Variation to Postal Services Award

A hearing was held in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission today regarding the CEPU's application to vary the Postal Services Industry Award to reflect the Family Provisions Test Case Decision. POAAL was at the hearing representing Licensees' interests.The Family Provisions Test Case Decision was made by the full bench of the AIRC in 2005. It affects the way that employees can take various forms of leave, such as personal leave and annual leave.POAAL met with the CEPU prior to the hearing to discuss the CEPU's application. At that meeting it was ensured that the variation to the Award kept the spirit of the existing Award. Following that meeting, the CEPU agreed to make some amendments to their application to vary.At today's hearing, held in Melbourne, POAAL again emphasised the issues surrounding staffing in LPOs, especially the difficulty many Licensees have in finding reliable relief staff.The Commissioner ruled that the variation complies with the Test Case ruling and that the Award will be varied according to the CEPU's application.The variation to the Award will have no effect on casual employees. There should be negligible impact on part- and full-time employees.The amended Award will be available on Wagenet (www.wagenet.gov.au) in due course. Don't forget that Licensees can sign up for free updates on the federal Postal Services Industry Award at the Wagenet website.Visit the subscription page at Wagenet and enter your email address and the code for the Postal Services Industry Award - AW830245. You will then be notified of any changes to the Award, such as safety net wage adjustments. If you change your email address you will need to re-subscribe.It's a free service, so don't delay in signing up so that you can be kept up-to-date of any changes to the federal Postal Services Industry Award.