In New South Wales, workplace rights and entitlements (things like hours of work and amount of pay) are covered by two industrial relations systems: the NSW state award system and the federal system (known as Work Choices).

Leading up to the federal election last year, there was a lot of media coverage about the negative effects of the Work Choices legislation on low paid, vulnerable workers - particularly young people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

The NSW State Government was still very concerned about vulnerable workers in NSW and changed the NSW child employment laws to give greater protection to young workers (under 18 years of age).

Industrial relations laws were a key issue during last year's federal election campaign and the new Rudd Labor government has made clear its intention to change the existing federal industrial relations laws as soon as possible.

The federal government is currently working on a new industrial relations system, called Forward with Fairness. It is due to be fully operational by 1 January 2010.

Legislation designed to start the changeover to the new system was introduced on 13 February this year. Once it is passed by parliament, this new law will:

• Not allow new Australian Workplace Agreements
• Introduce a new no-disadvantage test
• Provide for the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to begin an award 'modernisation' process

The Bill has been referred to a Senate Committee for an Inquiry that is scheduled to report back in March 2008.

The federal government is proposing 10 minimum standards of employment for employees under its new system.

These National Employment Standards will cover the key minimum entitlements for all Australian employees, to apply from 1 January 2010. They will be guaranteed by law so they can't be excluded or modified in a way that makes them less valuable or not applicable.

The proposed National Employment Standards will cover:

• Hours of work
• Parental leave
• Flexible work for parents
• Annual leave
• Personal, carers and compassionate leave
• Community service leave
• Public holidays
• Information in the workplace
• Termination of employment and redundancy
• Long service leave

A discussion paper containing this information can be found at www.workplace.gov.au

The Workplace Relations Minister is seeking feedback on the proposed National Employment Standards from employer, employee and community representatives by 4 April 2008. Submissions can be sent to NES_comment@deewr.gov.au

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OIR is looking for workers who are over 45 years of age who have caring responsibilities as well as paid work in the private sector.

They could be helping to look after an elderly relative or another family member who is sick as well as doing paid work on a full or part time basis.

If you know someone who fits this description, please tell them that OIR is interested in hearing from them as part of its Mature Carers in the Workforce Project. This project looks at how carers can be supported to combine caring and work.

A video is being made as part of this project. It aims to show how employers and their mature age employees with caring responsibilities can make changes to working arrangements to help employees combine caring and work, and help employers to keep these valuable workers.

The video will focus on work performed in a number of occupations, including personal care assistants, domestic and clerical workers in aged care accommodation, child care workers, welfare workers, bank tellers, club workers, shop assistants and clerical workers.

So, if you know someone who may be interested in contributing to this project by telling OIR about their experiences and/or being part of the video, please contact Cheryl Hyde on 9020 4570 or at macproject@oir.commerce.nsw.gov.au Please note that Cheryl works Wednesday to Friday only.

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In January this year, OIR provided the State Government Access Program (GAP) with a range of printed resources for distribution through its outlets across regional NSW.

The GAP Program gives people living in country towns, similar access to services and information as those living in cities. The program delivers a range of information and services on behalf of government agencies to 67 Government Access Centres across NSW.

These centres act as 'one-stop shops' for a range of services. They are usually located in an established government service outlet such as a motor registry, local courthouse, or other community venue.

Services provided range from provision of information and the processing of standard transactions for government agencies to the organisation of referrals and appointments for visiting agency staff. These services vary from place to place as they are targeted to meet the needs of the local community.

Participating agencies include:

• Roads and Traffic Authority
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
• Department of Housing
• National Parks and Wildlife Service
• NSW Maritime Authority
• Office of Fair Trading
• NSW Fisheries
• Infringement Processing Bureau AND NOW
• Office of Industrial Relations

For more information, including a full list of Government Access Centre locations and the services they provide, visit the GAP website.

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Pilot project with Korean community in New South Wales

Project Officer, Young-Lan Lombard Docko, recently joined OIR to work on a three-month pilot project with the Korean business community in NSW. Young-Lan will be reviewing current and potential Korean information on the OIR website, providing a glossary of industrial relations terms in Korean, and liaising with the Korean community in relation to OIR information and education initiatives, including the Workplace Advice workshop program.

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To celebrate International Women's Day this year, OIR will be presenting two free information sessions for women job seekers and workers, and all women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

A morning (10.30am) and afternoon (1.30pm) session will be held in Liverpool on Friday 7 March. Bookings are essential and venue information will be provided when bookings are made. Call the Community Relations Coordinator on or before Wednesday 5 March on 9020 4577 to reserve a place or email crt@oir.commerce.nsw.gov.au

These free presentations will be delivered in plain English and will cover information about workplace rights and entitlements such as wages, overtime and holidays. They will also give participants some clear information about the industrial relations situation in NSW. We understand that a lot of people are very confused about this issue and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions during the sessions.

The theme of International Women's Day this year is '100 years of active women in paid and unpaid work'. In addition to providing information, these sessions will be a celebration of this theme and refreshments will be provided.

Please circulate Women Working in NSW presentations flyer to your clients and colleagues.

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For the first time, OIR is presenting a series of industrial relations workshops for parents of school age students who are working part-time.

The presentations aim to address parents' concerns about how their children may be treated at work and provide up to date information about recent changes to the workplace laws affecting young workers (under 18 years of age) in NSW.

Content will include:

• Provisions of the NSW Industrial Relations (Child Employment) Act
• Trial periods in the workplace
• What your child has a right to expect at work
• Where to go for assistance if your child has any workplace problems

Industrial Relations for Parents presentations are scheduled for the following dates and places between 6pm and 8pm:

• March - 4 Port Macquarie; 11 Newcastle South; 11 Shellharbour; 26 Cardiff
• April - 8 Penrith
• May - 8 Woonona

For venue details and to book or go to www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au and follow the workshops link.

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With Easter rapidly approaching, it's a good idea to find out what your situation is regarding public holiday work and pay. You (and your clients/students) need to know what (if any) extra payments you will receive if you have to work over the Easter period.

This year the Easter break is early, with the public holiday dates being Friday 21, Saturday 22 and Monday 24 March.

If you have to work on a public holiday and your work is covered by a State award or you are under 18 years of age, you may be entitled to extra pay. Check your award or agreement for details.

To find out which shops in NSW can open over the Easter break or for more information about public holiday pay rates, call the OIR Information Hotline on 131 628.

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Since 1 July 2007 OIR has directly supervised the recovery of $2.3 million from 746 employers for underpayments to workers.

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Q. Will shops be open on Anzac Day in NSW?

A. Yes, all general shops in NSW are permitted to trade from 1pm on Anzac Day, Friday 25 April 2008. There is no restriction on the opening and closing times for small shops and scheduled shops on this day.

Q. What is the difference between general, small and scheduled shops?

A. As a general guide:

Small shops are defined as shops with no more than four staff working at any one time. There are other conditions that must be met regarding the type and extent of ownership for a business to be classified as a small shop.

Scheduled shops are usually specialty shops and include bookshops, chemists, cake and pastry shops, refreshment shops, restaurants, take-away food shops, fruit and vegetable shops, garden plant shops, newsagencies, vehicle service shops and video shops.

Shops that are not small shops or scheduled shops are classified as general shops - such as department stores and shops selling furniture, electrical goods and hardware.

Follow these links for more information about general shops, small shops and scheduled shops.

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It can be confusing to know which IR scheme you are working under and what kind of agreement covers your pay and conditions. If you need more information or assistance the OIR provides a range of services to help both employees and employers with their rights and obligations under the NSW State system and also young workers under 18 working for employers in either the State or the federal system.

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Web links

• Young People at Work website
• New laws for workers under 18 - Information for employers
• New child labour laws for NSW - What young workers need to know
• OIR publications
• OIR customer service centres

To unsubscribe, please send an email to: crt@oir.commerce.nsw.gov.au with the email address you want us to remove and type the word 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line. We will then take your email address off the list.

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