955 No 38 
• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 No 40
• Workplace Injury Management and Workers
• Compensation Act 1998 No 86
• Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 No 47

The NSW industrial relations legislation relevant to work performed under the Courier Delivery Services tender also includes any amending legislation and regulations made under these principal pieces of legislation.

During June/July 2007 the Office of Industrial Relations audited the compliance of all short-listed tenderers, in accordance with the Government’s pilot industrial relations arrangements.

Each of the short-listed tenderers were assessed for:

1. general compliance with the no net detriment remuneration requirement
2. compliance with occupational health and safety standards established in awards
3. compliance with relevant NSW industrial relations and occupational health and safety laws
4. acceptance of any potential liability for the unpaid remuneration of sub-contractors’ employees (in the case of a sub-contractor defaulting)
5. adequacy of arrangements to ensure that all sub-contractors meet the no net detriment remuneration requirement
6. commitment to notify the details of sub-contractors engaged to perform work under the contract
7. agreement to participate in conciliation and arbitration processes before the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW
8. acceptance of any arbitrated decision of the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW
9. agreement to provide reasonable access for unions to enter workplaces, subject to State and Commonwealth industrial relations and occupational health and safety laws
10. consent to participate in the Office’s workplace auditing program throughout the life of the tender.

Further information about the results of these audits will be posted once the contract has been finalised.

• Courier May 2009 Audits