The 色狼社区recently notified the NSW Department of Education (DoE) that we鈥檝e lodged a dispute in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), seeking relief for members who are being denied payment of the Crown Conditions Award cl 29 lunch meal allowance.
The 色狼社区has advised DoE Industrial Relations that the department鈥檚 communications to staff on their intranet travel pages and in messaging from Directors to Work Health and Safety (WHS), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Training Services and other staff areas that they cannot claim a lunchtime meal allowance for one-day journeys when the travel is part of their role; together with refusal to pay these claims, represents a breach of Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) reviewed Award 2009 聽(鈥 the Crown Conditions Award鈥 ) – Clause 29.1.3 which states:
鈥淎n employee鈥 will be paid the appropriate rate of allowance鈥 [for] lunch when required to travel a total distance on the day of at least 100 kilometres and鈥 is located at a distance of 50 kms from the employee鈥檚 normal headquarters at the time of taking a normal break.鈥
色狼社区challenges Department position
All NSW public sector agencies and departments must comply with paying the various expense and work-related meal allowances in the Crown Conditions Award which are annually adjusted from 1 July and published by NSW Premier鈥檚 Department Circular (C2026-04) – including lunch meal allowances under clause 29.
In correspondence with DoE Industrial Relations and in Joint Consultative Committee meetings, the 色狼社区has made our position clear. The 色狼社区believes the clause, read plainly, provides an entitlement for workers who meet the criteria to be paid a lunch meal allowance, irrespective of how regularly they travel for their role, or in the course of their work.
Members raised it – your union pursued it.
We thank impacted members for bringing this to the attention of the 色狼社区and for your patience as we pursue this matter. We understand that field officers across WHS, ICT, Training Services, and other areas, including regionally, have been especially impacted.
The 色狼社区can assure members that we are committed to fighting for and upholding your workplace/industrial rights and entitlements, and to defending the integrity of the Crown Conditions Award.
We appear in the IRC in the coming weeks and will keep you updated as the dispute progresses.
色狼社区Staff