Update on flexi dispute in Attorney General’s Department

On 20/10/2004 the PSA was back in the IRC before Commissioner Cambridge on the Flexible Working Hours dispute for a Directions hearing.

A summary of the dispute so far was presented and a number of arguments.

Commissioner Cambridge has made the following orders:

The PSA is to file and serve its full application for an award, all witness statements and evidentiary material and all supporting documentation plus a brief outline of its grounds and reasons for pursuing the award by 4.00pm 19.11.04.;

The Department has until 3.12.04 to outline its response and provide a brief outline of its contentions and statutory regime.

The matter is listed for a further Directions hearing on 3.12.04 at 9.15 am. At that hearing dates will be set for arbitration of this matter.

The Department is again trying to raise a number of jurisdictional points questioning the Commission's power to vary the current award. PSA contends that Commission does have power to make a new award on Flexible Working Hours for AGD.

Commissioner Cambridge was very clear that the reason he has set a further hearing date is that he does not want to set dates for arbitration next year then have the Department try to raise jurisdictional questions when the case begins arbitration. He wants the Department to list all of its jurisdictional points and any other reasons why they don't think the Commissioner can hear the matter before arbitration begins.

The Departmental Committee meets again on 18 November 2004and a further update of progress in this dispute will be forwarded to members after the next hearing

Jeffrey Walters
Secretary
Attorney General's Departmental Committee