C2276/200, Transcript of Proceedings [2001] AIRCTrans 486 (6 April 2001)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER CARGILL

C NO 22762 OF 2000

AUTOMOTIVE, FOOD, METALS
ENGINEERING, PRINTING AND
KINDRED INDUSTRIES UNION

AND

AMCOR FIBRE PACKAGING PTY
LIMITED AND OTHERS

NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 99
OF THE ACT OF A DISPUTE RE WAGES AND
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

SYDNEY

10.05 AM, TUESDAY, 20 MARCH 2001

ADJOURNED SINE DIE

PN144

THE COMMISSIONER: May I have appearances, please?

PN145

MS COTIS: I appear on behalf of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

PN146

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Ms Cotis, and I will just note for the record there is no other appearance today so perhaps, Ms Cotis, if you would like to go ahead,please.

PN147

MS COTIS: Thank you, Commissioner. You may recall that when this matter was before you last on 8 December 2000, you granted a roping-in award for some of the parties that were listed in the schedule attached to the union's original application. You may also recall that you had some concerns in relation to the remainder of the parties and you asked the union to distribute a copy of a draft roping-in award to the remainder of the parties and providing those parties with at least 21 days' notice prior to this hearing being scheduled.

PN148

Commissioner, as you are aware, the union has actually done that. We have distributed a copy of the draft roping-in award as well as an information sheet attached to it and a copy of the notice of listing for today's hearing. You may recall that I faxed a copy of those three items to you on 22 February 2001.

PN149

THE COMMISSIONER: I think we have also got the originals here now of the registered post documents too, haven't we, Ms Cotis, showing that those documents have been served on the relevant people.

PN150

MS COTIS: Commissioner, I will just now briefly press that the roping-in award be made, given that the union has met its statutory obligations in relation to the Workplace Relations Act.

PN151

THE COMMISSIONER: Have you got a list, Ms Cotis, of the respondents or the persons you are hoping to have roped in?

PN152

MS COTIS: I do, Commissioner, although I have just noticed this morning that the list I have is the original list and therefore requires some amendments. There are some deletions in relation to those companies that have already been roped in and also, you may recall that the first time this matter was before you we deleted several companies at the request of some of the respondents.

PN153

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes. That was actually what I was going to raise with you but maybe what you could do is provide us within say seven days with a draft order with the names that you are seeking and then if there is any difficulty with any of those, in other words if I believe that they haven't been found in dispute or for some other reason, then we can contact you for that. Just to put on the record that essentially, and I don't know whether you want to make a note of this, the employers who were not found in dispute on the first occasion were Yarra Valley Newspapers Pty Limited so they will need to be excluded. They were at the top of the original list but I don't know whether - - -

PN154

MS COTIS: I do have the details of these companies.

PN155

THE COMMISSIONER: Anyway the ones who weren't found in dispute, just quickly, are Yarra Valley Newspapers, Conaflex Packaging, which was number 15, I don't know whether you still have numbers on yours.

PN156

MS COTIS: Yes, I do.

PN157

THE COMMISSIONER: It might be easier; it was 7 and 15 and then 31, I think on the basis in fact that Southcorp is already a respondent to the award, I think that was the reason for that, Box Hill TAFE which is number 40, if I remember correctly they may also be already roped in to the Graphic Arts Award, I can't quite recall but they weren't found in dispute, Number 42 Syon Press, 44 which is Scanagraphics, Courtney Colour Graphics which is 47 and 51 which is Mercury Press. They were the organisations not found in dispute so obviously they can't be roped in.

PN158

As well as that, Westaff, you may remember, number 50, has asked for the dispute finding to be revoked. I haven't arranged for a hearing yet about that but obviously while there is still an application pending to have the finding revoked I am not going to rope them in, the issue of whether the finding is revoked will have to be dealt with on another day, so they won't be able to be roped in as well and obviously you will have to exclude the various companies that have already been roped in on the last occasion of which there were about 10 I think or thereabouts, plus, of course, you will have to exclude the other Amcor and Visy companies because if you recall there were a number of them but it ended up there is really only one in each case that required to be found in dispute and roped in so they will have to be excluded.

PN159

Other than that, we certainly have not received any correspondence or phone calls from any of those other companies. I have had some phone calls from persons representing people who have already been roped in, just checking that they actually did not have to come along today but I certainly haven't heard from anyone representing any of these other companies. I see no reason to not rope them into the award as you are seeking but just if you could provide us with an amended draft order with those alterations made.

PN160

If we have any difficulty with the names on that list, I will get my associate to contact you and we can arrange for that to be settled. Then, in due course, if the union wishes to press a finding of dispute against any of those other companies who have not been found in dispute, that would need to be looked at as well as the application from Westaff as to whether the finding be revoked. That will have to be looked at in Melbourne because they are based in South Melbourne.

PN161

Subject to that, if there is nothing further, I will indicate that I will make a roping-in award, roping in the companies that are left into the Graphic Arts Award 2000 and the date of effect of that order would be today's date, 20 March 2001, unless you had any particular different date that you were seeking, Ms Cotis.

PN162

MS COTIS: No, Commissioner, thank you very much.

PN163

THE COMMISSIONER: So it would be from today's date. If there is nothing further, the matter is now adjourned.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [10.12am]