All permanent members will be paid at the new 3% increased rates of pay provided under the 2000 Award this Thursday 13 July. These rates will be applied retrospectively back to February 25, being the first day of the new pay period which followed the commencement of the new Award. Accordingly, all members will receive back pay of 3% on top of their wages which were paid between February 25 2000 and 29 June 2000.
RETROSPECTIVITY FOR ALLOWANCES
Because all of the new Award’s provisions became operative on 25 February, all allowances which have been paid in the intervening period will also be adjusted to reflect the new Award rates. For example, because the kilometre rate has increased from 68 cents to 71 cents and the relieving allowance from $18.00 to $18.54, any relieving and/or out-duties performed since February 25 which you have already been paid for will be adjusted to reflect payment at the new Award’s higher rate. The same will occur for all allowances that increased on February 25.
O2BA AND RESCUE ALLOWANCES
As members are aware, the O2BA allowance was removed as a cost offset for the incorporation of rostered O/T into all members’ superable salary. It therefore ceased to be payable from February 25, and the Department had intended that all O2BA qualified members’ pays would be adjusted this week in order to reflect this. However, negotiations between the Department and our Union have led to a “without prejudice” agreement that although O2BA will no longer be paid, the allowance which has already been paid to members for the 18 weeks between February 25 and June 29 will now not be adjusted.
The new Rescue allowance of $8.00 per rostered shift will now be automatically paid to all SRB accredited members for each shift that you have been rostered to work since February 25. Like the O2BA allowance, the Rescue allowance will be averaged to provide a constant allowance rate of $56.00 per fortnight.
REDUCED TAX RATES
Because this is the first pay period in the new financial year, all of this week’s pay (including all of your back pay) will be taxed at the new, reduced marginal tax rates which were introduced on July 1 in conjunction with the GST.
Chris Read,
State Secretary Tuesday 11th July, 2000
