Air
Force members will receive a pay increase on December 5 when the
first rise under the new ADF Workplace Remuneration Arrangement
(WRA) lands in bank accounts.
The pay rise will be backdated to November 7, when the WRA came
into effect.
This increase of 3 per cent applies to the salaries of ADF members
of Group Captain equivalent and below and to the salary-related
allowances of all ADF members.
A second pay rise of 3 per cent under the WRA will be implemented
from July 3, 2003.
Martin Kennedy, Assistant Director Industrial Policy with the
Directorate of Salary and Allowances, said the WRA would finish
on May 6, 2004.
“The last arrangement was for three years, where this one
is about 18 months,” he said. “This shorter period allows
us to review things more quickly if general strategic circumstances
or the wider economic environment change in that time.”
The timing of the WRA has also been brought into closer alignment
with the Defence Employees Certified Agreement (DECA), which applies
to Defence civilians.
“The two arrangements are similar at a basic level but the
systems then branch out and we deal with each group differently,”
Mr Kennedy said.
The ADF system allows flexibility during the time of any arrangement
and can cater separately for the special nature of ADF service.
The Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal (DFRT) is able to rule
on a range of salary-related allowance and pay category reviews
in between arrangements.
Under the DECA, all salary and allowance matters must be covered
by the agreement.
Mr Kennedy said development work on the WRA began last year, followed
by consultation with the ADF and interested bodies, proposals,
papers and decisions about policy directions.
“Once we have some firm proposals approved, we can write
a consultation draft, which we then present and call for comments,”
he said.
Direct consultation took place from the end of August, with more
than 4000 people attending presentations around the country.
“During this period we sought the reaction of ADF members
and any comments about the nature or thrust of the arrangement,”
Mr Kennedy said.
Following this consultation, the case was presented to the DFRT
on November 1.
Consultation during the next WRA will be extended, following feedback
from ADF members during the drafting of this arrangement.
“Included in the WRA is a public and formal commitment to
begin development and initial member consultation no less than
six months before the end of this arrangement,” Mr Kennedy
said.
“It’s a useful line in the sand for us and should make
it easier to prioritise our efforts when we’re trying to
get things finalised.
“The development and consultation processes will now occur
side by side, so that member input is part of the process from
the word go.”
More information is available from the directorate Internet site
at www.defence.gov.au/dpe/dsa
Arffa’s view – Page 18.
