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Apprentice campaign update - 17/03/2014
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AMWU WELCOMES PAY JUSTICE FOR CAPABLE APPRENTICES

Bosses will find it much harder to put obstacles in the way of capable apprentices being paid more, after a Fair Work Commission decision this week.

The decision has been hailed by the AMWU, which fought the case, as a win for apprentices and the TAFE system over employers who wanted total control over decisions about the skills of apprentices for narrow financial reasons.

The FWC decision confirms the right of TAFEs and other training organisations (RTOs) to decide when  an apprentice is competent to move to a higher pay level based on their skills, rather than wait until the end of the training year.

A Full Bench of the Commission rejected  the claim of the Australian Industry Group  which wanted employers to be able to veto assessments by RTOs that apprentices were competent.

This week’s decision  backs up the AMWU’s argument  that  increased competency should be encouraged and rewarded as a key to improving productivity.

 It also recognises the expertise and qualification of TAFE teachers and other RTO instructors to determine competency against industry standards.

The AMWU’s National President Andrew Dettmer welcomed the decision as more good news for apprentices after the union’s success in getting pay rises ranging from 8.6 per cent to 19 per cent in a landmark FWC decision last year.

The rises will be paid over 2014-15, for new apprentices who began training on January 1.

 â€œThis is a matter of pay justice for apprentices. If their trainer is satisfied they are advancing at a fast rate then their pay should increase at a faster rate,” Mr Dettmer said.

“Some exploitative employers will be unhappy at this decision. They won’t be able to keep an apprentice on their lowest possible rate for as long as possible in order to get cheap labour.

“Encouraging such an environment of dispiriting mediocrity is a totally false economy, bad for productivity and not the high-skill, competitive spirit Australian workplaces  must have.”

The case was run by AMWU Research Co-ordinator Sally Taylor, who welcomed it as providing a definitive line after which the apprentice is deemed to be at the next stage and higher pay rate.

Bosses will retain the right to have 21 days to object after being advised of a TAFE decision to promote an apprentice in their care.

But, but if they do oppose it the final say will be left up to a recognised State Training Authority or the disputes procedure under an award, which enables the apprentice to be assisted by their union, their parent or other nominee.

AMWU Apprenticeships Co-ordinator Ian Curry said the FWC decision also recognised the central role that TAFE plays in building skills and capability in the economy. TAFE has been under attack through funding cuts and outsourcing of courses by conservative governments.

“This decision supports the needs of apprentices, industry and the economy,” he said.

“It places the skills required by the economy above the commercial interests of employer organisations and the training companies and group training schemes they often run.”

 

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