Staffing Levels To the extent legislative appropriations and PIN authorizations allow, safe staffing levels will be maintained in all institutions where employees have patient, client, inmate or student care responsibilities. In July of each year, the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of each agency will, upon request, meet with the Union, to hear the employees’ views regarding staffing levels. In August of each year, the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Budget and Management will, upon request, meet with the Union to hear the employees’ views regarding the Governor’s budget request.
Inclement Weather 16.1 The parties are committed to working together to minimize the impact of inclement weather. The employer will ensure reasonable allowance is included in contracts taking into account historic weather conditions and forecast rainfall.
16.2 Inclement weather means the existence of rain or abnormal climatic conditions (whether hail, extreme cold, high wind, severe dust storm, extreme heat (as defined in clause 14), poor air quality (as defined in clause 15), or the like or any combination of these conditions) where it is not reasonable or it is unsafe for employees to continue working in those conditions.
16.3 The employer or its representative, when requested by the employees or their representative, must confer within a reasonable time (which does not exceed 60 minutes) for the purpose of determining whether or not the conditions referred to in clause 16.2 apply.
16.4 The time work stops due to inclement weather and the resumption of work after a period of inclement weather has ended will be recorded by the employer.
16.5 When inclement weather conditions exist, an affected employee is not required to start or continue to work where it is unreasonable or unsafe to do so. In cases where emergency work is required or it is necessary to complete a concrete pour already commenced to a practical stage, work may occur or continue provided that such work does not give rise to a reasonable concern on the part of an employee undertaking the work of an imminent risk to their health or safety.
16.6 Where emergency work or a concrete pour is completed in accordance with clause 16.5, work will be paid at the rate of 200% of the ordinary hourly rate calculated to the next hour, and in the case of wet weather, the employee will be provided with adequate wet weather gear. If an employee’s clothes become wet as a result of working in the rain the employee will be allowed to go home for the remainder of the day without loss of pay.
16.7 Where an employee is not able to perform any work at any location because of inclement weather, the employee will receive payment at the ordinary hourly rate for ordinary hours. Payment for time lost due to inclement weather is subject to a maximum of 32 hours pay in any 4-week period for each employee. Payment is subject to adherence to the terms of clause 16.
16.8 An employee working on a Job Share arrangement pursuant to clause 30—Job Share, that is affected by inclement weather, will be entitled to payment from the 32-hour inclement weather bank on a pro rata basis.
16.9 Employees accumulated inclement weather bank shall not be deducted whilst they remain on site.
16.10 Inclement weather occurring during overtime will not be taken into account for the purposes of clause 16 and employees will not be entitled to any payment for stoppages because of inclement weather that occurs outside of ordinary hours.
16.11 Employees on a portion of a site not affected by inclement weather must continue to work even though employees working on other areas of the site may have stopped work because of inclement weather.
16.12 Subject to the availability of alternative work in an employee’s classification, an employer may require employees to transfer:
(a) from a location on a site where it is unreasonable and/or unsafe to work because of inclement weather, to another area on the same site, where it is reasonable and safe to work; and/or
(b) from a site where it is unreasonable and/or unsafe to work because of inclement weather, to another site, where it is reasonable and safe to work, and where the employer, where necessary, provides transport.
16.13 Remaining on site where, because of inclement weather, the employees are prevented from working:
(a) for more than an accumulated total of 4 hours of ordinary time in any one day; or
(b) after the main meal break, for more than half of the ordinary work time; or
(c) during the final 2 hours of the normal workday for more than an accumulated total of one hour; the employer will not be entitled to require the employees to remain on site beyond the expiration of any of the above circumstances. However, where genuine training has been agreed in writing between the parties, then the course maybe completed in extraordinary circumstances.
16.14 Where the employees are in the sheds, because they have been rained off, or because it is at starting time, morning tea, or lunch time, and it is raining, they will not be required to go to work in a dry area or to be transferred to another site unless:
(a) the rain stops; or
(b) a covered walkway has been provided; or
(c) the sheds are under cover and the employees can get to the dry area without going through the rain; or
(d) adequate protection is provided.
16.15 Protection must, where necessary, be provided for the employees’ tools.
