AG2002/4531, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 4300 (31 October 2002)

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 VT411

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER GRAINGER

AG2002/4531

APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION OF
AGREEMENT

Application under section 170LJ of the Act
by Huyck Australia Pty Limited and Another
for certification of the Huyck Australia
Pty Limited - TCFUA Enterprise Agreement
2002

MELBOURNE

10.08 AM, TUESDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2002

PN1

MR A. DALTON: I appear on behalf of Huyck Australia.

PN2

MS V. WILES: I appear on behalf of the TCFUA.

PN3

THE COMMISSIONER: Mr Dalton, you are going to take me through as it is the company's application, thank you.

PN4

MR DALTON: Yes, thank you, Commissioner. This is an application made under division 2 of part VIB of the Act for certification of an agreement made in accordance with section 170LJ. The terms of the agreement were reached between the company and the TCFUA on behalf of employees covered by the Textile Industry Award 2000. The agreement has been lodged within the 21-day specified time period and the parties have prepared statutory declarations which we believe meet all the requirements of the Act, regulations and rules of the Commission.

PN5

We further submit that section 170LJ and section 170LT have been met. The agreement, we submit, does not disadvantage employees covered by it and I refer to item 7.2 of the statutory declaration. A valid majority of the employees genuinely approved the agreement on 3 September 2002 and this is - - -

PN6

THE COMMISSIONER: Do you know what the voting process was and what sort of numbers there were, Mr Dalton?

PN7

MR DALTON: I don't know the numbers, Commissioner. The normal practice, my understanding, at Huyck was that the organiser came down and had a vote by show of hands. My understanding it was pretty close to unanimous from what the company told me but I don't have any specifics on that.

PN8

THE COMMISSIONER: Well, I will hear from Ms Wiles in due course about that. Yes, thanks, go on, Mr Dalton.

PN9

MR DALTON: Access to the agreement and an explanation of the terms of the agreement occurred in accordance with the requirements of section 170LR and was appropriate having regard to the particular circumstances of the employees covered by the agreement. And I refer to items 6.6, 6.7 and 6.8 of the statutory declaration. The agreement does contain a dispute settlement procedure at clause 5 and the period of operation of the agreement is set out in clause 4 where it is stated that the agreement will expire on 1 July 2004. We believe that everything else is in order, Commissioner, and would seek that the agreement be certified in the terms sought.

PN10

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes, thanks. I note that there are 19 people of non-English speaking background at this workplace. What language backgrounds were they from, do you know, Mr Dalton?

PN11

MR DALTON: No, I don't know, Commissioner. This company has had enterprise agreements - now, this is possibly its fifth enterprise agreement and the company and the union are both well-versed in the process for communicating at this workplace. The company holds regular meetings as does the union. There is a well-structured shop steward arrangement with about six shop stewards in the workplace who communicate regularly with the employees in their areas to advise them of the negotiations and of the items that are being discussed and my understanding was that there was no need for any special arrangements to be undertaken to ensure that the agreement was communicated in a satisfactory way.

PN12

THE COMMISSIONER: All right, fine. Thanks, Mr Dalton. I might just hear from Ms Wiles. Ms Wiles?

PN13

MS WILES: Yes, thank you, Commissioner. In terms of the vote I apologise I don't have the exact detail of the vote but Mr Dalton is correct in that the organisers notes indicate that the agreement - there was an overwhelming majority - I think there was maybe one or two people who either were not present or abstained - - -

PN14

THE COMMISSIONER: And it was by a show of hands.

PN15

MS WILES: Yes, that is correct.

PN16

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes. Do you know about the non-English speaking background people, Ms Wiles?

PN17

MS WILES: I don't, Commissioner, but Mr Dalton is correct on that point also. There is a very developed shop steward structure, very active delegates who are involved in the negotiations from the outset in terms of each EBA and I would be confident in their capacity to communicate the terms of the agreement to all employees at that workplace.

PN18

THE COMMISSIONER: All right. Can I just ask you, does the union have at least one member employed by the business?

PN19

MS WILES: We do.

PN20

THE COMMISSIONER: And is the union entitled to represent the industrial interests of that member?

PN21

MS WILES: It is, Commissioner.

PN22

THE COMMISSIONER: And do you have any other comments to make in addition to what Mr Dalton said?

PN23

MS WILES: Commissioner, in terms of the provisions which provide enhanced provisions over the award, I will just indicate several for you. Clause 6 which incorporates the terms and conditions of the 1994 award. Clause 9 which provides for wage increases of 5 per cent. Clause 10, WorkCover Absence Make-up Pay. Clause 11, Journey Accident Insurance. Clause 12, Superannuation. Clause 13, Unpaid leave of up to three months. Clause 15, Payment for Long Term Sickness. Clause 16, Retirement. Clause 20, Redundancy and Severance which provides 2-1/2 weeks per year of service and clause 29, Income Protection Insurance.

PN24

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes, all right. The agreement doesn't end a bargaining period?

PN25

MS WILES: I don't believe it does.

PN26

THE COMMISSIONER: No, that is fine. All right, anything else, Ms Wiles?

PN27

MS WILES: The union endorses the submission made by Mr Dalton and believes that the agreement should be certified in the terms.

PN28

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes, thank you. Well, having heard the submissions of Mr Dalton and Ms Wiles I am satisfied that the Huyck Australia Proprietary Limited TCFUA Enterprise Agreement 2002 does meet all the relevant statutory requirements for certification. And I note that particularly with regard to the no disadvantage test that clause 9 as to wage increases, clause 11 as to journey accident insurance, clause 15 as to payment for long-term sickness, clause 16 as to retirement, clause 20 as to redundancy and clause 29 as to income protection insurance all appear to represent advantages over the award.

PN29

I note there is an appropriate dispute resolution clause at clause 5 with the capacity for matters to be referred to this Commission and the term of the agreement doesn't exceed three years. At clause 4 it is provided to be from certification to 1 July 2004 and accordingly I do certify this agreement today, 15 October 2002. Thanks very much, Mr Dalton and Ms Wiles.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [10.13am]