AG2002/3590, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 3097 (14 August 2002)

AUSCRIPT PTY LTD
ABN 76 082 664 220

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

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N VT05129

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WILLIAMS

AG2002/3590

APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
OF AGREEMENT

Application under 170LJ of the Act
by the National Union of Workers-
Victorian Branch and Another for
certification of the Novartis Consumer
Health Enterprise Agreement 2002

MELBOURNE

11.09 AM, TUESDAY, 30 JULY 2002

PN1

MR E. CURNOW: I appear for the National Union of Workers.

PN2

MR A. WINNETT: I appear on behalf of Novartis Consumer Health and I also have with me MS S. WARD and I seek leave to appear.

PN3

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. No objection to leave? Leave is granted to Mr Winnett. Yes, Mr Curnow.

PN4

MR CURNOW: Thank you, your Honour. We are asking you to certify the Novartis Consumer Health Australasia Pty Limited Enterprise Agreement 2002. This agreement, your Honour, we believe meets the requirements of the Act and is supported by appropriate statutory declarations from both the company and the union. It was lodged on time. It was voted on and agreed to by a valid majority of employees. It contains a disputes procedure that complies with the requirements of the Act. It has a nominal expiry date of - I am not sure of the expiry date, March 2003, yes, sorry, your Honour.

PN5

The union is able to represent the interests of the employees and has more than one member at the site. On that basis, your Honour, we would ask that you agree to certify the agreement from today's date.

PN6

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. The only query I have got directed to your attention, Mr Curnow, is that if one goes the agreement, Mr Donnelly's signature appears on the last page with the date 25 July.

PN7

MR CURNOW: It is a mystery because it was lodged on 4 July. I can only assume that it was signed on the 2nd, the same day as the company signed it and for some reason, our secretary being under the pressure that he is under, must have added another number but I have no real knowledge of why it has got the 25th because all of the documentation supports that it was - the statutory declarations and the agreement were signed all around the same time and lodged on the 4th.

PN8

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Mr Winnett.

PN9

MR WINNETT: We really have nothing further to add except to say that at the date that we received the signed certified agreement it was on 2 July which may assist the Commission but we have nothing further.

PN10

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you for that. This is an application for certification of an agreement to be known as the Novartis Consumer Health Enterprise Agreement 2002. It will be apparent from the discussion I have just had with the representatives of the parties that there appears to be some error in the date upon which it is said that the secretary of the union signed the agreement but I am prepared to accept that the date specified there is incorrect and that certainly on the balance of probabilities it would appear the intention was that that date should have been 2 July 2002.

PN11

On the basis of the statutory declarations that have been filed by the parties to the agreement and the submissions that have been made this morning I am of the view that, having regard to the applicable provisions of the Act, I am required to certify the agreement and appropriate certification will therefore be issued as soon as possible. The matter is adjourned on that basis and the Commission itself is adjourned.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [11.13am]