By
Graham Howatt
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Pay
structures for Warrant Officers looks set for change.
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THE
Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal (DFRT) has indicated that
Warrant Officers are to have a separate pay structure, based
on the same principles as the proposed General Officer Pay
Structure (GOPS).
Readers may recall that Block 5 of the Remuneration Reform
Program Phase 3 sought to address pay placement for Warrant
Officers and whether that should be in conjunction with the
new banded structure (GOPS) proposed for officers, remaining
at the top of the airmen pay structure or to stand alone.
In making submissions to the Tribunal, the Australian Armed
Forces Federation did not see any need to place the Warrant
Officers under the proposed banded pay structure for officers
unless that was the only mechanism to provide a differential
pay structure.
We referred to the Warrant Officers employment category as
a “bridge” between the airmen and the officer categories,
indicating it would welcome an independent structure for Warrant
Officers, if the DFRT was so inclined.
The indications given by the DFRT last December now mean the
Warrant Officers category can separate from the top of the
airmen structure and be recognised in its own right.
The ADF is now required to develop a differential structure
that recognises and remunerates for the diverse range of work
value within the Warrant Officers employment categories.
This is to be done initially by incorporating the Qualification
and Skill components of the major environmental allowances.
The Federation suggests this must be corrected before any
other structural changes take place and while this anomalous
situation was acknowledged by the ADF, there was a reluctance
to correct this before moving forward.
The Federation maintains the view that the integrity of an
independent pay structure for Warrant Officers is reliant
on a contemporary baseline in the first instance and will
pursue such an outcome as the structure is developed.
Graham
Howatt is the industrial officer of the Armed Forces Federation
of Australia.
