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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 1830 ..

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, it is quite astonishing that a member of the Labor Party would bring up restrictive work practices in ACTION. It is very interesting that, in fact, Mr Graham does identify restrictive work practices as one of the significant factors constraining the efficient operation of ACTION. Indeed, he identifies a number of particular factors that, in his view, constrain ACTION. One, of course, is the lack of split shifts. This causes ACTION to work drivers throughout the day at times when demand is low. Drivers are given 15 minutes to sign off and 15 minutes to sign on, compared to the industry average of five minutes to sign on and 10 minutes to sign off. Drivers - get this one - are entitled to take all meal breaks at their home depot, and this results in an extremely large and expensive amount of empty running to and from the depot so that the drivers can have lunch at their home depot. Drivers spend 25 minutes a day waiting for their bus to be refuelled and cleaned, whereas other bus operators have these tasks carried out by shed staff without the additional time being paid or incurred in favour of drivers. The bottom line is that I think Mr Graham concluded that something of the order of 25 per cent of a driver's time is unproductive time because of this kind of work practice.

Who allowed these work practices to be put into place? The Labor Party. None of these restrictive work practices have been put into place under a Liberal government.

Mr Berry: Who signed the last enterprise agreement?

MR KAINE: Who signed what? What was that question? Who signed what, Mr Berry?

Mr Whitecross: Who signed the enterprise agreement?

MR KAINE: "Who signed the agreement?", they ask. The agreement to put these restrictive work practices in place was invariably signed by the Labor Party in government. I suppose inherent in this question is: Why did the Liberal Government sign the existing EBAs? They were signed in 1996. Restrictive work practices of this nature have been built into the system gradually over a period of years. It probably is going to take just as long to negotiate them out.

Mrs Carnell: Not if they support us. If they would support us, Trevor, we could change it quickly.

MR KAINE: Even if they do, Chief Minister. The employees of ACTION have now come to accept these restrictive work practices as being something that they are entitled to, and you do not remove something that people consider to be an entitlement simply by issuing an edict that it shall be so. What you do when you attempt to do that is what these people over here would love to see us do - precipitate a major head-on confrontation with the trade unions. Mr Speaker, this Government does not intend to do that.

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