Crown Employees (Fire and Rescue NSW Retained Firefighting Staff) Award 2014 [2014] NSWIRComm 33

REASONS FOR DECISION 1These reasons are given in elaboration of the short ex tempore reasons accompanying a decision of the Commission delivered on 9 May 2014 to make a new award known as the Crown Employees (Fire and Rescue NSW Retained Firefighting Staff) Award 2014. This course was chosen because of the special circumstances which underpinned or accompanied the making of those orders. 2It would be sufficient to satisfy the description of the proceedings as being 'exceptional' to observe, as the respondent, Fire & Rescue NSW, did in its written submission, that the new award "represents the most significant set of changes to the conditions of Retained Firefighters in their history, being in excess of 100 years". The central reform, in that respect, was the introduction of measures to substantially enhance the 'availability' of retained firefighters. Those changes resulted in improved service assurance to the community, greater efficiency in the work of retained firefighters and the attainment of concomitant savings in employee-related costs. The measures also provide greater equity in 'availability' arrangements for retained firefighters and a better 'work/life balance'. 3However, there are other aspects of both the procedure adopted and the outcome of the proceedings which demonstrate their rather special character: (1)This is the first occasion that an award has been made providing for increases in employee-related costs above 2.5 per cent per annum pursuant to the provisions of cl 6(1)(b) of the Industrial Relations (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Regulation 2011. The evidence in the proceedings amply demonstrated that sufficient employee-related cost savings were achieved to fully offset increases in employee-related costs above 2.5 per cent; (2)The agreement as to changes in 'availability' conditions was the product of an extensive conciliation process conducted over a twelve month period. The balance of claims pressed by the Fire Brigade Employees' Union of New South Wales ('FBEU') from its amended application were either settled by negotiation between the parties or quickly resolved (in the case of three claims) by the adoption of the 'Bluescope' dispute resolution procedure: Re Operational Ambulance Officers (State) Award and others [2008] NSWIRComm 168 and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (New South Wales Branch) and Macquarie Generation [2009] NSWIRComm 160; (3)Whilst the conciliation process was similar to that typically undertaken by the Commission in relation to applications to establish new or vary existing awards, the methodology adopted in this case was, at least implicitly, akin to interest-based bargaining and centred around a mutual concern over 'availability' arrangements (even though the rectification of the issues as to 'availability' proved to be somewhat complicated); (4)The process resulted in an adjustment in the relationship between the parties which was reflected in the mutual recognition each party afforded the other at the conclusion of the proceedings. It may be debated whether this change was a derivation of the long and complex process required to reach agreement, the emergence of relations built on trust during that process or the interest-based nature of the proceedings. However, these proceedings have initiated a transformation of a hitherto conflicted and argumentative relationship between the industrial parties which will hopefully continue over time. 4It is important to describe the broad areas of agreement reached between the parties before providing a more detailed description as to the change in 'availability' arrangements. In addition to an increase in remuneration for firefighters, there were a number of other reforms to conditions of employment introduced by the award. These were summarised in the submission of Fire & Rescue NSW, as follows: