Territory firefighters have overtime win

The Fair Work Commission has handed firefighters a win in their dispute with government about overtime. Read what it means.

Northern Territory firefighters have had a significant win over the Labor government with the Fair Work Commission full bench upholding a decision around overtime.

Earlier this year the NT Commissioner for Public Employment appealed a decision by Fair Work Commissioner Bernie Riordan that it had deprived a firefighter of 14 hours leisure time each year by imposing a 90-hour cap on programmed days off.

The dispute was referred to the commission by firefighter Manny Koulakis, with Darwin-based industrial relations consultant Lucio Matarazzo arguing under a 2017 enterprise agreement, he was entitled to 104 hours per year of programmed days off - also known as leisure time - but had received just 90 hours per year.

While the NT Commissioner for Public Employment had imposed a 90-hour cap on PDO accruals, Mr Koulakis claimed the 2017 agreement only capped accruals for dayworkers and not shiftworkers like him.

Mr Lucio Matarazzo, Industrial Relations Consultant

He told Commissioner Riordan the 90-hour cap applied to all workers and “was a longstanding custom and practice” for all firefighters, dating back to 1988.

He asked the Fair Work Commission to determine he was entitled to an additional 14 hours PDO accruals per year, with Commissioner Bernie Reardon finding the 2017 agreement was not intended to remove 14 hours leave a year without remuneration.

He found the change was “bordering on wage theft” and any reductions in Mr Koulakis’ leave requirement were a result of a “misrepresentation of the agreement” and directed the parties to have further discussions.

On appeal the OCPE argued against the wage theft finding, arguing “an allusion to theft is not apt in a situation where there is a genuine disagreement about whether an employee has a particular entitlement, as was the case in this matter”.

However the Fair Work Commission full bench found Commissioner Riordan reached the correct decision and dismissed the Public Employment Commissioner’s appeal.

In a statement, the OCPE acknowledged the finding and said there had been no impropriety on behalf of the government. It said it would “work with the parties to address the issues, including any salary adjustments, and provisions moving forward”.

“The full bench noted there was nothing in the material before them to suggest any impropriety on the part of the employer,” the statement said. “There are no flow on impacts for the broader NTPS.”

Speaking after the decision, Mr Matarazzo said potentially hundreds of past and present firefighters could be impacted and it could potentially cost millions of dollars to cover the decision.