Page 982 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 31 March 1993
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MR BERRY: Nobody is opposing an agreement. What has occurred is that Mr Connolly has instructed ACTEWA to inform the Industrial Relations Commission that at this point they are not ready to proceed with an enterprise agreement between themselves and the Electrical Trades Union, or whatever its new name is, which includes the plumbers. That information has been conveyed to the Industrial Relations Commission. The Industrial Relations Commission, on my recall, has said that they want a response from ACTEWA in relation to the matter by Friday.
In the meantime, the issue of that agreement fitting in with the mirror agreement we agreed to for the rest of the ACT Government Service will be discussed between industrial relations officers and ACTEWA. What we are saying is that we have promised the unions associated with the Government Service in the Territory a mirror agreement. Fifteen unions signed in December last year and subsequently went on board with the agreement. A number of unions did not. The ETU was one of those, and the ETU sought to negotiate another agreement with ACTEWA. For practical purposes, all that has happened is that that agreement is being tested against the mirror agreement, and there will be a report to the Industrial Relations Commission in relation to that on Friday.
There have been some claims about savings, but what we have to do is to preserve across the government sector - not just in one area, but across the government sector - an agreement we reached with unions concerned with public sector employment in the ACT. We reached that agreement in good faith and we intend to stand by that agreement. We intend to ensure that, where agreements are reached on an organisation by organisation basis, they meet the general commitment we gave to those unions on the mirrored public service agreement.
MR CORNWELL: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Mr Berry, in your answer you indicated that Mr Connolly had directed ACTEWA. I would be interested to know whether that was a directive under section 37. Further, you are quoted in the paper this morning as saying that if unions start demanding separate agreements - - -
Mr Berry: Is that me?
MR CORNWELL: You, yes - "Mr Berry said potential savings touted for the ACTEW-ETU agreement would be offset by costs across the whole service if all unions started demanding separate agreements". What extra costs can you foresee?
MR BERRY: You cannot. I do not have a crystal ball.
Mr Cornwell: Then how can you make the statement?
MR BERRY: If you would wait and listen for just a moment, I will tell you. The success of this wages system will be judged by the Government's ability to deliver it and by the commitment of the trade union movement to it.
Mr Cornwell: Which part of the trade union movement?
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