Page 811 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 July 1989
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We also recommended that those bodies with statutory annual reporting responsibilities furnish those reports within three months of the end of the financial year to which they relate and that Ministers table those reports within six sitting days of their receipt. That is recommendation 4.
It was also recommended that the Executive give consideration to requiring Executive departments and non-statutory authorities of the Territory to furnish reports within three months of the end of the financial year to which they relate and that Ministers table those reports within six sitting days of their receipt. That is recommendation 5. In the schedule attached to this report the committee suggests an amendment to clause 12 of the Bill to give effect to this recommendation.
I will deal now with some specific matters. In the schedule attached to this report the committee suggests an amendment to clause 5 of the Bill to give effect to definitions. In discussions with a number of witnesses concern was raised about the provision under the definition of "registered union", whereby a body could become a union for the purposes of the Act simply by the Executive Government making a regulation. Many witnesses felt that paragraphs (a) and (b) were sufficient there for the purposes of the Act and requested paragraph (c) be deleted. The committee agreed with that point of view.
A lot of concern, and indeed a lot of time, was spent by the committee considering paragraph 27(2)(d) of the Bill. That related to appropriate languages. Witnesses expressed their concern to the committee over the requirements of that paragraph to provide information, instruction, training and supervision in appropriate languages. Some witnesses felt that it was particularly onerous to provide training and supervision in an appropriate language.
It was intimated to the committee that such provisions as set out in this paragraph could possibly be used as a deterrent to engaging non-English speaking employees. The committee also, however, at its site inspections noticed the use of international safety signs on machinery, and this was also felt to be important. We believed that the reference to appropriate languages could be deleted and, accordingly in the schedule attached to the report we suggest an amendment to the Bill to give effect to this matter.
In relation to the designated work groups there was a fair bit of argument and discussion about this. We ended up deciding that 12 persons should form a designated work group, 13 perhaps being a little unlucky, although Mr Moore indicated that 13 was very much his lucky number. So the designated work group was agreed to as consisting of 12, although I made a comment in my dissenting part of the report as did Mr Wood, as to our perceived ideal number. But 12 is what was agreed to by the majority.
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