Dear ,

You may have seen that RMIT Training management released an FAQ document regarding the NTEU’s Protected Action Ballot Order (PABO) and Protected Industrial Action. The NTEU has concerns that some of the information contained in the FAQ document is incorrect and has the capacity to mislead you about the effect of engaging in Protected Industrial Action. 

The FAQ contained the following: 

"Do I get paid while on Protected Industrial Action? 

• An employer cannot lawfully pay an employee, nor can an employee make a request for payment from the employer whilst partaking in Protected Industrial Action as per the Fair Work Act 2009." 

 This is incorrect. If you participate in a full stoppage of work (i.e. a stike) then, per s 470 of the Fair Work Act, you cannot be paid for the time that you participate in the stoppage. However, Protected Industrial Action includes more than just strikes – it also includes partial work bans. Partial work bans may include bans on certain duties and tasks, or restrictions on the way that you perform work. If you participate in a partial work ban, then, per s 471 of the Fair Work Act, RMIT Training can give notice that (1) they will proportionately reduce your payments or (2) they can give notice of non-payment.

However, RMIT Training is not obliged to issue either of these notices, and indeed, it is open to RMIT to accept your work and pay you in full when you participate in a partial work ban.

Clearly you can see how the FAQ was wrong. We have written to RMIT Training asking that this error be corrected so that staff can have clarity on their industrial rights and the consequences of engaging in Protected Industrial Action. 

In Solidarity,

NTEU RMIT Branch

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