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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 888 ..
MR BERRY (10.12): This goes to an issue which was raised in particular by Mr Kaine in relation to employees. Mr Kaine made the point that he wanted to make sure that employees' entitlements were preserved in the scheme of things. The amendments are quite straightforward and it does not take much reading to fully understand them. They merely include the requirement for agreements to be reached with organisations representing employees in relation to the secondment of ACTEW employees. They are straightforward amendments to clause 23 subclause (1) and clause 23 subclause(2).
Mr Speaker, this goes to the fundamentals of ensuring that employees are protected as much as possible in the scheme of things. As we know, a labour hire organisation will be set up in the form of the old ACTEW, the new ACTEW or the joint venture, whatever it might be called.
Mr Stanhope: Just AGL
MR BERRY: Or AGL. That is probably closer to the truth. They will hire these people. But before they leave old ACTEW they need to be assured as much as they can be of their wages and working conditions and the terms of the secondment arrangements. The words "and organisations representing employees" have been included in those two respects.
MR SPEAKER: Would you mind asking for leave to move your two amendments together and then formally moving them?
MR BERRY: I seek leave to move the amendments as circulated in my name together.
Leave granted.
MR BERRY: I move:
Page 11 -
Line 7, subclause (1), after "joint venture entity", insert "and organisations representing employees".
Line 10, subclause (2), after "venture entity", insert "and organisations representing employees".
MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (10.14): Mr Berry's amendments seek to give the unions to which he has referred effectively a veto power over the transfer of workers into the joint venture or out of the joint venture at any point in the course of the thing.
Mr Berry: No, you are wrong.
MR HUMPHRIES: It does, because the new clause would read:
ACTEW may, on such terms as are agreed between it and another joint venture entity and organisations representing employees, second to the entity, for the purposes of the joint venture, the services of any employees.
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