2 April 2020 / COVID-19

PM Announcements

The Prime Minister just made the following announcements:

  • The measures Australians are adapting to in our daily lives will be in place for at least the next six months – we need to be prepared for that
  • The rate of growth has fallen on a daily basis to single digit numbers – but it’s not enough – community transmission is being monitored closely
  • Childcare and early childcare education is critical – particularly for those Australians who rely on it so they can go to work every day – if you have a job in this economy, then that is an essential job – its important that parents have access to childcare for the many months ahead and the government wants to see centres remain open
  • The Australian Government is making child care support free for people who need it as of Sunday night (April 6) under a new system which will provide this relief
  • They will pay 50% of the sector’s fee revenue up to the existing hourly rate cap based on a point in time before parents started withdrawing their children
  • JobKeeper wage subsidy will be synchronised to support the childcare sector’s wages to reduce costs, keep people employed and centres open
  • Schools will be the same to keep Australia running
  • While we have to be isolated, we can remain connected and Australians are finding innovative ways to do this

Industrial Relations update from the Attorney-General for Australia:

  • Series of reforms to Modern Awards and IR System undertaken in the past few weeks
  • It has been done quiet and cooperative
  • 10s of thousands of jobs saved from these changes
  • Change the equivalent of 30 years
  • Temporary reform to last the length of the pandemic
  • 121 Modern Awards – very significant changes
  • Restaurants, hospitality and Clerks are most significant awards affected
  • Key changes:
    • Individual worker performing 1 type of duty in 1 classification
    • Can now be reallocated to another classification under the Award
    • Allowed for working from home abilities (this was previously unlawful under the Award)
    • Allowed for taking longer durations of annual leave at half the pay
    • The idea is to introduce more flexibility to help secure jobs and prevent the failure of businesses
  • Next steps to be undertaken:
  • 103 Modern Awards will be changed to allow for:
    • Two weeks of Unpaid Pandemic Leave
    • Allowing for the taking of double the length of leave at half the pay
  • These changes are critical to protecting the supply and logistics chain workers in Australia

Other Recent Activities

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9 April / Quality Alert
Prohibition on the Use of Engineered Stone

Engineered stone ban effective 1 July 2024

ALL engineered stone, regardless of the silica content percentage, is banned.

Alternative products must be considered and implemented on all projects.

In October last year Hutchies noted that the industry was shifting away from engineered stone due to the risks of respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis and other silica related diseases.

On this basis, Hutchies proactively took a position to ban all engineered stone on our projects, regardless of silica content percentages, from 1 July 2024.

In December last year, we then had confirmation that following an Industrial Relations Ministers meeting, State and Commonwealth Leaders had agreed to ban engineered stone products.

Some at Hutchies have noted that the State and Federal communications concerning the ban have included transition periods as well as exemptions for some engineered stone with low (under 1%) silica content.

For clarity, there has been no change to Hutchies' position following these communications – Hutchies will not be using engineered stone that contains any percentage of silica on our projects from 1 July 2024.

Actions

To mitigate the impact of potential delays and variations, the best approach is to inform clients of the pending ban and to propose and seek approval for an alternative product.

Similarly, ensure all future estimates have the stone specification qualified and priced accordingly.

Refer to Hutchies' Stone Product & Suitability for Use List on the Document Library.

More information

If you need additional support, please contact:

Design — Michael Lawlor / Ogi Latinovic
Work Health & Safety — Jimmy Andersen
Industrial Relations — Ben Young
Other — Russell Fryer

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3 - 20 April / General
NOW OPEN / 2024 Hutchies Training Awards Nominations

Calling all nominations for stand out apprentices and cadets across Hutchies.

Help us by nominating an apprentice or cadet that you think is a true representation of Hutchies' way.

We also want to celebrate other significant training achievements by anyone else across company over the last 12 months.

Make your vote by COB 12 April 2024 (extended to Friday 18 April!)

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4 March / Meetings
All Company Update / March 2024

Thanks for participating in Hutchies' All Company Update.

A copy of the presentation slides is available to download below.

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