AG2002/3442, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 3007 (7 August 2002)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER LARKIN

AG2002/3442

APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION OF AGREEMENT

Application under Section 170LJ of the Act
by the ADI Limited & Ors for certification
of the ADI Services Garden Island Enterprise
Agreement 2002

SYDNEY

10.00 AM, TUESDAY 23 JULY 2002

Adjourned sine die

PN1

THE COMMISSIONER: Could I have appearances please?

PN2

MR P. LEAVER: I appear for ADI Limited and with me is MR M. PRATLEY.

PN3

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

PN4

MR I. MORRISON: I appear on behalf of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in this matter.

PN5

MR A. CASEY: I appear for the National Union of Workers.

PN6

MS M. KERR: I appear for the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union.

PN7

MR S. MARSHAL: I appear for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, New South Wales Branch.

PN8

THE COMMISSIONER: Have the parties decided who ought to address the application this morning?

PN9

MR LEAVER: Yes, Commissioner if I can. This is an application under section 170LJ part 6B of the Workplace Relations Act for certification of an agreement between ADI Limited Services Business Group, the AMWU, APESMA, NUW, CEFMEU and CEPU. The relevant parent awards are the ADI Limited Middle Management Professional Award 1998 and the ADI Limited Employees Award 1999.

PN10

The agreement as stands will apply to a part of a single business being the ADI Services at Garden Island which is located at Garden Island, Sydney.

PN11

THE COMMISSIONER: Will it be operational or geographical.

PN12

MR LEAVER: Yes, it is an operational unit. There are 310 employees to be covered by this agreement which includes four females and 36 people of a non English speaking background. Commissioner the agreement on balance improves the overall terms and conditions of the employees to be covered by it and in our submission meets the no disadvantage test. This agreement entirely replaces the previous agreement for ADI Services which was the ADI Services Marine Enterprise Agreement 2000 which nominally expired on 30 November last year.

PN13

This agreement provides for two minimum rate increases to the employee covered by it. Commissioner throughout the process of negotiations, frequent regular meetings had been held with the services employees both by the company and by their union representatives. Once the negotiating parties were satisfied with the document, it was made available to all employees through the company and through union representatives. I can assure the Commissioner that employees have had access to the agreement for at least 14 days before a final meeting of the majority of affected employees took place on 25 June.

PN14

I can also assure the commission that the document appended to the various statutory declarations is precisely the document which the employees had for those 14 days.

PN15

THE COMMISSIONER: That is reassuring Mr Leaver.

PN16

MR LEAVER: In the last travails we had here yes, that is reassuring to myself Commissioner. The vote was taken on 25 June and on that day a valid majority of employees voted upon the proposed agreement accepted. The agreement does contain procedures for preventing and settling disputes and those procedures are clause 11. We would commend on one further point Commissioner, there is a clause in the agreement at 7.11.4.6 which proposes a trial of what is termed off-site working. There is a note to that clause which says the trial period will finish on 1 September 2003 and I would like it placed on record that the trial will finish on 1 September 2003 and any continuance of that off-site working will be a matter for discussion in the enterprise agreement which will replace this one at that time.

PN17

Commissioner we commend this agreement for certification based upon the statutory declarations provided by Mr Pratley and by all of the unions before you today and also based upon the submissions of myself and the other parties. It is our submission that the agreement meets with requirements of the Act for certification under section 170LT and we would seek that certification from today's date with an expiry date of 30 September 2003. Thank you Commissioner.

PN18

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you Mr Leaver. Yes, Mr Bourne?

PN19

MR BOURNE: Thank you Commissioner, the APESMA also supports Mr Leaver's submissions for recommending the agreement for certification. We also believe the agreement does meet the technical requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the commission. To that extent we have filed a statutory declaration on behalf of Martin O'Connell, the State Director of APESMA. While APESMA members did not endorse the agreement, they rejected the agreement but they did endorse the association being party to the agreement and being signatories to the agreement.

PN20

The agreement was subsequently endorsed by the associations relevant internal administrative bodies. Also for the association the agreement does conclude a formal bargaining period in BP3391/2001.

PN21

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes, that was recorded in the APESMA statutory declaration.

PN22

MR BOURNE: Yes, we therefore as I say commend the application for certification, if the commission pleases.

PN23

THE COMMISSIONER: Just one question Mr Bourne but I think you may have answered it. The APESMA has at least one member employed in the business?

PN24

MR BOURNE: Yes, we do, we have six.

PN25

THE COMMISSIONER: The APESMA is entitled to represent the industrial interests.

PN26

MR BOURNE: Yes, as I indicated, they actually rejected the agreement but have endorsed the association being party and signatories to the agreement.

PN27

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you Mr Bourne. Mr Morrison?

PN28

MR MORRISON: Yes Commissioner, the AMWU similar supports the certification of this agreement and will not go through any submissions, they have already been made, so just requesting the certification, thank you.

PN29

THE COMMISSIONER: And the AMWU has at least one member employed?

PN30

MR MORRISON: The AMWU to my knowledge has 147 members at the site.

PN31

THE COMMISSIONER: I take it that your union is entitled to represent the industrial interests?

PN32

MR MORRISON: Yes, Commissioner. Mr Casey?

PN33

MR CASEY: Yes Commissioner, the NUW also supports the certification of this agreement this morning and do have at least one member at the site at Garden Island.

PN34

THE COMMISSIONER: And entitled to represent that union's interest?

PN35

MR CASEY: Correct.

PN36

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you. Ms Kerr?

PN37

MS KERR: Commissioner, the CEPU had some doubts about the vote last time which is why the agreement was not certified. I would just like to place on record that we are satisfied that the vote was conducted and everything was sort of okay.

PN38

THE COMMISSIONER: In accordance with the requirements of the legislation?

PN39

MS KERR: In accordance with the Act, yes. It was voted on by a valid majority. The CEPU has ten members at the site and we are entitled to represent their industrial interests. We commend the agreement for certification.

PN40

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank Ms Kerr. Mr Marshall?

PN41

MR MARSHALL: Yes, the CFMEU commends the agreement and requests that it be certified. We have at least one member on site and we are certainly entitled to represent them.

PN42

THE COMMISSIONER: Thank you. Is there anything further at all? Mr Leaver? Nothing at all?

PN43

MR LEAVER: I am glad that the CEPU finds the document "sort of okay". Nothing further Commissioner.

PN44

THE COMMISSIONER: I think it is up to the employees to find the document okay but whatever I do realise that the matter has been before his Honour so and I was made aware that there were some difficulties earlier and in looking at the file and receiving advice from his Honour's chambers, the parties rectified those difficulties and hence the matter was to be before his Honour this morning, unfortunately that could not be and so the certifying was allocated to me last night and I have had a look through the material and I have heard your submissions and of course this is an application by ADI Limited and APESMA, CEPU, NUW, CFMEU and the AMWU for certification and agreement made under section 170LJ of the Act.

PN45

The agreement is to be known as the ADI Services Garden Island Enterprise Agreement 2002 on the basis of the statutory declarations filed and the submissions of the parties and hearing them this morning I am satisfied that the statutory requirements relevant for certification have been met. The agreement satisfies the requirements and the no disadvantage test in that it does not on balance result in reduction of the overall terms and conditions of employment under the relevant awards or laws. The agreement specifies a nominal expiry date, 30 September 2003 which is not more than three years after the agreement comes into operation.

PN46

The application is granted with effect from today's date. Ladies and gentlemen formal certification will issue in due course. The commission is now adjourned.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [10.12am]