C2001/409, Transcript of Proceedings [2001] AIRCTrans 74 (23 February 2001)

AUSCRIPT PTY LTD
ABN 76 082 664 220

Level 4, 179 Queen St MELBOURNE Vic 3000
(GPO Box 1114J MELBOURNE Vic 3001)
DX 305 Melbourne Tel:[phone] Fax:[phone]

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N 5837

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER HINGLEY

C2001/409

SILCAR MAINTENANCE SERVICES

AND

COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC,
ENERGY, INFORMATION, POSTAL, PLUMBING
AND ALLIED UNION OF AUSTRALIA

NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION WR 99 OF
THE ACT OF AN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE RE STOPPAGE
OF WORK IN SUPPORT OF RECLASSIFICATION OF
WORK

MELBOURNE

2.00 PM, THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2001

PN1

MR F. PALMER: I appear for Silcar Maintenance Services, the applicant in this matter. Appearing with me is MS A. GREEN.

PN2

MR P. MOONEY: I appear on behalf of the CEPU Electrical Division.

PN3

MR G. WARREN: I appear on behalf of the AMWU.

PN4

MR R. HART: I appear on behalf of the CFMEU.

PN5

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you. Yes, Mr Palmer.

PN6

MR PALMER: Yes, thank you, Commissioner. This matter was notified to the Commission yesterday in its application or notification Silcar site of the CEPU. My information is that this dispute as far as Silcar is concerned basically involves members of the CEPU, although my advice is that there are two members of the CFMEU working on the job supporting the electrical workers. As we understand it, Commissioner, the dispute revolves around a claim not specified for some form of allowance that has been, I think, addressed as a construction allowance for work on the refurbishment of a dredger at the Loy Yang Power Station.

PN7

The Silcar workers, and as you, yourself, would be aware, Commissioner, is a joint venture company owned by Siemens Pty Ltd and Thiess Contractors. It is performing work at the site on behalf of Siemens who are the contractors to Loy Yang. The work is being conducted under an enterprise agreement, one that you, yourself, sir, certified in September of last year. That is a division 2 agreement with the relevant unions, and that has, as its dispute resolution process, reference to the Metals Industries Award.

PN8

The aggravation in this matter, from the company's point of view, is that the employees concerned on the work on the dredge has left the site, notionally on strike, I am not sure whether that word is being used, and it has been asserted by the CEPU that those workers will not return at least until Monday, and on the way out the gate they have taken some of their brothers who work in a completely separate part of Loy Yang under the same industrial agreement out the gate with them.

PN9

The purpose of us being here today, Commissioner, is to see if we can attempt the resumption of work. With us in Court are senior operational managers from both Silcar and Siemens. If this claim for an construction allowance is to be pressed we will listen attentively to any justification or rationale that can be put behind that and we will be fully prepared to discuss that with the relevant unions after a resumption of work.

PN10

From our part it is untenable in our industry, particularly in support of the power industry, that we can have this sort of stoppage without working through the disputes procedure in a proper and correct manner. Those briefly are the reasons that bring us here, sir.

PN11

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Mr Palmer. Mr Mooney.

PN12

MR MOONEY: Yes, Commissioner. We really do not take much heed with what Mr Palmer has put to you but we would say to you that our members are intending to meet again on Monday to discuss a number of issues that they raised with me prior to them taking the action that they took in support of not only of the construction allowance for the work, and firstly if I may address Mr Palmer's question in relation why we believe it is a construction site or construction work that our members will be carrying out.

PN13

What has happened is that Loy Yang Power, one of their dredgers which digs coal has had a major fire which has actually destroyed the low voltage equipment room, cribb room, and the oil lube system areas on that dredge. And what has happened to that part of the dredge is that it has been demolished and that work now is being redone where it is going to be all new installations in that area that has been damaged before. We do not see that as maintenance. We see it as a construction job because - maintenance is something that is ongoing, continues to happen all the time. This is not maintenance. This is a one-off thing that has happened where a major fire has taken place which has caused this dredge its total control area and it is going to be replaced with new equipment, new panels, everything, and it is going to add an extreme cost.

PN14

So that is why we are claiming a construction allowance for that part of the job. The other issues that are on foot is in relation to not only the people working down on the dredge but the people working up in the station, was the nine-day fortnight which is an issue. Start and finish times are an issue down on the dredge. Toolbox meetings. Reclassification are issues. Safety boot and overalls, but I think that is resolved after discussions I had with Silcar and Siemens yesterday. Availability to phones and access to phones down on the dredge. Travel allowance, we believe it is incorrectly, how it is being paid. Some sort of provision to encompass inclement weather.

PN15

There is also an issue in relation to these people who have been casually employed and what has happened is that on occasions Silcar has knocked these people off for half-days and then brought them back the next day, and things like that and we just think that is the norm that happened in the power industry, and that there should be some compensation given back to those people for those issues have arisen over the time this project started. That is about all I can say at this stage. I am quite happy to move into conference and discuss it further, if the Commission pleases.

PN16

THE COMMISSIONER: Well, what do you say about Mr Palmer's submission that no claim has been specified in terms of an allowance. How does the company respond to that?

PN17

MR MOONEY: There has been a number of meetings have taken place before the action had been taken where not only Silcar but also Siemens and also Fluor Daniels and even Loy Yang Power to an extent were given what we were after, and not once have any of those companies come back to us and addressed that issue.

PN18

THE COMMISSIONER: What is the - I presume it is a legitimate action?

PN19

MR MOONEY: Yes.

PN20

THE COMMISSIONER: What is the justification of it?

PN21

MR MOONEY: Justification - - -

PN22

THE COMMISSIONER: I mean, there is a dispute resolution process, is there not?

PN23

MR MOONEY: Yes, there is a dispute settlement procedure but the only way we seem to get issues addressed and pushed is sometimes having to take the action. And our members felt quite clearly that they needed to take the action in support of these issues, or else they believed they would just sit there and sit there.

PN24

THE COMMISSIONER: Is there anything you want to add, Mr Hart.

PN25

MR HART: Just, Commissioner, as far as the CFMEU is concerned, Peter has pretty outlined a lot of the domestic issues that are of concern of the membership on the job. We have been through a process of talking to Loy Yang Power and we have had three meetings with Loy Yang Power to try and come to some sort of an agreement on this job. Their position at the last meeting was that it was a contractors problem and not their problem. At this present time I have got major concerns over the safety in relation to the job itself. I have not seen an audit of the project. I am not aware of the total damage to the dredge at this stage.

PN26

We have requested several meetings with Silcar where the way it has been explained to me that I don't quite fit into their flow chart at the present time. And as far as we are concerned there is no actual agreement to cover the work.

PN27

THE COMMISSIONER: Mr Warren.

PN28

MR WARREN: If the Commission pleases, I really have not got much more to add than the fellows down this end, but we, like the ETU and the FEDFA, say we have got some concerns on the site and just the way that we noticed it yesterday and there has been a site inspection. Also that just the work that is going on around there, all the different types of work groups, and the way it is coordinated and a whole range of issues, we have got some concerns. So we just need to nut them through and perhaps the best way might be to sit down and go through a conference. If the Commission pleases.

PN29

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you. Mr Palmer, was there any response that you wanted to make to any of that.

PN30

MR PALMER: Not of any substance, Commissioner, but unless you get us wrong I think we enjoy a reasonable relationship with the unions and there is good open communication. What is upsetting the company today is that there is more information about things that have irritated that has come forward after people has withdrawn their labour than came forward before they withdrew their labour. This company is always happy to sit down and talk with the unions about our employees and their members and their terms and conditions and their concerns.

PN31

We are quite prepared, if we go into conference, to listen carefully to what they have to say. The prime reason for us appearing here today and troubling you, sir, is to remind people that there is a disputes procedure. It is equally open to the respondent unions to come to this Commission for assistance if they think the company or its client is being recalcitrant and not addressing their concerns. But it is just not acceptable in a company that is supporting the power industry to just walk off the job and address the issue in a nonchalant way and say, "We'll be back Monday." That is just not acceptable.

PN32

If that matter can be dealt with and I think the reality is my friend, Mr Mooney, has had at least half of his concerns fixed since people went on strike. But that is not the reason that we are told they went on strike. We are told they went on strike to support a claim for a monetary allowance, and we just say that that is not acceptable.

PN33

THE COMMISSIONER: Well, it seems common ground that we might be able to make some progress in conference and so we will go off the record.

NO FURTHER PROCEEDINGS RECORDED [2.10pm]