2.2 Duration of the Agreement
2.2.1 The Agreement will come into effect seven days after
approval by FWA.
2.2.2 The nominal expiry date of the Agreement will be 31 July 2013.
3 Occupational Health and Safety
3.1 The Parties are committed to achieving and maintaining healthy
and safe working conditions in all Australia Post workplaces by abiding by relevant occupational health and safety legislation. This clause 3 is not intended to confer rights and obligations outside the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1998 (Cth),
the OHS Act and associated legislation or processes, nor is it intended to allow right of entry to workplaces outside the FW Act.
3.2 This commitment also imposes an obligation on Australia Post to
consult with the Unions on occupational health and safety issues affecting their members.
3.3 Consultation with the Principal Unions will take place in relation to
the Australia Post Health and Safety Management Arrangement, developed in accordance with the requirements of the OHS Act, and procedures relating to Designated Work Groups, Health and Safety Representatives and Health and Safety Committees.
3.4 Within the first twelve months of the approval of this Agreement
by Fair Work Australia, Australia Post and the Principal Unions will commence negotiations on a new Occupational Health and Safety Agreement with a view to reaching agreement on its contents
within 12 months under the auspices of the Australia Post National Occupational Health and Safety Committee (APNOHSC).
4 Anti-discrimination
4.1 The Parties to this Agreement intend to respect and value the
diversity of the workforce by helping to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.
4.2 Accordingly, in fulfilling their obligations under the dispute
resolution clause, the Parties will make every endeavour to ensure that neither the Agreement provisions nor their operation are directly or indirectly discriminatory in their effects.
4.3 Nothing in this clause is to be taken to affect:
(a) any different treatment (or treatment having different effects) which is specifically exempted under the Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation;
(b) an employee, employer or registered organisation, pursuing matters of discrimination in any federal jurisdiction, including by application to the Australian Human Rights Commission; or
(c) conduct that would be covered by the exemptions in section 351(2) of the FW Act.
5 Agreement Flexibility
5.1 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, Australia
Post and an individual employee may agree to vary the application of certain terms of this Agreement to meet the genuine individual needs of Australia Post and the individual employee (Flexibility Agreement). The terms Australia Post and the individual employee may agree to vary the application of are those concerning:
(a) arrangements for when work is performed;
(b) overtime rates;
(c) penalty rates;
(d) allowances; and
(e) leave loading.
5.2 Australia Post and the individual employee must have genuinely
made the Flexibility Agreement without coercion or duress.
5.3 The Flexibility Agreement between Australia Post and the
individual employee must:
(a) be confined to a variation in the application of one or more of the terms listed in clause 5.1; and
(b) result in the employee being better off overall than the employee would have been if no individual Flexibility Agreement had been agreed to;
(c) be about matters that would be permitted matters if the Flexibility Agreement were an enterprise agreement.
5.4 The Flexibility Agreement between Australia Post and the
individual employee must also:
(a) be in writing, name the parties to the agreement and be signed by Australia Post and the individual employee and, if the employee is under 18 years of age, the employee's parent or guardian;
(b) state each term of this Agreement that Australia Post and the individual employee have agreed to vary;
(c) detail how the application of each term has been varied by agreement between Australia Post and the individual employee;
(d) detail how the Flexibility Agreement results in the individual employee being better off overall in relation to the individual employee's terms and conditions of employment; and
(e) state the date the agreement commences to operate.
5.5 Australia Post must give the individual employee a copy of the
Flexibility Agreement and keep the agreement as a time and wages record.
5.6 Except as provided in clause 5.4(a) the Flexibility Agreement
must not require the approval or consent of a person other than Australia Post and the individual employee.
5.7 The employee may be accompanied by a person of their choice
including a union representative in meeting and conferring with Australia Post about entering into a flexibility agreement.
5.8 If Australia Post seeks to enter into a Flexibility Agreement it
must provide a written proposal to the employee. Where the employee's understanding of written English is limited Australia Post must take measures, including translation into an appropriate language, to ensure the employee understands the proposal.
5.9 A Flexibility Agreement may be terminated:
(a) by Australia Post or the individual employee giving four weeks' notice of termination, in writing, to the other party and the agreement ceasing to operate at the end of the notice period; or
(b) at any time, by written agreement between Australia Post and the individual employee.
5.10 The right to make a Flexibility Agreement pursuant to this
clause is in addition to, and is not intended to otherwise affect, any provision for an agreement between Australia Post and
an individual employee contained in any other term of this Agreement.
6 Index of Facilitative Provisions
6.1 Agreement to Vary Operation of Provisions
6.1.1 This Agreement contains facilitative provisions which allow
agreement to be reached between Australia Post and employees on how specific provisions are to apply at the workplace or enterprise level. The facilitative provisions are identified in clauses 6.2.1 and 6.3.1.
6.1.2 The specific provisions establish both the standard conditions and
the framework within which agreement can be reached as to how the particular provision should be applied in practice.
6.1.3 Facilitative provisions are not to be used as a device to avoid
obligations nor should they result in unfairness to an employee or employees covered by this Agreement. Employees are not to be coerced to reach agreement on facilitative provisions.
6.1.4 Where relevant circumstances change, any party involved can
review the arrangements established under these facilitative provisions, and can, subject to an appropriate period of notice, withdraw their agreement.
6.2 Facilitation by Individual Agreement
6.2.1 The following facilitative provisions can be utilised upon
agreement between Australia Post and an employee provided that the agreement complies with clauses 6.2.2, 6.2.3 and 6.2.4.