2018-05-08 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                    8 MAY 2018


7                        CERTIFIED AGREEMENT NEGOTIATION PROCESS
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                           People and Culture Manager, Will Burgess-Dean
                                 Executive Services Department

Index                            ECM/ Subject/ Certified Agreement

Attachments                      Nil



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the People and Culture Manager to the Services & Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 8 May 2018 providing an update on the Certified Agreement
negotiation process and authorise the Chief Executive Officer to finalise the Noosa Shire Council
Certified Agreement.


REPORT
The purpose of this report is to inform Council of progress in the development of a Noosa Shire
Council Certified Agreement (CA) and to identify any changes to the current Certified
Agreements. This report will also outline the final steps in the process for the Certified
Agreement to be certified.

1.                       Background

Since de-amalgamation, two Sunshine Coast Council Certified Agreements have continued to
apply to Noosa Shire Council. These are (i) the Council officers CA and (ii) the field-based
employees CA, and although those two agreements nominally expired in 30 June 2014, they
continued to apply to Noosa Council under relevant industrial relations legislation. The Council
and Unions had not been able to negotiate new agreements while major changes to awards and
the new Industrial Relations Act 2016 were implemented. There has been major industrial
relations reform by the State Government in recent years with new IR legislation and a new local
government award. One of the major changes has been that all Council employees are now
covered under one Local Government Industry Award. There were previously more than 15
different local government awards.

While the State was undertaking this reform, Councils across Queensland were unable to
negotiate Certified Agreements for a number of years. The reforms were finalised in early 2017.

Across Queensland Local Government, seventy-two (72) certified agreements have expired and
Councils are in various stages of developing new Certified Agreements. Currently eight (8)
Councils have completed new CA’s including the Sunshine Coast Council. Noosa Council
commenced the negotiating process with the relevant unions in May 2017.

During negotiations the four participating unions and employee delegates presented 24 claims.
The management negotiating team also raised a range of issues for negotiation.




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