Police Award
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TASMANIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION Industrial Relations Act 1984 s.23 application for award or variation of an award Police Association of Tasmania (T.2516 of 1990) (T.3119 of 1991) and Commissioner of Police (T4214 of 1993) POLICE AWARD PRESIDENT F. D. WESTWOOD 20 SEPTEMBER 1993 Award variation - restructuring and rates of pay - Structural Efficiency Principle - special case applications REASONS FOR DECISION Application T2516, lodged by the Police Association of Tasmania on 29 June 1990, was for an increase in "all salaries and skill/work related allowances" of 3 per cent as the second structural efficiency adjustment. On 3 July 1990 that application was referred to the Full Bench which was hearing a range of public sector matters in accordance with the Structural Efficiency Principle of the 1989 Wage Fixing Principles. The Association agreed to abide by Exhibit W2 in the conglomeration of public sector matters1 which established a series of conditions to be followed in concluding the structural efficiency exercise. With effect from the first full pay period to commence on or after 18 July 1990 the Police Award was varied to reflect the three percent second structural efficiency increase. On 7 August 1990, following an application from the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council in Matter TA.70 of 1990, Anomalies Conference No. 23, the Police Award was granted the status of an "arguable special case" to enable the Association to pursue a work value claim in excess of the six per cent available by way of the Structural Efficiency Principle. Subsequently, on 7 June 1991, the Association, after industrial action by its members seeking to convince the employer that parity with rates of pay for police in other States should be conceded, made the necessary application2 relevant to its arguable special case claim. The two issues, that is the outstanding structural efficiency matters and the work value claim, were to be pursued simultaneously. 1 T2399 of 1990 et al. 2 T3119 of 1991 On 16 December 1991 when proceedings commenced for the purpose of programming, the Association requested that it be placed on the record that the Commissioner had been of great assistance in providing access to certain information and personnel within the Police Force which were necessary to the development of the Association's case. The Association outlined a series of proposed inspections and advised of its intention to call a number of witnesses to provide evidence regarding alleged work value changes since 1981. The Association's objective was said to be to achieve an award which would contain rates of pay that it called "national benchmark salaries".3 It was proposed to justify its claim by way of proving work value changes for police; developing a new award involving a new classification structure with a reduced number of ranks providing for "significant multiskilling and broadbanding";4 and the "abolition or absorption into salary of the skill-based allowances" and compensation for certain of the allowances in the old award. The Association proposed a complete review of award conditions5 involving structural efficiency changes. A copy of the Association's proposed new award was formally tendered to the Commission on 4 November 1992 and identified as Exhibit PAT.69. The Commissioner of Police (the employer), made application6 on 21 January 1993 to restructure the award and vary rates of pay and conditions. The three matters were joined in proceedings on 28 January 1993. DATUM POINT The Association submitted, and it was accepted by the Commission, that only work value changes occurring since the last work value decision affecting the Police Award which had an operative date of 1 July 1980, should be taken into account. That decision was issued by the Public Service Board in July 1981. Representatives of the employer argued that the appropriate date should be July 1981 and expressed concern that there might be double counting for the 12 months between July 1980 and July 1981. The employer was invited to make further submissions on the matter later in proceedings if it was felt necessary that the issue should be examined further. In respect of certain groups whose allowances were reviewed after July 1981, a datum point of 31 January 1986 was accepted, being the operative date of increases awarded in Matter T No. 238 of 1985. These groups of employees were: Criminal Investigation Bureau Breath Analysis Operators Special Weapons, incorporating Armed Offenders Squad (now Special Operations Group) Computer Programmers and/or Analysts 3 Transcript p.4 4 Transcript p.5 5 Transcript p.6 6 T4214 of 1993 AREAS OF INSPECTION AND WITNESSES CALLED Inspections of various areas of police work were commenced on 15 January 1992 and evidence adduced as to work changes from a number of witnesses. The taking of evidence concluded on 9 November 1992. The areas of inspection and witnesses called are listed below: Area of Inspection Date Witness Date of Evidence Traffic 15.1.92 Supt G. Johns 16.1.92 Marine 15.1.92 Inspector R. Massie 16 & 17.1.92 Communications 16.1.92 Snr Constable I. Harrison 15.4.92 Southern Police District Supt T. Cashion 17.1.92 Search & Rescue 21.1.92 Inspector M. Massie 18 & 23.3.92 Infectious Diseases First Class Constable L. 23.3.92 Adams C.I.B. Southern Region 22.1.92 Supt R. Fielding 22 & 23.1.92 Scientific Bureau - General 3.3.92 Snr Sgt A. Bower 10.4.92 - Fire Scene/Ballistics 24.3.92 Northern Police District 5.3.92 Supt R. Chugg 6.3.92 - CIB - Scientific - Traffic - Uniform Intelligence_&_Surveillance BCI, Hobart 21.1.92 Snr Sgt D. Paton 10.3.92 Drug Squad 21.1.92 Det. Snr Sergeant 10 & 11.3.92 R. Gyselman Child Protection/ 21.1.92 Det. Sgt L. Jones 11 & 18.3.92 Child Abuse Special Operations 11.3.92 Det. Sgt M. Dyson 17.3.92 Group (Academy) Domestic Violence Inspector S. McClymont 24.3.92 One-Person Stations 15.4.92 Snr Constable D. Kearney 23.4.92 (Richmond) Internal Investigations Inspector R. Belbin 23.4.92 and Community Policing Sorell Police Station) 24.4.92 Bridgewater Police Stn) Detective Training, CIB Inspector J. Johnston 5.5.92 Prosecutions 6.5.92 Snr Sgt R. Barrett 6,7 & 28.5.92 SACPAV Exercise 20.5.92 (Electrona) Performance Appraisal ) Supt C. Fogarty 9,26 &30.6.92 Occupational Health, ) 7 & 14.7.92 Safety and Welfare ) SACPAV ) Training ) Stress ) Other witnesses: Stress Dr. I. Sale 29.7.92 Western Australian Mr John McArthur 9.11.92 Police Force (Training) Victorian Police Force Supt I. Ladiges 9.11.92 WORK VALUE SUBMISSIONS The Association submitted that since August 1980 there had been significant changes in the levels of skill and responsibility required of members of Tasmania Police and in the conditions under which police had been required to work. These changes were addressed under eight headings: 1. Crime Trends 2. Policing Philosophy 3. Police Powers and Responsibilities 4. Police Accountability 5. Police Methods 6. Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare 7. Recruitment, Training and Promotion 8. Integration of the Tasmania Police Force with other Police Forces 1. CRIME TRENDS The Association claimed that the environment in which Tasmania Police worked had deteriorated during the 1980s. There had been an increase in the level of crime to "unmanageable proportions" which created an "onerous burden" on members of the Force. In addition, crime had become "more violent" in the 1980s which was illustrated by the "burgeoning incidence of armed robbery". Technological and societal change now required police "to deal with more sophisticated crime and criminals" which placed an additional burden on members "to keep up to date". It was asserted that these significant changes to the conditions under which the Police had to work required "additional skill and knowledge". Statistical appendices to the Commissioner's Annual Reports were used to demonstrate the changes in criminal activity. The data, however, was said to understate the actual level of crime as each charge laid was not recorded as a separate offence. Similar charges against an individual were recorded as one offence. It was claimed that during the 1980s each complaint on average involved three separate charges. In addition the majority of matters now involved more than one court appearance which represented a change in the work of police prosecutors, in particular. Statistics were tendered purporting to show that the number of offences dealt with in the period 1980/81 to 1989/90 had increased by 63% when compared with the decade 1970/71 to 1979/80. That is, 559,396 offences in total in the 70s compared to 913,998 offences in the 80s. On an annual basis offences had increased from 73,882 in 1980/81 to 98,891 in 1989/90; an average annual growth rate of 3.5%. It was claimed that the performance of Tasmania Police had improved in the 1980s compared with the 1970s in that not only was the total of offences cleared, 812,376, 78% greater than the 1970s, but relatively more offences were cleared during the 1980s (89%) compared with the 1970s (82%). Dealing with offences in specific groupings it was submitted that: (a) the number of assault and like offences increased by 2,930 between the decade of the 1970s and decade of the 1980s. During the 1980s assault and like offences increased by an average of 6.4% per year with most of the growth occurring since 1986/87. Annually the number ranged from just under one thousand in 1979/80 to approximately one thousand five hundred in 1989/90. (b) The number of homicide and related offences increased 14% in the 1980s over the 1970s level.