QR LIMITED TRAINCREW UNION COLLECTIVE WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2009 – DISPUTES UPDATE #1

29 January 2010

Dear Traincrew,

Due to requests from members, the AFULE State Office has created the Disputes Update circular which will outline the progress of outstanding disputes and inform members of any new disputes lodged.

It is disappointing that since the implementation of the QR Limited Traincrew Union Collective Workplace Agreement 2009 (the “Agreement”), local managers who were not involved in the negotiations are creating their own interpretations of the provisions of the agreement. Further, it is concerning that when these issues are raised through the dispute settlement procedure, QR Limited has not been interested in considering the AFULE’s position on the matter.

The current outstanding disputes are the following:

• Townsville Master Diagram

A Step 3 notice of dispute was lodged in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to the amount of BLP’s on weekends.

The AFULE, RTBU and QR met with respect to this matter and agreed to trial the proposed roster for a 6 fortnightly period and for the use of AFD’s on weekends to be monitored. QR has provided weekly reports on the use of AFD ‘s on weekends and we are due to have a follow up meeting on Wednesday 3 February 2010 with respect to this matter.

• Toowoomba LOP’s and implementation of agreement issues

A Step 3 notice of dispute was lodged in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to many issues inclusive of LOP’s not being drafted.

All LOP’s have now been agreed to and the matter has been finalised. We are awaiting the formal copy of the LOP’s to finalise the file.

• DOO shift length

A Step 4 Application of Dispute was lodged with Fair Work Australia (“FWA”) in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to QR relieving members at 9hrs and then travel spare to home/foreign depot thereafter.

It was agreed in FWA that DOO shift lengths are 9hrs sign on to sign off inclusive of spare travel. It was agreed that a Local Instruction would be drafted and distributed to all relevant personnel clearly articulating this. Further, it was agreed that a Limitation of Hours’ Breaches process be developed in accordance with Clause 56.1 of the Agreement.

The AFULE drafted a proposed Limitation of Hours’ Breaches process and has sent it to QR to review. Further, the AFULE requested changes be made to the final Local Instruction. We are awaiting the final Local Instruction and Limitation of Hours’ Breaches process to finalise this matter.

• Restriction on car driving

A Step 4 Application of Dispute was lodged with FWA in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to QR’s contention that they can request each employee drive 2hrs each between the hours of 2200 and 0600. For example, if there are three traincrew in the vehicle, QR contends that Driver A can drive for 2hrs, then Driver B can drive for 2hrs and then Driver C can drive for 2hrs.

The AFULE contends that the maximum of driving between the hours of 2200 and 0600 is a total of 2hrs. For example, the maximum driving to be done between the hours of 2200 and 0600 is 2hrs regardless of how many employees are in the car.

The outcome of the FWA conciliation conference was for QR to work out the total driving distances in every area for the parties to be able to talk further. We have a further conciliation conference set for Wednesday 3 February 2010.

• Sign on/sign off dispute – Freight only

A Step 3 notice of dispute was lodged in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to a direction from QR Regional Freight to have their timesheets signed and authorised by their coordinator. Further, the sign off point was changed from the quarters to the coordinators office. This meant that the travel time between the quarters and station/depot was no longer going to be paid under this new direction.

QR Regional Freight agreed to travel time allowances between the depot/station and the quarters to be written in an LOP. The draft LOP’s were provided to the parties and the parties provided feedback. As of late this afternoon, QR Regional Freight has come back and provided their response on the AFULE’s feedback. We are currently in the process of going through QR’s response.

• Use of AFD Window’s

A Step 3 notice of dispute was lodged in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to the use of AFD Window’s. A meeting has been scheduled for Monday 8 February 2010. Further, the AFULE has drafted procedures for AFD Windows that we will be providing to QR for endorsement.

• Tuition Shift Lengths – Coal only

A Step 4 Application of Dispute was lodged with FWA in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to QRNational Coal’s contention that they can forcefully extend tuition shift lengths to 11hrs if there is delay in order for the crew to work the train to the home depot.

The AFULE contends that Clause 57.1 of the Agreement clearly states that tuition shifts can only be extended to 11hrs at the discretion of the tutor driver based on the trainees’ progress.

The AFULE attended a conciliation conference on Wednesday 27 January 2010 and the outcome was that QR was going away to seek instructions. The AFULE is awaiting a proposed response from QR with respect to how to resolve this issue.

• Payment of BLP’s on rostered set shifts – Coal only

The Step 4 Application of Dispute was lodged with FWA in accordance with Clause 39.3 of the Agreement with respect to QRNational Coal’s contention that if an employee works on a BLP they will only receive 175% of the full flat rate for all time worked paid as a standalone payment at the end of the fortnightly pay period.

The AFULE contends that Clause 66.4.3 of the Agreement states employees are to claim the greater of the rostered set shift or all time actually worked. Clause 51.14.1 of the Agreement states employees will be paid 175% of the full flat rate for all time worked on a BLP as a standalone payment at the end of the fortnightly pay period. The AFULE contends that this means that employees are entitled to the BLP rate as standalone payment at end of fortnight and if there is any difference in the set shift, the difference will go towards your annualised hours. For example, John Smith is rostered on a 10hr set shift on his BLP and only works 8hrs. 8hrs will be paid at the BLP rate as a standalone payment at the end of fortnight and 2hrs would go to his annualised hours.

A conciliation conference has been listed for Tuesday 16 February 2010.

Further to the above disputes, various interpretation issues have been raised within the workplace. The AFULE, in consultation with the RTBU, are drafting a list of all outstanding issues and will be forwarding to QR. The combined unions will be requesting a meeting with both coal and freight senior management with the view of resolving the outstanding issues.

The AFULE State Office will send out a Dispute Update with the progress of the above mentioned disputes and any news disputes shortly.  

If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please don’t hesitate to contact the State Office on (07) 3257 1151 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Yours fraternally

GREG SMITH

STATE SECRETARY