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Labor Council of NSW Annual Report 2002 | |
Mark Lennon, Assistant Secretary
| Mark Lennon |
|  |
| Assistant Secretary |
Assistant Secretary, Mark Lennon’s year consisted of industrial,
political, trustee and administrative work.
Industrial
Mark was directly involved in two major cases before the Industrial Relations
Commission (IRC) in 2002.
The first was the Union Dues test case,
which ran in March and April. In the case the Labor Council was seeking that a
clause be inserted into a number of major awards that would compel an employer
to deduct an employee’s union dues and forward them to his or her union at
the employees request. The case arose as a consequence of a change in the
provisions of the Industrial Relations Act and a decision by a single
commissioner, which granted these rights to a group of workers in
Cobar.
There was some initial success prior to the case’s
commencement when the State Government consented to the clause being inserted
into its awards. The case itself was conducted by Jeff Shaw QC for the Labor
Council. It ran for six days and involved hearing evidence from some 16
witnesses. At the close of the year the IRC found in favour of the unions. The
decision is significant as in grants members a right to have their union dues
paid in a convenient and expeditious manner and it ensures that employers cannot
remove payroll deductions arbitrarily.
Mark also conducted the State
Wage Case together with Industrial Officer Nancy Carl this year. The case ran in
May and, after all the parties consented, the Industrial Relations Commission
decide to flow the full $ 18 increase awarded by the Federal Commission onto NSW
workers. The only issue of contention amongst the parties was the method of
payment of the increase with the Labor Council arguing that it should be by way
of a general order as a means of addressing the lagging awards issue. The
Commission was not in agreement with this view however it put in place a system
to monitor the flow of the increase to State Awards as a means of tracking
lagging awards.
Legislative Changes
There were several changes proposed to NSW industrial legislation during the
year and Mark coordinated the negotiations on the part of the Labor Council.
The first of these were over proposed changes to s. 106, the unfair
contract provisions of the Industrial Relations Act. The Government had proposed
in 2001 that there would be substantial changes to the provision, which in the
unions view would have rendered the section ineffective. When negotiations
recommenced this year the Government tabled a revised proposal, which
essentially kept the substantive provisions of the section intact. The key
change was limiting access to the provision to those individuals whose total
remuneration package is $200,000 or less.
Towards the end of the year
negotiations took place regarding other changes to the Industrial Relations Act
as part of the Act’s five-year review. The major change proposed was to
the unfair dismissal provisions. In particular changes were proposed to put an
increased emphasis on reinstatement as the primary remedy. Owing to a lack of
consensus amongst the industrial parties only part of the reforms, those
relating to the operation of industrial agents in unfair dismissal matters,
proceeded to legislation. It is anticipated that the other reforms will go
before Parliament in the middle of 2003.
Electricity
In the electricity industry in 2002 Mark conducted for negotiations over the
future of Pacific Power
International the engineering and consulting arm of the NSW electricity
industry.
In March the Government determined, despite opposition from
the unions, to offer the organisation for sale to the private sector.
Discussions then centred on the conditions and entitlements to cover employees
as a consequence of the sale. After extensive talks a Memorandum of
Understanding was negotiated by the unions and Government late in the year.
The key elements of the package included no forced transfers to the new
owner, no forced redundancies and the opportunity for those who seek
redeployment into other areas of the public service to have a six-month trial of
any new position. The Government announced in December that Pacific Power International had
been sold to the engineering firm, Connell Wagner.
Superannuation
There was a significant victory for public sector unions in superannuation
with the Government agreeing that employees who are on maternity leave or
adoption leave will have their superannuation contributions paid into First State Super, the State
Government’s accumulation fund.
The other major issue was the
question of superable salary for employees under the State Government’s
defined benefit schemes. With many public sector organisations now moving to
various annualised salary packages the question had been raised as to what is
salary for superannuation purposes. A working party with the Premiers Department
has been formed to consider this matter and report in 2003.
The State
Government also proposed during the year that the members of the State
Superannuation Scheme who were employed by the electricity and generation
companies move to the Energy Industry Superannuation Scheme (EISS).
There
was a deal of concern amongst the membership about the proposal not because of
any concerns about the fund itself but because of fears about the loss of any
Government guarantee of benefits particularly for those in the defined benefits
scheme.
As a consequence of lobbying by the unions the Government
reconsidered its position and late in the year decided not to proceed with the
transfer.
Trades Hall
In the lead up to the redevelopment of the Trades Hall, Mark was responsible
for overseeing the acquisition by Labor Council of all the shares in the Trades
Hall. Having purchased 800,000 shares in Trades Hall in 2001, Labor Council in
2002 sought to take up the remaining shares by the process of compulsory
acquisition. The process was a complex one under the Corporations Law, which
involved Labor Council getting an independent valuation of the Trades Hall to
determine whether the price being offered for the shares was fair.
The
work also involved tidying up the share register as many of the shareholding
unions were no longer in existence because of amalgamations and mergers. Some of
the unions that still held shares on the register included the Coal Lumpers and
the Wicker Workers Union.
The acquisition was successfully completed in
June.
Forests
Mark conducted negotiations with the Government over concerns by members
employed in State Forests that
further land would be handed over to the National Parks and Wildlife Service
thereby impacting on jobs. Meetings were held with both the Minister for Forests
and the Minister for Planning to express the unions’ concerns. The point
the unions sought to make is that the Regional Forests Agreements process
conducted over the last five years was meant to have brought certainty to the
industry and that the talk of handing over further land to the National Parks
was only bringing unnecessary instability to the industry.
Other Responsibilities
Mark continued in the role as Chairperson of the Funeral Industry Council of
NSW in 2002. During the year, the Council made some significant steps in its
endeavours to have the industry better regulated. The Minister for Health agreed
that there should be an accreditation system set up for the industry. The actual
scheme is still being formulated but it will allow for disreputable
practitioners to be removed from the industry.
The Council also made
some significant breakthroughs with OHS matters in the industry including the
development of a cradle for the carrying of coffins.
The work of the OHS
Officer, Mary Yaager, in these matters was greatly appreciated by the Funeral
Industry Council.
In 2002 Mark was appointed as the Labor Council’s
representative on the State Government’s Rugby World Cup Taskforce. The Taskforce
was set up to oversee the running of the Rugby World Cup which is to take place
in October /November 2003. It will be the most significant event in Australia
since the Olympic Games. It is intended that there be finalised a Memorandum of
Understanding early in 2003 with the State Government and the Australian Rugby
Union that would contain a commitment by the parties to run the World Cup in
accordance with appropriate industrial relations practices.
Mark remained
a board member of Chifley Financial
Services throughout the year. Chifley had its first full year under its new
ownership structure and looks set to prosper in the coming 12 months with a
number of new financial products being developed.
Mark continued to have
responsibility for the Australian Trade Union at Harvard Foundation. In 2002 the
Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary having been established in
1977. Two participants, Michael Gadiel and Joan Lemaire, were selected by the
Foundation to attend the 2003 program, which brings to over 80 the number of
participants the Foundation has supported over its 25 year history.
Mark
Lennon remained a member of the boards of ASSET Super, the
Industrials Supplies Office and the State Transit Authority in 2002. He was also
the office manager for the Labor Council.
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