Rudd Government stands by as award safety net for women clerical workers cut

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) decision on the final form of the first priority modern awards has savagely cut rates of pay and conditions for women clerical workers. The cuts affect clerical workers across the country and significantly reduce their safety net contrary to Government promises that workers would not be disadvantaged

For the first time, women workers in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and Queensland can be required by their employers to work on Saturday mornings as part of their ordinary hours of work.

The AIRC has determined a loading of 25% for work on Saturday mornings but this will be cold comfort for the mainly women workers covered by this Award who will be forced to work instead of taking their children to Saturday morning sport or other family activities. The inclusion of Saturday work as "ordinary hours" will create the potential for many thousands of workers to be forced to work Saturdays as part of their normal working week in future.

Following the publication of the Exposure Draft of the Clerks Award, the ASU consulted members and other clerical workers about the impact of working ordinary hours on a Saturday morning. Clerical workers were horrified at the prospect and the ASU gave the AIRC the full results of that consultation, but to no avail.

The ASU made strong representations to the AIRC regarding a range of disadvantages that clerical employees would face if the terms of the Exposure Draft were set in stone in the final award. The Commission's decision acknowledged that:

"Extensive submissions were made about the content of the exposure draft for this award. The ASU identified a number of areas of disadvantage for current and future employees."

Little note appears to have been taken of the extensive list of disadvantage if changes were not made to the draft award. The ASU and the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) went public in October expressing strong concern about the impact of the proposed modern awards on women workers. These fears have been realised.

A list of the key cuts in terms and conditions for clerical and administrative employees including pay rates includes:

• Saturday morning work as part of ordinary hours and Monday to Friday spreads of hours extended for many workers.
• Cuts in the level of minimum wages paid to clerks: the AIRC used the SA Clerks Award classification structure for the modern award but cut $18.10 per week (or $941.20 per annum) from the Level 1 year 1 entry rate of pay without giving any reason or explanation. General clerical rates will now start at $20 per week or $1000 PA less than clerks under the general Retail Award.
• Casual loadings for Victorian workers have been cut from 33.3% to a standard 25%.
• No jury service make up pay beyond the level provided in the Government's inadequate National Employment Standard.
• Higher redundancy standards for workers under state awards have only been preserved for workers employed when the new modern award commences - new employees will lose this part of their safety net and all employees will lose it after five years.
• Additional parental leave entitlements have been lost.

Under the Federal Government's proposed Fair Work Bill, employees guaranteed $100,000 per annum in pay will not be covered by awards. Inexplicably, the AIRC has cut this guarantee in half for clerical employees, giving way to pressure from some employers to introduce a so-called exemption rate into the modern clerical award. Exemption rates, which apply in some State clerical awards, are not a feature of most Federal awards. The ASU has strongly argued that they are out-dated and again savagely cut the safety net for employees.

The AIRC has decided to impose the NSW Clerical Award exemption level on all clerical employees. This means that a clerk earning as little as 15% above the highest rate in the award will not be covered by key award safety net protections.

The highest rate in the Clerks Award is $740 per week. Thus a clerk earning just $851 per week will be exempt from key award provisions including:

• Hours of work clauses, including spreads of ordinary hours and weekend penalty rates
• Overtime pay clauses
• Minimum engagement periods
• Part-time work arrangements
• All allowances including accident make up pay
• Shift penalties and hours arrangements
• Rest breaks

This means employers will have open slather on these vital employee protections by paying rates of pay just 15% above the highest minimum rate in the award. The effect of exemption rates is magnified when the fact that many employees are paid above the minimum award rates as a result of enterprise bargaining is taken into account.

The Federal Government's $100,000 guarantee equates to an 'exemption rate' of more than $1900 per week - and the employer must guarantee to pay this rate. The AIRC exemption rate for clerks is half this sum, with absolutely no guarantee of any compensation other than the higher minimum rate (which may be below paid rates.

A savage cut in take home pay for clerical workers looms as the key outcome of the award modernisation process.

The ASU has repeatedly advised the AIRC and the Federal Government of the impact of award modernisation on women workers and women clerical workers in particular.

The Government must now take our warnings seriously and direct the AIRC to restore terms and conditions for clerical workers or face a voter backlash at the next Federal election in the key marginal seats where workers voted to restore their wages and conditions - not see them slashed.