Page 1835 - Week 05 - Thursday, 8 May 2008
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c. Two Rhodium staff have the Right of Return to the ACT Public Service on sale and have received a full briefing on their right of return. They also have the option of staying with Rhodium if offered jobs by the buyer.
d. For all other staff, and in the event that the buyer does not require some or all of them after sale:
i. Rhodium’s Collective Agreement provides for the buyer to reduce staff numbers through redundancy action. Any staff made redundant would be entitled to redundancy pay of two weeks for each completed year of service and pro-rata for the final year.
ii. Individual Employment Agreements provide for the buyer to terminate staff under these Agreements for any reason by giving three month’s written notice. The buyer may elect to pay staff in lieu of giving them all or part of the notice period on the basis of their notional salary.
iii. Individual Employment Agreements also have a redundancy provision with a severance payment equal to the greater of three month’s notional salary or specified weeks for years of service. For all Rhodium staff employed under these Agreements, the greater entitlement would be three months as they have been at Rhodium for a relatively short time.
e. Notwithstanding the provisions of Rhodium’s Collective Agreement and Individual Employment Agreements, staff have been advised that the preferred buyer wants all of them to stay at Rhodium for up to six months after sale completion with a retention bonus payable at the end of this period. This offer does not constitute a guarantee of employment by the preferred buyer which has retained the right to terminate staff within the six month period. If terminations did occur, the retention bonus would still be payable.
f. Most staff employed under Rhodium’s Collective Agreement are on fixed term contracts in recognition of Rhodium’s impending sale. These contracts have broadly been aligned with Rhodium’s expected sale date and the six month employment offer by the preferred buyer.
Arts and letters—funding
(Question No 2036)
Dr Foskey asked the Minister for the Arts, upon notice, on 9 April 2008 (redirected to the Minister for Education and Training):
(1) In relation to the additional funding for arts in education provided through the 2007-2008 supplementary appropriation and in relation to the contract awarded to Kulture Break of $25 000 per annum for four years to teach contemporary dance in schools (a) was that decision (i) informed by a professional appraisal of the company’s qualification or proven record, (ii) made in response to a proposal or request from Kulture Break, (iii) made after considering its potential to conflict with, duplicate or diminish the sustainability of services provided by artsACT multiyear funded organisations or ACT Health sponsored projects and (iv) made in response to a proposal or request from school teachers or providers of curriculum support and (b)
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