C2001/6463, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 3179 (16 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 VT05183
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

DEPUTY PRESIDENT IVES

C2001/6463

AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR, HOSPITALITY AND
MISCELLANEOUS WORKERS UNION

and

PCH MELBOURNE PTY LIMITED

Notification pursuant to section 99 of the
Act of a dispute re log of claim - wages and
conditions

MELBOURNE

9.33AM, FRIDAY, 2 AUGUST 2002

Continued from 27.5.02 before
Senior Deputy President Watson

PN41

MR T. VEENENDAAL: I appear for the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union and appearing with me today is MS N. VASILAKIS.

PN42

MR R. ROGERS: I appear on behalf of the respondent in this matter and with me is MS O. HALLEDINE, the Personnel Manager of the company.

PN43

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you. Yes, Mr Veenendaal.

PN44

MR VEENENDAAL: Thank you, your Honour. Your Honour, the matter comes before you today, as a result of a dispute finding that was made by his Honour, Senior Deputy President Watson on 27 May 2002. That dispute finding involved two parties, the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union and a company called PCH Melbourne Proprietary Limited, which is located at Level 12, Shakerell House, 309 George Street, Sydney in New South Wales.

PN45

Now, the purpose of today's proceedings is an application to rope-in this company into the Federal Hospitality Industry, Accommodation, Hotels, Resorts and Gaming Award 1998. What I intend to do, your Honour, is dispose of the usual submissions in respect of the merits of roping in and the reason I intend to do that is because this company is already a respondent to the award and this is simply a tidying up exercise, as a result of change of ownership of the principal business that owns a range of hotels in Victoria. And by way of evidence, I want to tender a document, your Honour. And the document I am tendering, which I don't think requires marking, is an extract of the Federal Hotels Award, in respect to the simplification decision regarding the 1995 Hotels Award, when it became the 1998 Hotels Award.

PN46

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, it is a document of the Commission and I won't mark it.

PN47

MR VEENENDAAL: Yes. What this is, your Honour, is an extract of the respondency list of the Hotels Award and the respondency list if very long and for convenience and an attempt to reduce paperwork, I have only tendered the extract. I have the entire award and simplification decision here, your Honour, if either employer or his Honour want to cite the entire copy for verification. But what I would take your Honour to, is at page 2, the extract of the Victorian Respondency List. If I could take your Honour to the company which is three above the bottom of the list and that company is Hilton Hotels of Australia Melbourne Proprietary Limited, trading as Melbourne Hilton Hotel, 192 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne. In terms of the Victorian Hotel, your Honour, that is the establishment that we seek to rope-in today. As I say, there has been a change of ownership.

PN48

Obviously, in our submission, your Honour, there would be a transmission or succession, in respect to this particular hotel, pursuant to section 149 of the Workplace Relations Act, in any event, but I can indicate to your Honour, in terms of this application, that it is common for my union, by way of absolute certainty, and with my union being historically an abundantly cautious union, we frequently seek to rope-in the new proprietor, if you like, in any event, into the award, notwithstanding the provisions of section 149 of the Workplace Relations Act. That is the purpose of the application today.

PN49

And as a result I am not going to make my usual submissions, in respect to scope and incidence, the objects of the act, the statement of principles in respect to establishing a safety net award etcetera for bargaining. As far as I am concerned, your Honour, because the company is already roped-in to the award, I think it should be accepted by the Commission that, presumably, the merits of the roping in, previously, have already been established by my union.

PN50

So, as a result, for the purpose of today's proceedings, your Honour, I just wish to tender two documents. The first one is the parent award and the second one is a roping in award in terms of today's application.

PN51

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, I will mark the draft A1, I won't mark the award.

EXHIBIT #A1 DRAFT ROPING IN AWARD

PN52

MR VEENENDAAL: Yes, thank you, your Honour. And, if I could take you to exhibit A1, very briefly, your Honour, I would describe this, your Honour, as a fairly standard form of roping in award. It would be consistent with the types of roping in awards the Commission frequently makes. And if I can take your Honour to the title, it simply indicates that, it is Roping In Award Hospitality Industry, Accommodation, Hotels, Resorts and Gaming Roping In Number 2 Award 2002. You will see, at clause 2, your Honour, the parties bound, by way of certainty, are clearly indicated, the union and the company that was the party to the dispute finding, I previously mentioned, PCH Melbourne Proprietary Limited.

PN53

In terms of the terms and conditions that this or the established rights that this roping in award attempts to provide, your Honour, that is clearly identified there in clause 3 application and it clearly identifies the parent award as the relevant federal hotels award. I can also indicate, for your Honour, that that award is a simplified award, so the TWU decision has no application in respect of this particular matter before the Commission. And the operative date at clause 4 there, is today's date 2 August 2002. So, that save and except for any questions that your Honour may have, I would seek your Honour to make the award in terms of exhibit A1. Thanks, your Honour.

PN54

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, thanks Mr Veenendaal. Yes Mr Rogers.

PN55

MR ROGERS: Yes, thank you, your Honour. Your Honour, based on the submissions, from my friend from the union, the employer is not objecting to the roping in exercise. There are a couple of matters that we would raise that we feel are important. One is that the draft or exhibit A1, identifies the company as the employer at 301 George Street. It may be prudent to also include in that that they are trading as Hilton on the Park (Melbourne), because that is the property that is in question here, in that Hilton Hotels of Australia continues to trade also but they are no longer the Hilton Hotel on the Park (Melbourne), so that may be a necessary change to the respondency list.

PN56

We have no argument about the respondency list that has been presented to the Commission. And the other matter that we would raise and it is simply a matter of correction of spelling, they have put in their draft order that it is "a deputy president Ives" and I would have thought that was Senior Deputy President Ives, but I - - -

PN57

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: No, it is not, unfortunately, I think it is correct. There are times when that mistake is made and I allow it to pass but when the other mistake is made on the other side, I usually pull people up, Mr Rogers.

PN58

MR ROGERS: And so you should, your Honour. With respect to that, having heard the submissions that my friend, there is no objection to the roping in exercise. We would bring it to the Commission's attention that the property and employer are currently subject to an enterprise agreement and we would simply place on record that it is not intended, as we understand, by the parties to displace that enterprise agreement that is in place and also to advise the Commission that the parties are currently in negotiations for a new one and that was a matter that was before the Commission, in fact yourself, some time ago under dispute proceedings, if I could refresh your memory.

PN59

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN60

MR ROGERS: Other than that, your Honour, we have no further submissions.

PN61

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, thanks Mr Rogers. Mr Veenendaal.

PN62

MR VEENENDAAL: Perhaps I can just respond to some of the things that Mr Rogers has raised. Certainly, we are not attempting to change or your presidential status, your Honour, that is obviously a typo and I apologise for the "a deputy president" it is obviously clearly Deputy President Ives. In respect to Mr Rogers submissions about the adjustment to clause 2.2, I have to say, your Honour, that I am before you today operating under instructions from the national office in Sydney, where the officer who is, in fact, responsible for this file, is not present today for obvious geographic reasons. And this order that has been produced is, in fact, an order that was provided by me by her, by the responsible officer.

PN63

So I am a bit loath to make the change suggested, on the basis that, and perhaps Mr Rogers can help me. I understand Hilton Hotels does have other hotels around Australia and I guess I would submit, your Honour, that if PCH (Melbourne) Proprietary Limited is, in fact, the owner of some of those hotels, as well, it is appropriate not to identify or restrict the parties bound list to the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne only. So perhaps if Mr Rogers can clarify that issue. If, in fact, it is the case that PCH (Melbourne) Proprietary Limited, on owns the Hilton at 192 Wellington Parade, well then I would have less difficulty with what Mr Rogers put. So perhaps the employer could put on the record what hotel sites, in terms of addresses, specifically this PCH (Melbourne) Proprietary Limited owns and if it is only the Melbourne hotel, then we are prepared to make the change. However, I would, again, being abundantly cautious, like to have 24 hours to check that with the responsible officer and then I will advise the Commission if, in fact, that is a difficulty, in which case we might have to have the matter called back on or deal with the matter by way of correspondence, if, in fact, we object to what Mr Rogers is proposing. So if I can ask Mr Rogers to address that we might be able to clarify it here.

PN64

MR ROGERS: Your Honour, simply to respond. The current list of respondents in the Victorian section of the award, the third from the bottom on page 202, designates:

PN65

Hilton Hotels of Australia (Melbourne) Proprietary Limited, trading as Melbourne Hilton Hotel at 192 Wellington Parade.

PN66

The property in question is, in fact, Hilton on the Park Melbourne at 192 and is not operated by the Hilton Hotels of Australia (Melbourne) Proprietary Limited, who, in fact, operates another property out near the airport. So for clarity of the respondency list, I am instructed that PCH (Melbourne) Proprietary Limited of 302 George Street, operates only Melbourne on the Park - Hilton on the Park Melbourne at 192 Wellington Parade. And for the clarity of the respondency list we felt that it was important that that be noted and that the draft award, in fact, reflect the true property location for the company as it is operating in Melbourne at this time, in Victoria.

PN67

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, well perhaps you might like to look at that over the next 24 hour period, Mr Veenendaal and provide the Commission with an amended draft, if it is appropriate to do so.

PN68

MR VEENENDAAL: I will do that, your Honour. From what Mr Rogers says, it does seem to be an appropriate adjustment and perhaps my instructions weren't as clear as they could have been, about the specifics of the application, but it does sound like an appropriate amendment. But, as you say, your Honour, I might just check it and get back to the Commission.

PN69

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, well subject to that checking and subject to be providing with an amended draft, I will indicate to the parties that an award will be made. The award will take effect from the first pay period to commence on or after the date of the receipt of the amended draft which, presumably, will be within a 24 hour period of today's date and remain in force for a period of 12 months.

PN70

MR VEENENDAAL: I should be able to get that to you today, your Honour, without any difficulty.

PN71

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, okay, well in that case it will take effect from today's date. Yes, thank you.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [9.45am]

INDEX

LIST OF WITNESSES, EXHIBITS AND MFIs

EXHIBIT #A1 DRAFT ROPING IN AWARD PN52