Members will be asked to indicate whether they accept or reject the proposed replacement Agreement.
If accepted
If accepted (majority of “yes” votes), the proposed Agreement will be registered in the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) and contain your conditions of work for the next three years. The salary increase will be backdated to 6 December 2023.
If rejected
If rejected (majority of “no” votes), the following options are open:
- The government could decide to make an administrative payment of the five per cent salary increase. This would mean, while the salary rate is paid, the additional conditions negotiated in the proposed agreement would not be forthcoming.
- Alternatively, negotiations may be reopened to see if the parties can agree. If a second agreement in principle is reached, SSTUWA members will again be asked to vote on whether to accept it. Any pay increase would be backdated from the date of any future agreement in principle, which may take some months.
- If the parties still fail to reach agreement it is open for either party to proceed to a formal arbitration process in which a commissioner of the WAIRC hears arguments from both DoE and the SSTUWA and then determines both salary and conditions. Any order arising from this process has a duration of two years. Depending on the number of clauses to be arbitrated and because of the need for formal hearings and submissions, this process could extend into 2025.
