AG2002/3212, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 2657 (12 July 2002)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

O/N 8562

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

DEPUTY PRESIDENT LEARY

AG2002/3212

APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
OF AGREEMENT

Application under section 170LJ of the Act
by the Glenorchy City Council and Others
for certification of the Glenorchy City
Council Enterprise Agreement 2002

HOBART

9.18 AM, THURSDAY, 27 JUNE 2002

PN1

MR D. PYRKE: I appear on behalf of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia.

PN2

MR P. BAKER: I appear on behalf of the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union.

PN3

MR R. ROLLINS: I appear on behalf of Glenorchy City Council. Appearing with me are MR C. DANDEAUX and MS S. BUCKLAND-EXCELL from the Glenorchy City Council.

PN4

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you. Who wants to speak to the agreement? Shall I nominate or shall someone volunteer? Mr Rollins?

PN5

MR ROLLINS: I will just make a brief submission, Deputy President. This enterprise agreement is a 170LJ agreement, an agreement with organisations of employees. The agreement covers, I think, over 300 employees at Glenorchy City Council involved in a very diverse range of types of work and activities that are required for the provision of council services. Just to give you a very brief history of the agreement, I think it is about fourth generation enterprise agreement that has been negotiated between council management and the Glenorchy consultative group, which is a group comprising of a mix of employees from the various business units and departments of the council and representatives from the six unions who are party to the agreement.

PN6

I understand that much more information regarding this process can be found in the statutory declarations and the accompanying documentation. If I could just quickly speak to the requirements under section 170LT of the Act. We believe this agreement is not contrary to the public interests and that a valid majority of persons employed at the time have generally approved the agreement. The agreement contains a dispute settling procedure at clause 9 and the nominal expiry date is not more than three years after the proposed operative date. It is our submission that agreement meets the requirements of the Act for certification and we would therefore seek that certification from today's date. Thank you.

PN7

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Can I just ask you a couple of questions?

PN8

MR ROLLINS: Yes.

PN9

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I won't go into the discussions we have had over the previous week about the state this agreement was in; it is now in a form that it can be certified and I can understand it. The questions that I wanted to ask you, there are a number of awards that are read in conjunction with the agreement and I presume that where the agreement is silent the provisions in the award applies, because there is no provision in the agreement for hours of work overtime and general standard provisions. That is how it is to be read?

PN10

MR ROLLINS: That is correct, yes. Any inconsistency of where the agreement is silent the applicable awards there are to be read.

PN11

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Fine, that is the usual approach but most agreement do have those general conditions in it, but that is fine, I now understand. Mr Pyrke, I am looking at you?

PN12

MR PYRKE: Thank you, Deputy President. Mr Rollins has spoken to you about compliance with the Act and we certainly support what he has said. He has also said the statutory declaration is there, which go further down that path, so we certainly submit that it complies with the requirements of the Act. In terms of the question that you have raised, yes it is our shared understanding with Mr Rollins that the conditions which aren't referenced in the agreement will certainly be provided by the awards. What I say is that I understand there has been some works behind the scenes in the last week and I haven't got a copy of the latest version so if there is one there I certainly wouldn't mind one.

PN13

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Why should we give you a copy?

PN14

MR BAKER: Wait until it is certified.

PN15

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: We shall make copies available to you, yes, yes.

PN16

MR PYRKE: Yes, yes, thank you. If the Commission pleases.

PN17

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I promise that we haven't done anything that is going to change the intent of the agreement; it has just been differently formatted.

PN18

MR PYRKE: Thank you.

PN19

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: You have got to trust me. Mr Baker?

PN20

MR BAKER: Deputy President, I really have nothing more to add other than to concur with the comments that have been previously made and would seek certification of the agreement consistent with the provisions of the Act.

PN21

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you. There are a number of unions party to the agreement who are not in attendance but I take it that their absence implies consent to certification. Accordingly, pursuant to section 170LJ of the Workplace Relations Act I certify the agreement to be known as the Glenorchy City Council Enterprise Agreement 2001. The parties to the agreement are the Glenorchy City Council, the ASU, APESMA, the TWU, the CEPU, the CFMEU, the AMWU and the employees covered by the classifications found therein.

PN22

The parties have provided the required statutory declarations and I am satisfied have met the requirements of the Act. Accordingly, the agreement will be certified. An order will issue from today and remain in force until 30 September 2003, but I note that the agreement actually came into operation from 1 October 2001. This agreement is hereby certified and copies will be available.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [9.23am]