Industrial Magistrate’s Court decision

The City of Stirling acknowledges the decision made by the Industrial Magistrate’s Court (IMC) on a matter regarding interpretation of pay rates for a specific group of employees covered by the City’s Outside Workforce Agreement (OWA) between July 2018 and June 2020. The City will now review the IMC’s decision and the implications before deciding on next steps.

In 2021, the matter was lodged by a City employee with the support of the Local Government, Racing and Cemeteries Employees Union (LCRCEU).

The issue stemmed from an interpretation of which figure found in annexures of the City’s OWA should have been applied to pay rises during the relevant period, affecting around 18 per cent of the City’s workforce. Industrial Magistrate Kucera’s decision noted that the relevant clause could have been drafted more clearly.

It was suggested that 254 City employees covered by the OWA at the time were underpaid from approximately $1,500 per person on average over a two-year period. The IMC announced its ruling in favour of the employee earlier today, with that employee claiming a 3.5 per cent increase should have applied.

The City is disappointed with the outcome and is seeking legal advice on the next steps, which may include lodging an appeal. 

The matter relates to the 2017 OWA, specifically the interpretation of the percentage increase applied to the pay rates from 2018 to 2020, with the employee claiming that they should have received the Fair Work minimum wage increase of 3.5 per cent in 2018 and 3 per cent in 2019. The City understood the 254 employees covered by the agreement during this time were being paid above the requirements of the agreement. When the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at 1.8 per cent in 2018 and 1.9 per cent in 2019, the City used its discretion to apply the Mercer percentage wage increase of 2.2 per cent in each year, which it believed was over and above the minimum 2 per cent that was required.

The claim is isolated and there is no basis for similar interpretation issues for City employees covered by the Inside Workforce Agreement or the OWA outside of the specific two-year timeframe.

The City’s employees are its strongest asset and the City remains committed to treating and paying its employees fairly.

Issued by: City of Stirling Media Team, 0448 411 471, media@stirling.wa.gov.au