Work Smart October 2009
Department of Commerce changes its name
$25,000 for Chat with an OIR Inspector client
Reminder - public holiday pay rates
Understanding the new national workplace laws
Workplace information in Hindi
Equal Pay Day
Know the Deal competition winners
Jump START NSW
2009 pay increases - State Wage Case
Who Bargains report
ATSI newsletter
Renting info CDs for refugees
What's New: NSW Department of Commerce has changed its name
Until recently, the Office of Industrial Relations was part of the NSW Department of Commerce. Last month, the Department changed its name to the NSW Department of Services, Technology and Administration (DSTA).
What does DSTA do?
Despite the new name, this Department is still the NSW government agency responsible for making 'doing business in NSW' simple, accessible and fair for employees, consumers and industry while providing the best value for government.
Which other government offices belong to DSTA?
DSTA has six main divisions. These are:
- Office of Fair Trading
- Office of Industrial Relations
- NSW Public Works
- NSW Procurement
- The Government Chief Information Office
- Strategic Communications and Government Advertising
For more information please visit the new DSTA website.
Will there be changes to OIR now it's part of DSTA?
You will probably notice minor changes, like the Departmental name at the bottom of our website homepage, our new logo and a change to the look of OIR's official letterhead. Apart from that, it will be business as usual at OIR.
Chat with an OIR Inspector program results in $25,000 settlement
A Chinese woman who sought advice from OIR as part of a Chat to an OIR Inspector session has recently settled with her employer for $25,000.
The woman, whose unlawful dismissal claim fell under federal law, sought help from OIR's successfully piloted outreach initiative because she had been helped by the Office in the past.
This is just one of the successful outcomes from the Chat to an OIR Inspector initiative that was trialled at St George Migrant Resource Centre and Auburn Diversity Services this year.
The initiative gave local clients the opportunity to have a chat about workplace issues with industrial relations experts in a friendly, informal and culturally appropriate setting. The sessions were held on a regular basis in English and Chinese.
Questions from clients during these sessions ranged from how to make a complaint and recover unpaid wages to long service leave provisions and clarification of which industrial relations system covered their work.
In some cases, clients were referred to alternative government departments or services for help. The Chat to an OIR Inspector program will be offered again next year. Watch this space for news of the expanded program.
Reminder about public holiday pay rates
Did you or any of your clients or students work on the Labour Day holiday on October 5 this year? Anyone working on Monday's public holiday should have been paid the correct award rates for their work.
The Minister for Industrial Relations, John Hatzistergos, recently reminded employers it is their responsibility to make sure all staff who work on public holidays are given the correct award rates of pay and the appropriate meal and rest breaks.
Mr Hatzistergos said that more than $4 million was recovered from NSW employers in the last financial year, including back payments for workers who did not receive correct public holiday penalty rate payments.
Check the OIR website for more information about correct payment on public holidays.
Understanding the new national workplace laws
As you read in the last edition of Work Smart (July 2009), some of the new national workplace laws were introduced on 1 July this year and the rest are due to take effect from 1 January 2010.
At the Office of Industrial Relations we understand how confusing all of these changes can be for you and your clients.
Helping make the pieces of the IR puzzle fit
To help you understand the changes, the OIR has put together an information kit containing resources that explain how the new laws will affect workers and employers in NSW.
The kit is being promoted via the promotional postcard below.
You just fill in your details, mail the card back to OIR and we will send you as many information kits as you require, to pass on to your clients, students, work colleagues, friends and family members.
To order a set of postcards and/or information kits, send an email containing your name, mailing address, and the number of postcards and kits you require, to crt@services.nsw.gov.au
You can also keep up-to-date with the changes by checking the OIR website at www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au
Workplace information in Hindi
Important workplace information is now available in Hindi on the OIR website.
The popular Working in NSW fact sheet has been translated into Hindi and information in this language has also been added to the OIR Our Services brochure.
This brings the total number of languages in which OIR publications are available to fourteen. These include English, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese and Australian Sign Language (or Auslan).
To access information in community languages, go to the In Another Language section of the OIR website.
Equal Pay Day shows women are still far from equal
On Tuesday, 1 September, Australia celebrated Equal Pay Day 2009.
This is an initiative of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA). Equal Pay Day highlights the fact that many women in Australia still earn less than their male colleagues for work of equal value.
September 1 was chosen this year as it is the same number of days after the end of the 2008/2009 financial year that many women would have to work to earn the same amount of money as men did in that 12 month period.
This year that number is 68 days, reflecting that women in Australia earn around 17.4 percent less than men.
Ministerial reminder to treat women equitably in the workplace
On Equal Pay Day this year, the NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, John Hatzistergos, reminded employers about the importance of treating woman equitably in the workplace.
"It has been unlawful to pay women less than men for work of equal value for four decades and yet there is still a significant pay gap between genders," Mr Hatzistergos said.
"Equal Pay Day serves as a timely reminder that we still have some way to go on our journey towards fair and equitable pay and conditions for all workers."
Mr Hatzistergos referred to EOWA figures released on 1 September showing that the majority of women are yet to achieve pay equity with men.
"According to the statistics, most women earn less than 83 cents in the male dollar - that is exactly 17 cents below where it should be," he said.
The NSW Government is currently preparing a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into pay equity and associated issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce.
For more information about the submission, or to find out more about rights and entitlements at work, go to www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au.
For more information on EOWA and Equal Pay Day, go to www.eowa.gov.au.
Know the Deal youth video competition winners
Congratulations to all of the high school students who entered the 2009 OIR Know the Deal youth video competition.
First prize in the regional section went to Toronto High School and first prize in the Sydney section was won by Loreto Kirribilli.
Toronto High School Trinity Catholic College
Loreto Kirribilli School
Minister for Industrial Relations John Hatzistergos presents high schools with Know the Deal prizes.
Award presentation ceremony at Parliament House
NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, John Hatzistergos, presented three winning high school teams from each section with their awards at a ceremony at Parliament House in Sydney on 9 September.
Mr Hatzistergos commended everyone who took part in the competition on the creativity and high standard of their entries and congratulated the winners for their success in promoting workplace information to their peers.
Know the Deal competition task - what the students had to do
The competition required high school students to develop a short, creative video promoting at least one key message about workplace rights to their peers.
The video also had to promote the OIR's Young People at Work website and appeal to young people between 14 and 20 years of age.
Mr Hatzistergos said he was pleased to see such a wide range of workplace issues covered in this year's competition entries.
"The videos address everything from job interviews and unpaid work trials to paid leave entitlements, rates of pay and discrimination in the workplace," Mr Hatzistergos said.
Benefits to students, schools, young job seekers and workers
"Not only is making the video fun, but students also meet learning outcomes from their school syllabus and begin preparing themselves for the world of work.
"They source important information about starting a job from the OIR's comprehensive youth website www.youngpeopleatwork.nsw.gov.au" he said.
The winning students each received an engraved trophy and cash prizes for themselves and their schools. You can view the winning videos on the Young People at Work website.
Jump START NSW - helping young people into work
The NSW Government has just announced an exciting new program designed to help young people take up careers in the public service.
What is Jump START NSW?
The Jump START NSW program will provide 500 entry-level cadetships to HSC school leavers every year for the next four years.
What's a cadetship?
A cadetship is a way to earn money while learning. Cadets are paid for their work while developing new skills and learning about the work of the organisation.
What kind of work is being offered?
Four types of cadetship are currently available: office administration and customer service, assistants in nursing, farming assistants and information technology support.
Applying for a cadetship
Applicants must be under 25 at the time they apply and have their HSC or be sitting for it this year.
Why work for the NSW public service?
The public sector is the largest employer in the state, with more than 100 different types of organisations providing services to people across NSW. There are workplaces throughout the state and a wide range of jobs and careers.
The NSW public sector also provides excellent pay and workplace conditions, including flexible leave provisions.
Follow the link for more information about Jump START.
Pay increase for some workers in the NSW state IR system
Each year, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (NSW IRC), which is similar to a court for employment issues, makes a decision about the appropriate wage increase for NSW awards. This happens as part of the State Wage Case.
The 2009 State Wage Case
On 30 July this year, the NSW IRC handed down its decision in the 2009 State Wage Case, granting a 2.8 per cent increase to certain award rates of pay and work related allowances.
This is equal to an increase of around $15.50 weekly to the NSW Minimum Wage, which is now $568.20 per week.
These increases will only apply where a union makes an application to the IRC on behalf of workers who are covered by a particular state award.
Such wage increases cannot be granted any earlier than 12 months since the last State Wage Case increase.
Who benefits from the pay increase?
It is estimated that around 250,000 employees will receive a direct benefit from the 2009 State Wage Case decision.
The majority of these people are women or workers employed part-time who work in industries where there is little chance for bargaining around pay and other working conditions.
Awards - still an important feature of industrial relations in Australia
Awards and agreements form an important part of both the state and federal industrial relations systems.
This year, the OIR asked the University of Sydney's Workplace Research Centre to conduct a research project that would identify which employers and workers do bargain to decide on pay rates and workplace conditions, and how many rely on industrial awards.
The resulting report, entitled Who Bargains, was launched in August this year.
The research found that many employers use awards to help them work out fair pay and conditions for workers, either directly (for workers covered by awards), or indirectly (as a reference point to work from).
Ninety percent of employers reported that they refer to awards in their collective agreements [where representatives bargain on behalf of workers and employers].
Vulnerable workers are less likely to bargain for workplace conditions
The research found that employees who don't participate in bargaining tend to be low-paid, low-skilled, in part-time and casual employment, and women. It found that collective bargaining mainly takes place in the public sector and that when this happens awards still have a central role.
ATSI online newsletter
The Office of Industrial Relations now has an online newsletter for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) community.
The quarterly Two Rivers newsletter provides ATSI communities with information, stories and updates on happenings in the world of industrial relations. If you would like to subscribe to the Two Rivers newsletter, phone the OIR ATSI Unit on 1300 361 968 or send a fax to 9020 4735.
Special Notice: Translated audio CDs for newly-arrived refugees
Our colleagues at the NSW Office of Fair Trading have produced a set of audio CDs in eight languages to help newly-arrived migrants and refugees with issues they may face when renting a property in NSW.
Renting - what you need to know is designed for use by community workers, educators, and other service providers including multilingual radio presenters so they can raise awareness about renting and tenancy rights issues amongst newly arrived refugees from countries such as Africa, Myanmar (Burma) and East Timor.
The CDs are available in Juba Arabic, Dinka, Karen, Kirundi, Somali, Swahili, Tetum and Tongan. The content has also been translated into 30 other languages and will be available on the Fair Trading website soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Boxing Day (26 December) falls on a Saturday this year. Which day is the Boxing Day public holiday?
Answer: The Boxing Day public holiday will be Monday 28 December 2009.
Question: When are the other public holidays over the Christmas and New Year period?
Answer: The other public holidays are:
- Christmas Day - Friday 25 December
- New Year's Day - Friday 1 January
- Australia Day - Tuesday 26 January
If you have to work on one of these days, call 131 628 or check the information on NSW State Awards on the OIR website to find out how much you should be paid and whether or not penalty rates apply.
Need more help? Call us on 131 628
It can be confusing to know which IR scheme you are working under and what kind of agreement covers your pay and conditions.
To find out which system covers your work you can use the new online tool State or Federal Jurisdiction? Just enter your employer's ABN number or legal business name and you can search for which system they fall under. There is also extra information on the OIR website to help.
The OIR also provides a range of other services to help both workers and employers with their rights and obligations under the NSW state system and also all young workers (under 18 years of age) working for employers in both the state and federal systems.